I grew up in a Desi family where all adults were aunties (or uncles), regardless of biological connections. I learned five different terms for “aunt” in Hindi (generally with the respectful “ji” appended): masi (mother’s sister), mami (mother’s brother’s wife), bhua (father’s sister), chachi (father’s younger brother’s wife) and tai (father’s older brother’s wife). The specificity of these terms points to how important (and hierarchical) South Asian family connections often are. They also caused me a minor calamity last Diwali, when I rushed writing names on envelopes containing cash for my cousins’ kids and accidentally wrote “Love, Maya Bhua” where I should have written “Maya Masi.” (I think we all agreed it was what was inside that counted, in this case $20.)