Now living alone while her two children stay in a hostel, Renuka spends most of her time either working or managing responsibilities at home. Her night duty at one hospital begins at 9:30 pm and continues till 9:30 am. After returning home in the morning, she spends the next few hours washing clothes, preparing food and managing household responsibilities before leaving again for another hospital around 1:30 pm, where she works an afternoon shift till late evening. By night, she returns once again for her next shift. When asked if she finds time to rest, Renuka admitted that sleep mostly comes in short intervals between shifts as work is the only way to earn a good living.

“In five years, I haven’t taken a single day off. When my younger son returns from the hostel and says he feels hungry when I’m not home, I request to shorten my shift hour for a day, so that I can keep food and snacks ready for him,” she said.

Renuka explained that staying occupied through work often helps her cope with the silence waiting at home. In many ways, work has become both responsibility and routine, something that keeps her moving through grief, exhaustion and motherhood, simultaneously.

For Lata Rajuboth, a sanitation worker employed across hospitals, long hours are closely tied to financial necessity. Her first shift begins at 10 pm and continues till 10 am at one hospital. After that, she works another shift at a different hospital from 11 am to 3 pm before returning home to rest briefly and manage household chores until nightfall. By 10 pm, she is back at work again.

Despite the demanding routine, Lata said she prefers being busy to sitting idle.

“I honestly enjoy working night shifts because of the calmness. My family sometimes asks me not to work so much, but we are facing financial difficulties, so I choose to continue working,” she said, adding that she even works on Sundays to avoid deduction of salary.

For Apoorva Pandey, however, the experience of working night shifts was shaped not only by financial need but also by family support. A former Inquiry and Refunds Supervisor in the Pune Division of Central Railway and now promoted to another department, Apoorva worked shifts that often alternated between day and night duties.

Her night shifts would begin at 10 pm and continue till 6 am, around the same time her children would wake up and prepare for school. She would prepare meals and organise household responsibilities before leaving for work. Even after returning home in the morning, rest was rarely immediate.

“My shift usually ended at 6 am, but after returning home, immediate rest was never really an option. My children had to be sent to school, and household responsibilities had to be managed,” she said.

Apoorva said that the support of her husband and family made the demanding routine more manageable. While she worked through the night, her husband took care of responsibilities at home and ensured the children never feel neglected.

“I missed many family events, but things became easier because of the support I received from my family. My children never complained, and my husband was always there to help,” she added.

As the city moves through its ordinary rhythm of mornings and nights, women like Renuka, Lata and Apoorva continue working through hours most people rarely notice. For them, motherhood does not stop at nightfall. It simply adjusts itself around another shift.