She is the mother who teaches the Ramayana via an iPad. She is the entrepreneur who names her startup after her grandmother. She is the girl in the village who asks for a bicycle instead of a wedding.

The Indian woman’s relationship with food is complex. Traditionally, she is the last to eat in the family, ensuring everyone else is fed first. Her kitchen is a pharmacy of sorts (Ayurveda), using turmeric, ginger, and ghee as preventative medicine. Paradoxically, the culture also celebrates Vrats (fasts)—like Karva Chauth (fasting for the husband’s long life) or Navratri —where women demonstrate immense willpower. Fasting is simultaneously a spiritual act and a social bonding ritual, often done in groups.