The Indian woman does not live one culture; she lives a thousand. And in the friction between the grandmother’s advice and the daughter’s ambition, a new, more equitable India is slowly being woven.

To speak of the "Indian woman" is to attempt to capture a rainbow in a single word. India is not one culture, but a subcontinent of 28 states, over 1,600 languages, and a dozen major religions. Consequently, the lifestyle of an Indian woman varies dramatically—from the rice fields of Kerala to the tech startups of Bangalore, from the ancient alleyways of Varanasi to the high-fashion runways of Mumbai.