When trials morph into triumphs

I grew up in the idyllic suburbs of 1980s Mumbai. The modernity and dynamism of the city itself were always accessible, yet the suburbs insulated one from the changing cultural landscape. The strongly engendered faith-based ethos of the suburbs manifested as reasonably strict adherence to the traditions and value systems embraced by the community as a whole. In this environment, as a young girl from a conservative middle-class family, my primary education was aimed at acquiring skills that would make me a good wife.