Daughters of India: Art and Identity

One in every six women in the world lives in India, more than the combined female populations of North America, the European Union and the Middle East. Yet most people outside India know little about Indian women, who often receive confusing and inaccurate press covering. Daughters of India: Art and Identity profiles 20 women from diverse communities ranging from the rice paddies of far southern India to the tea plantations of the Himalayas and from the dry western deserts to the verdant east coast. They represent everywoman: the traditional and the contemporary, the repressed and the highly innovative, the outcast and the entrepreneur. In their battles against adversity, their own words express their innate strength. All of these women are connected by a single thread: creative expression. Some view themselves as artists while others would be surprised to be identified in this manner, but each woman creatively embellishes her daily or seasonal life. Indian women are often completely unconscious of their artistry, and it is only recently that they have drawn any attention. The book is about change in the face of almost impossible odds, personal initiative that carves out a new identity, and implacable insistence on the cognition of human rights.