India, Aug. 13 -- It was the afternoon of August 13, 1947. A young woman stepped out of her house in a hurry and walked briskly toward the Reay Market (Mandai). Feigning composure, she kept looking over her shoulder to see if anyone was watching. Picking up her pace, she turned into a wada tucked behind the market. After washing her feet at the entrance, she walked straight into the kitchen of one of the households. Three of her friends were already waiting for her. Poha was being roasted on the hearth to make 'chiwda', and two of the women were busy making besan laddoos. The young woman joined them.

Her name was Subhadrabai Shaligram. When I met her in 2011 at her home in Kasba Peth, she was 87 years old. I had entered her wada looking ...