New Delhi, Oct. 4 -- Transformation does not always begin with one dramatic turning point. Sometimes, it unfolds through small opportunities-a little more freedom, short walks and rediscovering a childhood dream-that gradually lead to a profound change.

Priya Shah Khandelwal loved sports as a child, but growing up in Rajasthan's Bhilwara in a traditional Marwari family, she was not encouraged to participate. She played basketball in school but received little support to pursue the game.

"As a child, I wasn't good at studies, but I was naturally athletic. Seeing other children on the playground made me yearn to join in," she says. Her family envisioned a conventional future for her: marriage, children, home, and family. At 24, she marrie...