Later, in the chaotic labyrinth of the local vegetable market, Kavya haggled over bitter gourd and coriander. Here, she was not a team lead. She was simply a bahu (daughter-in-law), judged by the sheen of the tomatoes she picked. The vegetable vendor, a woman named Laxmi with arms like steel cables, winked at her. Laxmi had started this stall after her husband abandoned her. She now sent her two daughters to a private English-medium school. Every morning, Laxmi lifted hundred-kilogram sacks of potatoes. Every evening, she helped her daughters with their fractions. Her power was not in a boardroom, but in the calluses on her palms.