Nepal, Jan. 19 -- Kalawati wasn't the type of woman who needed validation. Yet, she felt deep satisfaction in her bones when people passing on the streets fixated their eyes on her a bit longer. As she walked on the pavement, Kalawati wondered what Sharma Ji would think of her if he were to encounter her now. Perhaps he would think that this was her everyday routine. "No, no. I am doing this only today. I don't know what came over me," she would defend her actions in fear that he would get a bad impression of her.

If Sharma Ji asked her where she was going and why she was clad in this flashy outfit, what would she say? Would she be able to tell everything about the pudgy woman and what she said? Oh, this is so puzzling, she thought. She ...