India, April 21 -- At a recent gathering, I found myself seated next to a woman adjusting her Dior glasses while scrolling through the RSVP list for a kirtan (prayer meeting) at her house. In her mid-sixties, she exuded precision. The bindi was perfectly centered, the French manicure gleamed, and between discussions of temple prasad and her next Bali vacation, she sighed, "They call me the Nita Ambani of Gurugram."

I smiled. Of course.

In an era where identity is curated like an Instagram feed, Nita Ambani is the reigning deity of the rich and restless - a modern-day Lakshmi draped in Gucci, accessorised with heritage, and enveloped in the purest Himalayan air money can buy. For young women married into business dynasties, she is both a...