India, Feb. 1 -- Stephen Huyler pedalled into India on his twentieth birthday in 1971, carrying what he now openly acknowledges were the advantages of being a white male - letters of introduction to luminaries like Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay and Rukmini Devi Arundale. But what sets him apart is how he transformed these initial privileges into five decades of genuine cultural immersion and feminist advocacy.

His journey started almost by chance or should we call it destiny? Back in the US, he'd been a disinterested student until he began doing chores for his neighbor, who happened to be the pioneering Dada artist Beatrice Wood. This introduction to art sparked what would become a 52-year exploration of Indian villages and subcultures, leadi...