Archana Kumari: Carving a future by design

Archana Kumari overcame Bihar's staunch social norms to take her craft to the world

For a girl born in a village in Ramnagar, Bihar, life is pretty much already chalked out. She gets to study a bit during her childhood, learns the household chores as she grows, takes care of her younger siblings, is married off young, has children, looks after her in-laws and husband, cooks and keeps home and hearth together.

She doesn’t leave the village to travel to the United States alone at the age of 14. She doesn’t get to study in a metropolitan where she stays in hostels. She doesn’t start a company or live alone or refuse to marry and