https://www.sarah-lamb.com/home daily 1.0 2026-05-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/6632deb5-58c7-49d4-aa88-47a34953e013/PXL_20260508_182622172.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/5dca5773-4c46-488f-ac9c-8d440a61d142/SectaAI_tsndUhYx.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/ead6e5ff-5b14-418b-9432-47da2e0a5598/laughing+club.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/cc4db491-a1ac-42b4-be4e-5c532a2e8e08/portrait+tiny+dolls.jpeg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/9937e18e-dc04-4d94-82ab-d74c4628a400/white+sari+in+a+market.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/676c4652-973a-4d34-8b91-b937157c6203/PXL_20260508_181635689.TS-000.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/8848a1bb-11b8-4582-ba1f-107fb84b8d2c/PXL_20260508_182317468-EDIT.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/278172cc-78d9-48d3-b43e-cad075ba731c/SL+lecture.jpg Home - Invite She is currently working on a new book: I’d Rather Be Dead than Old, and Other Visions and Dilemmas of Aging Well (work in progress), which delves into the paradox of a contemporary culture obsessed with “successful aging” yet deeply uneasy with old age itself. Blending stories from the United States and India—and reflections from her own life—anthropologist Sarah Lamb explores how people variously embrace, resist, negotiate, and reimagine dominant ideals of aging well. She is happy to talk (virtually or in person) about this project or, more broadly, about aging, singleness, family, and gender. https://www.sarah-lamb.com/about daily 0.75 2026-07-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/ae4468f7-e2c2-4a00-a144-0c0d5edcbfac/SL+interview+older+lady.webp About Description here test test https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/e7a8453d-21f2-49b5-a55a-600c08e9e595/SL+fieldwork.jpg About Three women engaged in a conversation outside a house, with metal vessels and containers in the background. The woman in traditional attire is animatedly talking, while the older woman listens. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/7c3c19af-b6d1-47ce-b855-15736592a483/PXL_20260508_174123118.TS-000.jpg About Three women sitting on a bench indoors, smiling at the camera, wearing traditional sarees, with a wicker chair behind them and a plain wall with a small wooden decoration. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/fe4f60f7-cabf-4f15-899f-013cd1090354/IMG_0287.jpeg About A smiling woman with glasses and a smiling man wearing a suit and tie taking a selfie together inside a room with large windows showing trees and a clear blue sky outside. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/74006c58-94d9-4f9b-a5fc-ccdcf025dc85/PXL_20260508_180418595.MP.jpg About 1989 SL in Bengal https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/3f3e1fcc-091f-400e-a456-ea79597f02ca/PXL_20260508_180439849.TS-000.jpg About A woman sitting on a wooden boat in a lake or river, smiling, with a group of local men in traditional clothing and headscarves standing in the background, during sunset or sunrise. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/00e91c47-2d7a-494e-b7e2-321169294b76/sarah+interviewing+family.png About Group of women sitting on a mat and a woman writing in a notebook, inside a rustic house with bamboo roof https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/50af1ef2-6b6a-44e5-97c1-10a034287ee2/PXL_20260508_182839893.jpg About Woman smiling in front of colorful striped woven fabrics displayed at an outdoor market. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/eeb9eb74-4cb3-4864-bc59-37c541ddcd54/IMG_1261.jpeg About Two women are smiling and taking a selfie indoors near a window. One woman has brown hair, glasses on her head, and is wearing a black top. The other has curly white hair, glasses, and is wearing a blue shirt with a beige cardigan. Outside the window, a street with trees and a car can be seen. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/a9a41685-0758-4529-9285-2fd8e26150d5/PXL_20260508_182407746.TS-000-EDIT.jpg About Group portrait of smiling women and elderly woman with glasses outdoors, with a white wall and flowering bushes in the background. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/06ff03f7-33f0-4ce0-b570-a3e7f039cec9/PXL_20260508_180225005.TS-000.jpg About A group of three people sitting on a rug inside a room with open windows and natural light. The man on the left has a beard, is smiling, and is wearing a striped shirt. The woman in the middle is holding a small cup, wears traditional Indian attire with jewelry, has curly hair, and a red bindi on her forehead. The woman on the right is smiling, wearing traditional Indian clothing with a bindi, sitting with her hands on her lap. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/6cf8ef18-fa12-4389-b194-ae2d22f25223/IMG_0857.jpeg About A woman and an elderly man outdoors, both wearing glasses. The woman is smiling, and the man has a neutral expression. They are standing beside a building with a pink wall and wooden paneling, with trees in the background. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/92ce9749-8750-4a0c-a448-70faaa8e586f/PXL_20260508_175750057.jpg About Group of people, including children and adults, gathered by a riverbank with trees and blue sky, engaging in traditional activities. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/8bd6b37f-5fb4-4b18-90c3-c4b4fa65285d/IMG_0861.jpeg About Three women stand together outside on a sunny day. One woman is smiling, wearing glasses and a patterned dress. The second woman is in the middle, with glasses and a scarf around her neck. The third woman, on the right, wears glasses and a pink traditional dress with white flowers. There are trees and a building with red walls in the background. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/21754462-39ac-4b12-84d2-1621218ea687/PXL_20260508_182123257-EDIT.jpg About A house with a rusty corrugated metal roof, cracked and weathered walls, small narrow window with bars, surrounded by green foliage and a bamboo fence in front. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/7e21ba38-f046-4203-a00e-d9398db22140/IMG_0796.jpeg About Two women sitting together in the backseat of a car, smiling at the camera. One woman has short dark hair, glasses, and wears a patterned blouse, while the other has longer light brown hair, glasses, and wears a black patterned jacket. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/79591b79-b43f-46a5-b1e7-b639a099572d/sarah+in+sari+with+3+women.png About Four women sitting together outside near a white wall and window with bars, dressed in colorful traditional Indian attire, smiling and looking at the camera. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/ace3757b-2377-4c3e-bb28-1c104ccf7f11/sarah+and+a+birthday+cake.png About Senior women celebrate a birthday together, cutting a cake with a lit candle, surrounded by flowers and party decorations. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/f7a48c1d-2c34-4e05-9b9a-280e3cf5e622/sarah+holding+baby.png About A group of five women, including one holding a baby, posing together inside a room with brick walls. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/6058e48f-843a-4058-a805-066f91adce27/sarah+and+medtha.png About A group of people, including two women in the foreground, standing on a busy street at night. One woman is wearing a white traditional outfit with glasses and a blue bag, while the other woman is in a green ethnic dress with glasses. Behind them are street vendors, including a red ice cream cart, and buses, with several pedestrians and buildings in the background. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/101e041d-c226-4305-be2f-9637387aa672/secta.ai_017.jpg https://www.sarah-lamb.com/contact daily 0.75 2026-07-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/69749bb0-9d8d-47c2-b4ba-be5a6ae95e6e/secta.ai_018.jpg https://www.sarah-lamb.com/publications daily 0.75 2026-07-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/55e5c4db-75f1-4ca8-b364-27ea3308e327/Being+single+in+india+book+cover.jpg Publications (author) U of California Press 2022 - In Being Single in India, Sarah Lamb examines the growing number of never-married women in India and the social, economic, and cultural forces that make singlehood both increasingly possible and deeply challenging. Through the stories of women across generations, classes, castes, and sexual identities, the book reveals how changing attitudes toward marriage illuminate broader transformations in gender, kinship, freedom, and belonging in contemporary India. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/05b675b7-b9ae-43de-b8af-9e83f3613916/opting+out.jpg Publications Rutger University Press 2022 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/83d84735-33bb-4cdc-8daa-1c4f239e75f4/aging+book+cover.jpg Publications (editor) Rutgers University Press 2017 In recent decades, the North American public has pursued an inspirational vision of successful aging—striving through medical technique and individual effort to eradicate the declines, vulnerabilities, and dependencies previously commonly associated with old age. On the face of it, this bold new vision of successful, healthy, and active aging is highly appealing. But it also rests on a deep cultural discomfort with aging and being old. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/8bc59b57-098e-4534-afb3-f64ec9cd66d0/waithood.jpg Publications Berghahn Books 2020 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/ed613029-e3af-45ef-8044-6cf5dc2afcc7/Aging+and+the+Indian+Diasporia.png Publications (author) University of Indiana Press 2009 - The proliferation of old age homes and increasing numbers of elderly living alone are startling new phenomena in India. These trends are related to extensive overseas migration and the transnational dispersal of families. In this moving and insightful account, Sarah Lamb shows that older persons are innovative agents in the processes of social-cultural change. Lamb's study probes debates and cultural assumptions in both India and the United States regarding how best to age; the proper social-moral relationship among individuals, genders, families, the market, and the state; and ways of finding meaning in the human life course. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/97c4e041-5139-4774-9a5d-1c2f890fab79/The+Cultural+Context+of+Aging-+Worldwide+Perspectives.jpg Publications Praeger 2020 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/23cbfc62-a657-4acd-87d1-9adfeefcabfe/everyday+aging.jpeg Publications (editor) Indiana University Press 2002/2009 This anthology provides a lively and stimulating view of the lives of ordinary citizens in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. For the second edition of this popular textbook, readings have been updated and new essays added. The result is a timely collection that explores key themes in understanding the region, including gender, caste, class, religion, globalization, economic liberalization, nationalism, and emerging modernities. New readings focus attention on the experiences of the middle classes, migrant workers, and IT professionals, and on media, consumerism, and youth culture. Clear and engaged writing makes this text particularly valuable for general and student readers, while the range of new and classic scholarship provides a useful resource for specialists. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/7d123df6-75e4-4dc1-88e2-dccbf9efa663/transnational+aging.jpg Publications Routledge 2016 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/063305b6-7837-4815-813d-903a23a3201b/white+saris+book+cover.jpeg Publications (author) University of California Press 2000 This rich ethnography explores beliefs and practices surrounding aging in a rural Bengali village. Sarah Lamb focuses on how villagers' visions of aging are tied to the making and unmaking of gendered selves and social relations over a lifetime. Lamb uses a focus on age as a means not only to open up new ways of thinking about South Asian social life, but also to contribute to contemporary theories of gender, the body, and culture, which have been hampered, the book argues, by a static focus on youth. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/e63e9227-6fb4-4935-b4bb-d6172ad6191d/Indian+Diaspora-+Voices+of+the+Diasporic+Elders+in+Five+2008.jpg Publications Sense Publishers 2008 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/30c421cf-9593-4f1e-88b8-466b83921489/dirt+undresss+cover.jpeg Publications University of Indiana Press 2005 https://www.sarah-lamb.com/research daily 0.75 2026-05-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/00e91c47-2d7a-494e-b7e2-321169294b76/sarah+interviewing+family.png Research - Research Sarah Lamb is a cultural and medical anthropologist whose research focuses on aging, gender, families, ethical strivings, and understandings of personhood in India and the United States. She has conducted research in West Bengal and among Indian immigrants to the United States, as well as native-born Americans in the San Francisco and Boston areas and the US South. https://www.sarah-lamb.com/teaching daily 0.75 2026-07-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/0949d09e-0e1a-4318-ab5c-76d36c451347/SL+teaching+2.jpg Teaching https://www.sarah-lamb.com/media daily 0.75 2026-07-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/3e0e9470-6d86-4e3a-8124-872b67f71a04/new+books+network.jpg Media https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/3e0e9470-6d86-4e3a-8124-872b67f71a04/new+books+network.jpg Media https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/5adc0021-74bb-49a7-ab48-7d89844c2f0b/Screenshot+2026-05-11+at+7.51.45+PM.png Media https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/2fb85314-e802-4ee2-aef8-66a1a487b5e8/vogue+business.webp Media https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/cba9f160-a3c0-4793-98da-fc77a6828440/Washington-Post-Logo.jpg Media https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/3e909b94-cf13-4a9e-a759-7612e0cc1f67/PL.png Media https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/f9b83264-727e-4594-8a66-c4416d9c71ca/livemint-logo-vector.png Media https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/b16095e5-7d3a-4d0a-a19a-3910187afe9f/wbur.jpg Media https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/41594da2-288a-469e-96de-95dfcdd06b8b/Screenshot+2026-05-14+at+4.41.26+PM.png Media https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/624dfe24-a595-4456-8f5b-e3bdebd82de1/the-hindu-logo.png Media https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/29d5fd56-a68f-4f28-91a6-7124fda7e2e6/UR+seal.png Media https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/59c54606-558a-473c-90bb-093ca25719e1/the-guardian-logo-vector.png Media https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/ccb3c26f-d11e-4428-b6b9-74ccc9260161/PXL_20260508_182123257-EDIT.jpg Media Sarah's first fieldwork residence in Mangaldihi 1989-1990 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/5741b46e-841a-481d-ac08-7b4066e4b222/PXL_20260508_180545812.jpg Media Khudi Thakrun ("Grandmother little speck of rice"), 97, the oldest woman in the village of Mangaldihi, featured in White Saris and Sweet Mangoes, 1990 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/cda3f810-92fd-4fa8-b7a7-ac59842c4309/PXL_20260508_175811147.TS-000.jpg Media Khudi Thakrun and her sister in Mangaldihi, 1990 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/421bd39d-a6ce-4d5f-a530-378fa1057174/PXL_20260508_180147352.MP.jpg Media Death ritual in Mangaldihi, 1990 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/b49d15bb-3c0a-4a45-b35a-46323573bd22/PXL_20260508_180216508.jpg Media Death ritual in Mangaldihi, 1990 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/c59553ff-caee-4b06-b555-9038bc9d294a/PXL_20260508_180201775.jpg Media Death ritual in Mangaldihi, 1990 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/ff91ca0f-2217-4f2c-9e2d-b163d826827e/PXL_20260508_180208899.jpg Media Death ritual in Mangaldihi, 1990 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/041d1b25-609f-4166-a2f9-088f4d9c0e05/PXL_20260508_180153743.jpg Media Wedding Car in Mangaldihi, 1990 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/8b32a81d-ba80-4792-9aca-b17a1cce9395/PXL_20260508_180529362.jpg Media Mangaldihi's main beggar featured in White Saris and Sweet Mangoes, 1990 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/3b7c26fe-3d03-4f6f-b257-61921514825b/group+of+women.jpg Media Group of elite women living in a posh new senior residence in the suburbs of Kolkata, 2022 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/a44d4e1f-12e1-45fa-bfab-a498fdbb9d68/PXL_20260508_182937648.TS-000.jpg Media A group of older women receiving free noon meal at Calcutta Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, featured in Aging and the Indian Diaspora, 2006 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/5afa4865-1f5a-4817-b941-d1f0c9bc7a63/PXL_20260508_180536464.jpg Media Older Dalit widow wearing a colorful sari despite dominant caste norms of elder women wearing white in Mangaldihi, 1990 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/9d3bf150-8beb-4f0b-bdf3-f94ba1d2dfbf/PXL_20260508_182911692-EDIT.jpg Media Older woman asking for alms in Nabadwip, a holy city for Krishna followers, 1990 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/8779cd17-ab51-48d6-8173-c1b7afb5ec77/PXL_20260508_182503422.jpg Media Street shrine in Kolkata, 2006 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/7e4bd005-cb18-423a-946f-58ca45efe67d/PXL_20260508_182233916.TS-000.jpg Media A mountain landscape with cloudy sky and a building with laundry hanging on a balcony in the foreground https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/5514d977-b695-4310-abf5-3c53e7eee342/PXL_20260508_182331185.jpg Media Older woman in a old age home featured in Aging and the Indian Diaspora, 2006 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/c5e22f65-4723-4b6c-a481-38cae110dd92/PXL_20260508_182153591.MP.jpg Media A street scene in India with two men, one standing and the other sitting, near a vegetable cart. The man standing is barefoot, and the man sitting is smiling. There are crates, bags, and a fire pit with burning wood on the ground. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/0624d643-2c9b-4e97-9492-43f7317bd5f9/PXL_20260508_182530829.jpg Media Tea vendor in the outskirts of Kolkata, 2005 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/7dcda6de-1918-48b8-be1d-68b1bb8757e0/PXL_20260508_182040370.jpg Media Woman washing dishes in a pond in Mangaldihi, 1990 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/8848a1bb-11b8-4582-ba1f-107fb84b8d2c/PXL_20260508_182317468-EDIT.jpg Media Senior Residence Home in Kolkata featured in Aging in the Indian Diaspora, 2006 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/5958e739-88da-48c8-8858-cbdd215a450b/PXL_20260508_181712574-EDIT.jpg Media Fishing for dinner in Kolkata, 2005 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/d8fce131-e1e4-405f-b9c7-bafe17af6821/PXL_20260508_181438841-EDIT.jpg Media Women dressed in traditional Indian attire performing a religious ritual with offerings on a sacred lamp, surrounded by leaf plates with food and decorative items. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/fc51340a-a625-4b50-a59f-6b2396cccc28/PXL_20260508_182717664-EDIT.jpg Media Traditional round house with a thatched roof and small window within a rural setting, surrounded by trees and dry grass. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/6632deb5-58c7-49d4-aa88-47a34953e013/PXL_20260508_182622172.jpg Media A cluster of jackfruit hanging from a tree trunk surrounded by green leaves and plants. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/27518e38-ca8f-4bbc-b359-f188a3af5f63/PXL_20260508_182804400-EDIT.jpg Media Anti-war posters in Kolkata https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/d104b594-fe9f-459d-8502-23d1ec8fe72b/PXL_20260508_182334987.jpg Media Renuka-di at an old age home, featured in Aging and the Indian Diaspora, 2005 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/fc0b7e9b-3ba1-4446-8b3a-08f5b655830d/PXL_20260508_182614751.jpg Media The back of a blue and yellow motorized vehicle decorated with Indian flags and safety warnings, including a stop sign and a caution message in English and Hindi. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/482e9e3e-d99c-40a7-a15b-74bdf5b62abe/PXL_20260508_181937184.jpg Media A brick wall with a metal chain-link fence on top, secured by a concrete top layer with circular bricks. The area behind the fence has dry grass and some grass growing at the base of the wall. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/e9125c24-20ee-4a9e-bf34-d77fd6f35def/PXL_20260508_181818341-EDIT.jpg Media A busy street scene in an urban area with many people walking, some carrying umbrellas. There are buildings with various signs, trees, and market stalls selling goods. The architecture appears typical of South Asian cities. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/676c4652-973a-4d34-8b91-b937157c6203/PXL_20260508_181635689.TS-000.jpg Media Street fruit market with colorful fruits such as oranges, bananas, apples, and pomegranates in baskets, shopkeepers, and women and children in traditional clothing. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/6eb8d073-46f5-448a-91e2-3a2a5385ba2e/PXL_20260508_182301651.jpg Media A monkey sitting in front of a colorful decorative structure with painted religious symbols and Hindu script, surrounded by other objects and people. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/c1a02c2f-0837-403c-b7c2-9e982433179b/PXL_20260508_181808485.MP-EDIT.jpg Media A cityscape with a mix of modern and traditional buildings, some with rooftop terraces, under a cloudy sky. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/8b5e2c94-4c7c-4ce3-9920-5132adb3902c/PXL_20260508_180521424-EDIT.jpg Media Varanasi ghat, one of the most sacred sites for death rituals, 1990 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/99a136bc-993c-4060-b238-481f45d89bd4/PXL_20260508_180510129-EDIT.jpg Media Varanasi, 1990 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/c7828e22-c918-4194-9ad7-460192ab1020/PXL_20260508_180456423-EDIT.jpg Media Varanasi, 1990 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/f1462340-675d-4a23-a9cc-15a82a5533a3/PXL_20260508_181221749.jpg Media Pilgrimage from Mangaldihi to Puri, 1990 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/7ded6b06-7c65-4890-85c5-e8b68abce8ea/PXL_20260508_175724299.jpg Media Four women walking along a dirt road through a dry, sparse landscape with small bushes, carrying loads on their heads. In the background, there is a green, hilly area with a fence. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/26035105-1a70-4bc2-ad38-f95b8d454e81/PXL_20260508_175741992.jpg Media Ancient structure with multiple archways, made of stone and brick, possibly part of a historic fort or city gate. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/02d0c4ee-044a-4dc4-899f-a9deecf7431a/PXL_20260508_174422555.jpg Media An elderly man with white hair and a white towel around his waist sitting outdoors near a fire with a cart and trees in the background. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/add5707c-248a-4d89-b02c-223ad251f1c5/PXL_20260508_175712786.jpg Media Sun setting behind distant mountains with a sky painted in orange and pink hues. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/f7ed0cea-46af-4048-aaf2-744e435084fd/PXL_20260508_175645958.jpg Media Photo of a traditional rural house with a tiled roof and clay pots outside. There are trees in the background and some straw or dried grass on the roof. Items like a woven basket and pottery are visible near the house. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/025c9525-546a-4e9b-840f-24411a51bd7b/PXL_20260508_175505218-EDIT.jpg Media Syamcand in the main Brahman temple in Mangaldihi, 2006 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/9ac553db-774d-497c-a32e-4abebdd0a242/bed+with+doll.jpg Media Nayani's household shrine in Kolkata featured in Being Single in India, 2015 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/6e5785a5-bc58-4606-bf30-6d674772c9bd/old+woman%2C+why.jpg Media Malobika at the Government of West Bengal Working Girls Hostel featured in Being Single in India, 2018 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/2f3852d1-630f-4a6a-9d9b-989d8ddc785e/cooking+on+balcony.jpg Media Malobika at the Government of West Bengal Working Girls Hostel featured in Being Single in India, 2022 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/81ec57ff-f415-4983-8356-d0c768f54d9c/apt+balcony+copy.jpg Media Government of West Bengal Working Girls Hostel featured in Being Single in India, 2022 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/56fa443b-6ef4-47c3-b462-ae21620ef66c/women+at+temple.png Media Old age home temple in Kolkata, 2006 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/8988948f-0018-4e40-8e27-6b27cd9ba6b1/medtha+and+friends.png Media Medha and single woman friends featured in Being Single in India, Kolkata, 2016 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/169c64f3-b35b-4b78-b8a1-5345a267d4c6/portrait+of+a+serious+woman.png Media Koyra Bou featured in both White Saris and Sweet Mangoes and "Being a Widow and Other Life Stories." approximately 2015. She died at 100 in 2025. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/cc1204c7-5772-4a23-9030-180e1f0c00fd/umbrella.jpg Media A single woman in her 40s who moved into an old-age home as a safe place to live in 2006. One inspiration for Sarah's later singlehood research https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/4c897427-12c4-4a8d-a9ae-8c77442b7bd6/SL+aging+in+india+research.jpg Media Bengali widow who wears red, defying cultural norms where widows traditionally wear white and especially avoid red (the color of marriage and sexuality), 2020 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/4bc33bf2-6903-4fcb-b2ad-60ef1f1dc0ef/red+sari.jpg Media Bengali widow who wears red, defying cultural norms where widows traditionally wear white and especially avoid red (the color of marriage and sexuality), 2020 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/829e0c76-cb4c-490a-956d-4204fc336674/outdoor+cooking.JPG Media Elder Bengali woman cooking puffed rice (muri) in Mangaldihi, 1990 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/7fd882d4-07eb-47e5-bd7c-6d0fa5b48bde/railroad+tracks.JPG Media View of railway tracks with people and market stalls on both sides, buildings in the background, and greenery on the left; seen from a bridge or overpass. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/70d6df37-ed77-4223-96c8-d35732a76239/rice+fields.jpg Media A lush green rice field beneath a clear sky at sunset, with a small structure and distant trees on the horizon. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/117e8dc0-612d-4743-9cfd-28e52c524e32/India+Manjuri+and+Ma+2006.jpg Media Mithu and Ma featured in White Saris and Sweet Mangoes, 2006 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69c179c6c2e0c93e6dc30959/431a34a6-9c47-405a-aa99-717e0553ab60/IMG_0702.jpeg Media An elderly woman in traditional attire and an elderly man in casual clothing and barefoot standing outside next to a light blue wall.