A few years ago I was traveling in remote Uttar Pradesh, in the north of India.
I stayed the night in a village at the border with Madhya Pradesh and I was introduced to a man who gave me a tour and answered all my queries. Everyone in the village referred to him as the ‘headman’, but it was only when I was leaving the next morning that I saw a huge billboard with the picture of a demure woman, hands folded in greeting. Below the picture was her name and then her designation. It was she who was the head of that village.
