South Asian women have a pivotal role in food preparation, both inside and outside the home. In a primarily agrarian society where 80 percent of the population still lives in villages, the social transformations of rapid globalization are more evident in urban areas. The rural life of South Asia is still guided by a continuity of well-entrenched traditions. Terracotta sculptures from eighth-century Buddhist architecture in eastern India depict women engaging in a whole range of activities such a…