DANYA - INDIA

Danya was born and raised in a small one-bedroom shack the slums of New Delhi, India.  She is now a mother of eight children and the grandmother of more grandchildren than she can count.  Nothing makes Danya more happy than seeing her grandchildren everyday as she lives with her youngest daughter in that same one-bedroom shack in the slums of New Delhi.

Danya’s husband passed away in an industrial accident several years ago, and since then Danya has been relying on her daughter to take care of her.  This is very common in Indian culture, as families tend to live together in very small spaces and find pride in taking care of one another.

Danya is too old to hold a job that requires physical labor, so she often takes care of the domestic work while her daughter and grandchildren go out in the city to look for day jobs.  When Danya is not taking care of the small grandchildren, she is bent over a large copper bot mixing spices with vegetables cooking up one of her famous vegetable curries.  Danya loves the sweet smell of cardamom and ginger, and finds that it makes anything taste better.  Her favorite dish to prepare is called Magh Korma, a vegetable curry made from potatoes, cauliflower, and spices.