Bullet Nani

What do a doctor, model, war-zone medic, entrepreneur, activist, YouTuber, shopkeeper, teacher, martial artist, wine-maker, police inspector and nuclear scientist have in common? They’re all badass, rule-breaking grandmas!

Contemporary Indian women are smashing the patriarchy every day. Many of them are the first generation in their families to invest in their education, move cities for work, marry on their own terms and continue to build a career after having kids. But all around us are the women who sowed the seeds for this change generations ago. Some did so quietly while others were outright revolutionaries.

Inspired by her own nani who broke barriers, Jasreen Mayal Khanna set out to find more such Indian grandmas. She discovered women who pushed boundaries from their youth all the way into old age – they’ve dodged bombs and bullets, were among India’s first scientists and IPS officers, faced down threats and garnered huge fan followings online. Based on four years of research and in-person interviews from all across India, Jasreen draws intimate and moving portraits of a nani, dadi, aaji, ammoomma, thakurma, abi, abok and baa who refused to be put in a box.

These twelve women are among the many who, in the face of entrenched patriarchy, laid the seeds for future generations to live their lives on their own terms.