Greetings from Andhra Pradesh, India, where a fragrant food stand feeds working women

Far-Flung Postcards is a weekly series in which NPR's international team shares moments from their lives and work around the world.

In the one-horse town of Marikavalasa in India's eastern coastal state of Andhra Pradesh, I spent an afternoon interviewing working women on the main street. Patterns emerged: The women, clad in neat saris, sat before tidy stalls made of rescued plywood and propped up by a few bricks.

The women would agree to chat, or be interviewed, but they'd excuse themselves briskly. There was a trade to be done, an eggplant to sell, colorful bangles, a devotional lamp.

Many of these women were in debt to their neighbors, to pay for medical care, a school fee. They patiently explained they had to repay their dues to stay in good standing in their community.

But as dusk