KeralaIn an office on a verdant campus Sabriye Tenberken settles into a chair and composes the expression on her face. Directly across from her a man in a uniform, a Russian ushanka (winter hat), and flash-lens aviators murmurs to himself while adjusting his shoulder-strap insignia. Two women with notebooks on their laps straighten their shoulders and begin to describe projects they hope to launch: one, a support group for women with albinism and another, a program on safe sex. Tenberken interrupts. "Look, Governor Crown is very busy," she says, pretending to be the official's irritable sister. "If you want to donate money, then we can talk."

The women look crestfallen as the governor continues to mop his brow, laugh without explanation,