Born in 1950

India was just three years old as a free nation, and there was an electric sense of possibility in the air. Jawaharlal Nehru's government was busy building the foundations of a new republic — dams, steel plants, universities. Most families still lived in villages, cooking on chulhas and listening to All India Radio for news.

A bicycle was a prized possession, and a cinema ticket was the greatest luxury a working man could afford. The country was young, hopeful, and hungry for its future.