Born in 1958

Kishore Kumar was making audiences laugh and swoon in equal measure. Life in Indian cities had a rhythm: morning pooja, tiffin boxes, office hours, then an evening stroll and perhaps a film. The joint family was still the norm — grandparents, parents and children under one roof, decisions made collectively.

Scooters were beginning to appear on city streets, but most people still walked or cycled. The monsoon was as unpredictable as ever, and a good harvest still determined whether a village prospered.