All men are not born equal. We do not start at the same points. If life is a race, the starting points differ for all. Thus, to determine the magnitude of progress one was able to achieve during one's lifetime, is to meticulously trace the starting point and then measure the distance all the way to the end point, figuratively. My Grandfather came from a small village inside what was once the capital of one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas, the ancient Viratnagar, where the Pandavas, the heroes of the 'Mahabharata' are believed to have spent their Agyatvasa, the exile with the defining condition of maintaining the secrecy of their identity and to remain unfound. By way of inheritance, a small stretch of some semi-arid land had fallen to his father's share. It fel l on his mother alone to shoulder the responsibility of raising him and his siblings. For me, she embodies the archetype of 'Mother India', played by Nargis in the film of the same name. She and in genera...