Ask for a bottle of water at a roadside shop in India, and there is a good chance you will hear someone say, “Ek Bisleri dena.” The customer may eventually receive a different brand, but the name Bisleri has become so familiar that people often use it when asking for packaged drinking water. For a…
If you grew up in India, there is a good chance you have used a Nataraj or Apsara pencil. Maybe it was the familiar red-and-black Nataraj in your school pencil box. Or perhaps you remember Apsara pencils from drawing classes, examinations or art projects. For years, many Indian students treated them as competing brands. But…
When people in India think about bhujia, namkeen, sweets or quick Indian meals, Haldiram’s is one of the first names that usually comes to mind. The brand has become so familiar that it is easy to forget how modest its beginnings actually were. Long before Haldiram’s became a name found in supermarkets, airports, restaurants and…
Natural Ice Cream is a well-known brand today, but it started with very humble beginnings. The story shows you that you do not need privilege to achieve your dreams. When you work hard and stay dedicated, you can succeed. Raghunandan Srinivas Kamath, the founder of Natural Ice Cream, is a great example for you. He…
During World War II, Maharaja Jam Saheb Digvijaysinhji of Nawanagar gave displaced Polish children something the war had taken from them: a safe place to grow up, an education, and a sense of belonging. History often remembers wars through military victories, political decisions, and the leaders who shaped the course of nations. But some of…
When World War II ended in 1945, the Allied powers faced a new challenge. Germany had been defeated, but its advances in rocketry, aviation, weapons development, and engineering remained valuable. The United States wanted to use that knowledge to strengthen its military capabilities and gain an advantage over the Soviet Union as relations between the…
Look at an Indian banknote and there is one face you will recognize immediately. Mahatma Gandhi. His portrait has been part of India’s banknotes for decades, and for many people it is difficult to imagine Indian currency without it. But Gandhi’s face was not always on Indian banknotes. In fact, the story is more complicated…
In the winter of 1910, a deadly epidemic began spreading through Manchuria, a region in northeastern China, killing people at an alarming rate and creating fear across towns, railway stations and crowded settlements. Doctors struggled to understand the disease, and many of the treatments available at the time offered little protection against an infection that…
