“What independence had changed was our people. You could see it in the way they stood, chests puffed, as if they could finally allow themselves to breathe. You saw it in the way they walked – purposefully, pridefully – to their temples. The way they haggled – more boldly than before – with the vendors in the bazaar.”

“What independence had changed was our people. You could see it in the way they stood, chests puffed, as if they could finally allow themselves to breathe. You saw it in the way they walked – purposefully, pridefully – to their temples. The way they haggled – more boldly than before – with the vendors in the bazaar.”

— Alka Joshi