Not too many times in history has India got a chance to grandstand its economic prowess before the world. Now that the economy is robust—and what better example than the gains in the stock market through September—a part of India is seizing this chance with both hands. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) certainly is, and so are its private partners in scripting India’s infrastructure expansion story. After the glitzy T3 at Delhi airport made headlines, airports across the country have come into focus. This issue we’ve an interview with the AAI Chairman V.P. Agrawal and take a look at how his organization is taking the lead in shaping modern India’s new image, one that exudes confidence in concrete and glass, and brings better traffic management through a combination of ground and satellite based technology. Let’s celebrate, because this could just mark the turning point in showcasing that India can be world class when it really wants to be.

Elsewhere in the magazine we bring you an article on Indian origin cricketer Daren Ganga—a rage last year at the CLT20 in India—falling in love with a Pakistani girl, and marrying her. Also, there’s an interview with British Indian actress Fagun Thakrar, a young medical student in London who gave up her passion for medicine in order to pursue her first love—cinema, and isn’t doing too badly. 

Samuel Stokes was the son of a successful businessman in America that pioneered elevators, but he gave up his cushy lifestyle and introduced the juicy Louisiana apples in Shimla. The rest is history, but Stokes is largely forgotten. But what is significant apart from the apple story is that he took part in India’s monumental struggle for freedom from British rule. The Stokes story is quite a throwback into history.

There are plenty of columns on India’s booming stock markets, and hope you are reading them carefully in order to make some serious gains. There are also columns on body and mind, and on historical anecdotes associated with the many adventures of Indian immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

And how inspiring it is for us to bring to you the story of an Indo-American teenager who discovered early in life that the best way to happiness was by helping the underprivileged. Indeed, the way she’s gone about doing that in different continents is noble. 

Happy reading.