India, Oct. 31 -- "I come from a very simple, humble background." K Sivakumar's every sentence was punctuated by inconsolable tears. "Please forgive me if I get emotional."

I had reached out to the former CFO of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) after being moved like hundreds of thousands of other Indians on reading his now viral Linkedin post.

Sivakumar's 34-year-old daughter Akshaya died all of a sudden - without any forewarning of illness or tests - from a brain haemorrhage, from what was most likely an aneurysm. When he spoke of his daughter, he spoke with the pride of so many self-made, middle-class Indians who have often struggled and worked extraordinarily hard, clawing their way up the social and economic ladder so th...