India, July 13 -- By Ashvini Ranjan

Age is just a number', a phrase I had often heard but understood only much later in life. And funnily, the lesson came to me from two unexpected corners: One, from a former domestic helper named Chenna and the other from the sky, quite literally and no jokes!

Back in the 1950s, my sister and I attended Good Shepherd School. Every morning, we rode a Tonga (a single-horse-driven carriage) from our home in Shivarampet.

On certain days, the Tonga didn't show up, which was, in fact, more often than one would expect. On those days of no-show, Chenna, our loyal domestic help, would ferry us to school on his bicycle.

While my six-year-old sister sat on the carrier at the back of the cycle, I sat on the cros...