Promoting my new book ‘India Exposed’ involves writing articles and talking talks which demand a killer intro., a first paragraph that will grip the audience.

(Former colleague Vincent Mulchrone of the Daily Mail, the King of Intro’s, produced his best on the eve of the 1966 World Cup when he wrote, ‘West Germany may beat us at our national sport today, but that would be only fair. We beat them twice at theirs.’)

But what subject could adequately introduce the anarchistic, archaic, madness that is India, where half the nation ignore the red tape created by the other half, creating a billion-strong circus that somehow works?

Salvation came today with news of Punjab taxi driver Harpreet Dev who in 2003 found his Fiat drove only in reverse so – being Indian – he adapted the gear box to have four reverse gears and one forward, painted ‘Back Gear Champian’ on the side, and now drives only backwards at speeds up to 50 mph, thanks to a special government licence to reverse anywhere in the State. Thanks Harpreet.