I have been thin and lean since childhood,” says Sukhdeep Singh, “and suffered from a weak constitution. I’d fall ill every time the weather changed or even if I drank cold water. Even my sisters would tease me, calling me weak like a girl.”

Growing up in Barrackpore Kolkata, among one of the six Sikh families, Singh’s cultural identity was tied to his religion.  “Until I was in Class VI or VII,” says the now Noida-resident, “I would go to the Gurudwara every week with my parents, and for all the important days and celebrations including Guru Nanak Jayanti. But eventually, I stopped, because this was the 1990s, before cable TV—on Sunday mornings, Doordarshan played cartoons and Chitrahaar.”