Empowered by new IT, that is exactly what Indian entrepreneurs like Narayan Murthy, Nandan Nilekani, Ajim Premji and Shiv Nadar began doing about 30 years ago, breaking through the Kafkaesque bureaucracy of the Indian License Raj.

FORBES: Two Technologies Propelling India Forward

"It's a holistic approach to jewelry as a work of art, " explained Dr. Amin Jaffer, international director of Asian Art at Christie's and author of "Made for Maharajas, " a book on the objects commissioned by Indian princes during the British Raj.

WSJ: Jewelry's Hidden Finishes Take Center Stage

Manoj Benjamin, chairman of Royal Indian Raj International Corp. (RIRIC), says the population is suddenly more attuned to what is available, and thus desirable, thanks to its travels abroad and on the Internet.

FORBES: Inside India's Luxury Housing Boom

Film after film became successful and along with Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar Dev, Anand formed a troika that reigned over the Indian film industry for a decade or more.

BBC: Dev Anand: Bollywood's first cool hero