New Delhi, Jan. 24 -- When 27-year-old Rishab Bajaj walked onto the stage earlier this month to unveil the Chetak C25, the moment carried a weight far heavier than the electric scooter's chassis. For the fourth generation of the Bajaj family to join the business set up by Jamnalal Bajaj in 1926, this wasn't just a product launch; it was a seance.

To understand the weight of Rishab's legacy, you have to rewind to 1972, when his grandfather, Rahul Bajaj, rolled out the first Chetak. The sturdy but unglamorous vehicle, based on the Vespa Sprint, would go on to become the most tangible expression of Indian middle-class aspirations.

Ask any Indian who came of age through the 1970s and 1980s, and they'll tell you about Hamara Bajaj, the scoot...