Three decades on, television audiences still recollect the Nirma washing powder ad. The premise of the first ad was simple: doing the laundry, an important responsibility for homemakers, should not be a chore but enjoyable activity. Keeping with the premise, the women in the advert wore the whitest of clothes and so did their families. Yesteryear model and film actress Sangeeta Bijlani provided the glamour quotient. The messaging was unpretentious: Nirma is an essential aid for the quintessential Indian homemaker; if her family’s clothes are white, bright and clean, her world is perfect. That was all that defined a woman then.