“It’s funny how we popularise our movie stars,” said Vinod Shetty, director of the Acorn Foundation, when we met in his crowded office in Mumbai. “There are so many other people we should popularise for the work that they do, but instead, they are invisible and expendable.”

This experienced advocate was referring to the work of the thousands of recyclers who reside in the city’s largest slum, Dharavi, and whose rights he spends much of his time promoting.

Although the BAFTA award-winning film Slumdog Millionaire did a lot to highlight the plight of Mumbai’s slum-dwellers, Shetty believes it overlooked a story of true heroism in this infamous quarter; one that forms part of the day-to-day reality for its residents, and for millions of others across India.

Viticulture is growing at a rate of knots in India, and the country's largest winery is leading by environmental example

Nestling just 200km from the bustling metropolis of Mumbai lies Nasik, an area of natural beauty, rich spiritual heritage and home to one of India's newest and burgeoning industries: wine.

As you look towards the sweeping horizon, across undulating hills and sloping valleys, it is an increasingly familiar sight to see straight rows of leafy grape vines stretching far into the distance.

Sula, founded in 1999, now produces 20 different wine varieties from the region, including red, white, rosé and, most recently, port. Not only is it the largest winery in Nasik, but also, as of last year, the largest winery in India, distributing wine across the country and to a rapidly expanding international clientele.

Although only accounting for a small percentage of agriculture in India, the wine industry here is growing at a rate of 25-30 per cent a year (globally, grape-growing accounts for around 4.9 per cent of arable and permanent croplands).

Organic, biodynamic and 'sustainably produced' wines have been popping up with increasing frequency around the world. As a nascent Indian industry, can these principles be adopted early on?

Rajeev Samant, founder and CEO of Sula, believes so. 'Sustainability for its own sake is very desirable, and it has to be a part of the way we work as companies today,' he says. 'Even if it costs us a bit more it is totally worthwhile, in my opinion, if it results in our using fewer natural resources.

 "Do you have something to wrap around your face?” asked Vijendra Singh Shekawat, my host for the afternoon, as he waited beside a sleek black Enfield that shone in the glaring sunlight. Rajasthani summer was in full force and anyone would be wise to protect themselves against it. 

We set off, weaving our way past buses, cars, rickshaws and camels, over flyovers and along muddy lanes towards the outskirts of the city of Jaipur. The air blew hot like a hair dryer and was filled with a fine dust, coating us with a gritty layer. Forty minutes later, we reached a small plot of land close to the airport. Through a small doorway was a private compound where Shekawat and his six-member family live in a two-room house. In their concrete yard, they have set up a factory to manufacture paper. But not just any paper -- paper made from elephant dung.

Vijendra Singh Shekawat (second from left) with his family