When I come to my dentist, I find him talking with another patient of his, who is about to leave. In his early eighties, he is asking all sorts of questions about a big job that awaits him. The dentist is patient, but questions keep coming up, and especially about the amount of time required for the job. “He wants instant teeth,” the dentist chuckles when he comes to me at last. And then I tell him about my father’s experience in Rome just after World War II. Right in the center of the city he saw a small market with all sorts of grungy things on sale. On top of one stall he saw a pile of dentures. People would come by, try a few, and haggle over the price if they found a good fit. “Instant teeth for true,” I chuckle. “India and Pakistan today…,” nodded the dentist as he reached for his gloves. This has never crossed my mind, though. The sixty-year gap in economic development, which is likely to stretch for many more years.