As far as I was concerned, Ooty to duty was quite a distance. Not that I was getting vexed with my job or family life but owing to my friendly approach with my colleagues who were attached to me to a great extent (they needed a helping hand, of course). But at home, it was fifty-fifty!

Let’s forget it for the time being. The fact is, I had to lookout for a new rented house, away from Sunitha Nilayam. I had to go here and there for the next house. But the search turned out to be somewhat interesting because all available houses were close to Sunitha Nilayam. My kids who were eager to move, suggested a small house. In a couple of weeks, I landed on a new one to everyone’s liking. We called it Ananda Bhavan. “Why Ananda Bhavan?”, one of the kids asked me, and I told them, “that is the name of our first prime minister’s childhood house”.

“Be friendly with neighbors, okay?”, I continued, “and whatever it may be, we have to buy books after books. You know why?”

“Let’s read, read, and read”, the kids responded in a chorus.