A tight corner in life or any hardship which doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. A man after all, is the outcome of his circumstances.Today dad got talking about his childhood and his beginnings. There is so much to be learnt from the lives of our elders. I feel the thing that is missing in us, the younger generation, is a sense of belonging. We hardly realise where we come from,our ROOTS so to say. Successful, popular and well known that he is, my dad still remembers the suffering,struggle and sacrifice of his elder siblings and love &  care of relatives and other people in his village,though he was still a kid when all that happened. It’s  heart warming and inspiring to know that he remembers, cares and is deeply concerned for the kith n kin of all those who were there for him when he, a sick motherless toddler,wanted care. Times have changed bringing with them prosperity and every luxury that money can afford but dad,simpleton that he is, still values people more than the conveniences of life. Nearly half a century after he saw his elder sister,a motherless teen herself,looking after him and his two younger siblings,he is still moved to tears recalling her unspoken anguish at being served a raw deal by fate, her own childhood burnt to cinders in the fire of the hearth. He recalls the silent yet determined presence of his young uncle at his bed side when he was suffering from an acute bout of small pox and how his resilience and belief nursed my dad back to health. He remembers how his maternal grandpa took them all under his wing once his mother passed away. The dismal picture of poverty and want that dad paints, is beyond imagination. Today he is, what he is, as a result of the hardships that he has experienced. The strength of his character shines as he has waded the troubled waters of life and come up on merit, still never forgetting the past. The indelible imprint of time makes him my ideal.