My father was woken up by Hari in the morning. He brought something for him to eat and get ready to go to field to work. Hari was not ready to listen anything from my father about studies and kept insisting that the whole drama of studies should stop now and he is old enough to lend his hand in the fields. He was joined by my Grandfather who initially kept quiet. My father had always been scared of his father and knew his temper and consequences also if he became angry. Images of Bhagwati and his mother kept flashing in his mind and he made his final decision. “I will not become a laborer – I will study and become a big man” he announced to his father and brother. They had thought that one night of hunger might have changed my father, but he continued to be adamant.

That day, my grandfather lost his entire cool and did not realize that he kept beating my father till he almost fainted. Hari was instructed to drag my father to the back room and lock him there without water and food till he agrees to leave his idea of studies. He complied and kept cursing Bhagwati and put the entire blame of spoiling his brother to such an extent. Cursing went to the extent that he openly declared his wish that Bhagwati should die in the war and never return back to show his bad face to them. Hari and my grandfather were scared with the possibility of loosing a working hand to studies.