My humble background and modest upbringing is known to all. I have always adjusted to the circumstances and hardships and always tried to accomodate wishes of everyone around me and have worked for common good. Inspired by what Maa taught, I never get elated in good times or get disheartened in tough times. I have experienced good and bad times with same zest and accept life as it comes.

When KIIT and KISS were in its formative years, I used to frequently visit Delhi for official work. I would take three tier train, travel in buses. That’s all that we could afford. I have earlier shared my story of staying at Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi. Sometimes I would sleep at Parthasarthi Rocks after long hours of chat with a friend to kill the night.

Few years later, by grace of God, a benevolent pious person working in a local firm, who stayed in a Barsaati of a Member of Parliament with his family in North Avenue gave us space to rest and freshen up. Barsaati is a small room with an attached toilet on the terrace of a Bungalow. Some people who stay in a Barsaati also construct a kitchen. This family had also made a functional kitchen. We stayed in that room and were treated with tasty North-Indian meals and I clearly remember how accommodating the family was. They supported me during my days of struggle and became very close to me.

Now, I have been given a Kothi (a palatial bungalow), a seven room bungalow with a garden and all modern amenities in Lutyens Delhi. Shri Naveen Patnaik ji blessed me to become the Member of Parliament Rajya Sabha for a year and currently as a Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha for the last two years.

I have not taken up an entitled house and stay in Odisha Bhawan when I am in Delhi. I am a bachelor and I stay alone and such a big bungalow will be of no use for me. I can never forget the old days of staying in a Barsaati and travelling by train. I have never overjoyed at crests nor broken down during my thins. I maintain calmness and that’s the reason behind what I could achieve. I am not asking anyone to become stoic but enjoy when times are good because it comes after pains. But one should never forget their roots and enjoy at the cost of others.

*Barsati is derived from the Hindi word for rain, barsaat. These apartments – generally, a small shack with a large terrace afforded a new generation of urbanites cheap living space near the centre of town.

*Kothi – Bungalow or a mansion usually with a big garden