father had lost all but two mortgaged acres and two
emaciatedbullstoamoneylenderwhentheharvestfailed
oneyear.Hethendied,leavingSitaram,hiseldestson,
withthedebts.Justeighteenyearsoldandnewlymarried,
Sitaramwasforcedtoenterintoindenturedlaboronthe
family’stworemainingacres.Atonepoint,theonlyfood
heandhisbridecouldafford wasbreadandsalt.They
werestarvingtodeath.Butheprayedandstayedatthe
plow,and hisprayers wereanswered. Theharvestwas
spectacular.Hewasabletonotonlyputfoodonthetable
but also pay off his debts. In subsequent years, he
expandedhis twoacrestomorethantwo hundred.He
becameoneoftherichestlandownersinthevillageanda
moneylenderhimself.Hehadthreewives,allofwhomhe
outlived,andthirteenchildren.Heemphasizededucation,
hardwork,frugality,earningyourownway,stayingtrue
toyourword,andholdingothersstrictlyaccountablefor
doing the same.Throughout hislife, he awoke before
sunriseanddidnotgotobeduntilhe’ddoneanighttime
inspectionofeveryacreofhisfieldsbyhorse.Evenwhen
he was a hundred he would insist on doing this. My
uncles were worried he’d fall—he was weak and
unsteady—but theyknew it wasimportant to him.So
theygothimasmallerhorseandmadesurethatsomeone
always accompanied him. He made the rounds of his
fields right up to the year he died.
HadhelivedintheWest,thiswouldhaveseemedabsurd.
Itisn’tsafe, hisdoctorwouldsay.Ifhepersisted,then
fell,andwenttoanemergencyroomwithabrokenhip,
thehospitalwouldnotlethimreturnhome.They’dinsist
thathe gotoa nursinghome.Butin mygrandfather’s