As the youngest and the only son, he was adored by his mother and four elder sisters. His mother, Paruamma, led a simple, disciplined life and taught his sisters and him to do the same. She loved her family and good food, prayed all day long and till the day she died, 16 days short of a 100th birthday, didn't use eye glasses or a walking stick. He got from her his love of discipline and his deep faith in God. His oldest sister, Kalyani, was a sewing teacher. He always remembered with gratitude, that after his father's death, she and her fellow teachers, paid for his education and even when they didn't have much, always found ways to support and encourage his dreams. He would say that thanks to her sacrifices, he was the first one to go to Chennai and attend college at the age of 19. He was very close to two of his sisters, Ammini and Kathu, who thought the world of him. The three siblings supported each other through all the joys, trials and tribulations in their lives. His sisters cared for our mother when she was ill and welcomed us to their homes for long summer vacations. They cared for him and his family as much as they cared for their own, just as he did, for successive generations of their families. All three lived into their nineties. He said a couple of years ago, "They loved me so much that even in the last moments, each of my sisters waited for me to be by her bedside before she passed away." The love the siblings had for each other was truly a wonder to behold.