After bringing Shyam back from Pune, Mama decided to enroll him in the Mission School at Dapoli so that he could improve his English. Dapoli is a beautiful town, about six kos from Palgad. If you walk, it takes half a day to reach there. Arrangements were made for Shyam to stay at the house of a certain Rao in Dapoli. There, a distant aunt also lived. Shyam stayed with them. Their circumstances were poor. They had to manage with very little for food and drink. Life was lived with great care and frugality.

The school itself was good. There was a teacher named Namne. Shyam liked the school very much. The atmosphere there was pleasant. Shyam was content.

From childhood, Shyam was accustomed to a little hardship.

In this world, there are times when one feels as if one has no one of their own. At such moments, tears come to the eyes. It is only in childhood that one sees the need to receive love and sympathy. If a person gets food for a while, he can survive; but if he does not receive love, he cannot truly live. Love is life itself. Shyam always felt a deep hunger for love. He would be reminded of his home again and again. When Saturday came, he would eagerly wait for school to end in the afternoon, and before the last bell rang, he would rush outside, longing to go home. By evening, he would reach home. His mother would be there, waiting for him. During the time he spent at home, he would receive the love of his mother and of everyone else. It was on the strength of this love that he would pass the coming days. In those days, his hunger for love was immense. When a person has to live away from home, he truly understands the value of the love he receives at home.

So, one Saturday, Shyam set out for home. He could hardly wait to reach. He was hungry for the loving atmosphere of his home. In childhood, children long to receive love. Only when one grows older does one understand the true importance of love. There is great satisfaction in giving love as well as receiving it. But when one is young, it is more important to receive it. A person gives only what he has received.

As he walked, memories of home flooded his mind. He wanted to cry. Tears welled up in his eyes from time to time as he walked. The path led through fields and woods. In the beginning, he had been afraid to take this path...

He felt afraid. But, taking God’s name, he pressed on with determination. On the way, he grew thirsty. At a certain well, he drank some water. Before darkness could fall, he hurried along, eager to reach home.

When he arrived, the lamps in the house were already lit. His younger brother was reciting shlokas. Mother was busy preparing dinner. The little