Have been reading "nanna bhayagraphi" by kannada author Beechi . It is a beautiful book. Beechi was the first humor author I read. In our childhood, we used to read his jokes - with the character timma and loved them. Even today, he is considered one of the great authors in Kannada. But as a song in Hindi says " तुम इतना क्यों मुस्कुरा रहे हो क्या गम है जिसको छिपा रहे हो" , the author had a very, very difficult childhood. He lost his father as soon as he was born. The boy was so sick that he was kept outside the house - as it is considered bad omen in Brahmin houses, if someone dies inside the house. His mother died when he was hardly eight years old. He was looked after by his aunt whose son would beat the child first, then talk to him. May be it was his way of telling God (he was an atheist) that he is no coward. When his mother was alive, they had just enough for food and shelter. But what about the one and quarter rupees of school fees. Beechi would ...