It was a regular sultry evening in Munger, a small town in Bihar. The dust of the hot, windy afternoon was beginning to  settle down, and the temperature was becoming humane enough  for people to come out of their homes. 
My house was located midway between the two most  important landmarks of the city. On the one end was the ITC  factory and its quarters, and on the other end were the ruins of  a fort by the side of the Ganges and the famous Munger School  of Yoga.  
The ITC colony was one of the remnants of the British era  and still carried all the grandeur of the past: manicured gardens,  satin-covered swings on the verandah, marble fitted kitchens,  huge living areas complete with a fireplace, chandeliers, intricately  carved teak wood furniture, tall bronze statues, Kashmiri carpets  and luxurious bathtubs which altogether formed the image  of how I wanted my future abode to look like. The fort...