Years passed like this with nothing too much happening on the home front. I worked with a private company for a couple of years as their Manager in Bangalore to promote a new scheme of investment in trees. It was a Bombay based company which had other interests also. Every investor was asked to deposit money and as per his choice a tree (teak or rosewood or white cedar) sapling would be allotted to him in the extensive farms of the company near Pune. In 15 years time the saplings would attain their maximum growth which would then be sold at fabulous prices and the investor of Rs.5,000 on each sapling would receive a sum of rupees one lakh and fifty thousand from the sale proceeds of the fully grown trees. It was something of a novelty and people were drawn into it in large numbers. We advertised extensively in the local newspapers and the response was very good. We also appointed agents to canvass for deposits on commission basis. Handsome commissions were paid on each deposit and the deposits swelled within a few months to several lakhs. I had also taken up an agency and canvassed for deposits. Besides my salary I received large commissions as agent. It was an interesting job with a posh office of my own and many clients visiting me regularly. Administratively there was a Director above me but he hardly interfered with my work. I did all the paper work and accounts and correspondence. I invested part of my extra money on a moped although I had a scooter in order to save on petrol. Thus I had two vehicles for my use. After working for the company for about two years till the office was closed down as they had collected enough funds. Seeing the success of our company many imitators entered the field and the scheme suffered some credibility. Most of the rivals closed shop cheating the investors with sizeable amounts of deposits but our company had an inbuilt mechanism whereby the deposits could be recalled. I helped many to get back their deposits. There were no adverse comments in the newspapers and no legal complications. Nevertheless the scheme was a failure. I quit the job at the right time. I didn’t have much of an inclination to work again not for money at least! However a long lost friend of mine came visiting me one day and wanted me to take up the running of the office of a NGO headed by a gentleman who had visions of changing the face of the society. And he was nearly 80 years old. Since I was also in the public field for some time I shared his concern for the common man. He had got together a number of public figures under the banner of United Social, Economic and Cultural Organisation which had a small office on the Queens Road, courtesy the Corporation of Bangalore. The Organisation’s programmes included issuing of circulars on every aspect of civic life, arranging meeting of the well known persons in society for exchanging views on matters of common interest arranging group seminars, forward recommendations to the civic authorities and the Government for implementation etc. My job was to correlate all these deliberations in compact form and circulate the Organisation’s findings and recommendations in concise form to the concerned authority for implementation. It was an interesting work. As the NGO worked on grants from Government and the City Corporation money was always in short supply. I received a small retainer for my trouble but in course of time that also dried up. After a year I decided to quit. The elderly gentleman was getting old and he could not continue to spend much time and energy on the work. Although a set of new office bearers (which included me as Asst.Secretary) was elected the momentum disappeared with the retirement of the old man who was the driving force. I preferred to take it easy and look after the family.