If there is only one feeling that the Punamiya residence exudes, it has to be peace. The three-storey bungalow is tucked away in a row of houses in a lane near the Dahanu railway station in Palghar district. The entrance is decorated with a mandap and workers are adding the final touches. But despite all the activity, Tilak Tirth is an oasis of calm in the busy commercial-cum-residential area.

With ‘tirth’ or pilgrimage site in its name, the influence of religion and spirituality is apparent all over the house. The head of the house, Dr Prakash Punamiya’s books on religious and spirituality are strewn about the living room. His nephew is named Punyapal, the keeper of good deeds; and Punyapal’s son is Mokshesh, a personification of the concept of moksha—freedom from the worldly cycle of birth and death.