KBC winner Sushil Kumar with his wife in Motihari. Picture by Ajit Kumar Verma

Motihari, Jan. 4: Fame and money can go to anyone’s head, but even five times the astronomical sum of a crore has failed to sever Sushil Kumar’s umbilical ties with his family.

The Champaran youth, who won Rs 5 crore at Kaun Banega Crorepati last year and is now the brand ambassador of the Union ministry of rural development in five states, is a great advocate of the institution of joint family. He believes that the gradual fragmentation of large families into nuclear one has weakened the moral fabric of society.

So he is planning to build a house at his village Hanumangadhi, where he can share the fruits of his achievements with his kith and kin. The most important feature of his dream house would be a common kitchen where the family will cook together, eat together and, most importantly, be together.

Sushil, who returned home today after shooting advertisements at three villages in Dhaka and Chiraiya blocks of East Champaran, told The Telegraph that he could not have tasted the ambrosia of success without support of his family. “I would not have been able to achieve anything in life if my family did not support me,” he said. “So, I want to build a house in my village, where all of us can live together. In this house, we will have a common kitchen.”

At present, the 13 members of his family — comprising his parents, his brothers, Sunil, Anil, Sudhir and Sujeet, and their families and children — live in two houses in the village. One of it is rented, the other dilapidated. Once his dream house is built, there would be enough room for everyone.

This crorepati has found inspiration for joint families in his favourite writer Munshi Premchand. Novels and stories like Godan, Sevashram, Sevasadan, Burhi Kaki, Kafan and Badhe Bhai, penned by this pioneering prose stylist, have convinced Sushil of the merits of large family.

“In the writings of Premchand, most of the characters are from joint families. Seniors in a joint family take care of youngsters. Their practical experience benefits the younger members,” said Sushil.

The blessing of his family has helped him chart a success story that is the stuff of dreams, but Sushil continues to be a simple man at heart.

He told The Telegraph that he is grateful to the Union ministry for choosing him as its brand ambassador. “It is a special privilege for me that the Union ministry of rural development has chosen me — a simple employee under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Generation Act (MNREGA) — as a brand ambassador,” he said.

What’s more, he has offered his services free of any charge.

“I have not been offered anything, nor have I demanded a fee,” Sushil said, adding that he is “indebted” to MNREGA for providing him with a platform and direction in life.

Now, he plans to go ahead with his dreams and reach out for the stars. Of course, he may find that he has reached them already.