Soon after I got married in January 1981, my mother-in-law went to The Netherlands and brought a beautiful Remington Sparry portable typewriter for me as a sort of wedding gift since my marriage was solemnised by Allahabad District Magistrate Bhure Lal who later became well known as V. P. Singh’s trusted bureaucrat. A month later, United News of India (UNI) advertised for trainee sub-editors and I applied. I sat for a written test and was called for the interview. My friends in UNI had told me that one must know how to type to become a journalist. So I tried to learn it with the help of my wife Indu Agnihotri but could not get very far. So, when UNI’s General Manager and Chief Editor G. G. Mirchandani asked me if I knew how to type, I almost lied and replied in the affirmative, adding that my speed was very low. He said, “ Don’t worry, you will pick up.” And, I got selected. Thus, my new acquisition helped me get a job in journalism.