In this grass-roots memoir, renowned public policy expert and public transport professional Sudarsanam Padam sketches his life from a small village on the banks of Godavari to an exciting life beyond. He studied while working to graduate from the Nizam College, Hyderabad. His first job was at the age of sixteen in the Census of the Taluk Office (1960). From seventeen onwards, he worked in the Bar Council, Telephone Department and Small Industry Training Institute. With constant encouragement from his lawyer-father, he graduated in 1969. He almost made it to the central civil services.

 He had a very rewarding career as a manager in the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC). He describes his life as a young manager in APSRTC, controlling one thousand workers and operating more than a hundred buses—the­ only means of travel in a big district. He saw blood on the road and the death of hapless poor in accidents, combined with an essential public service. The broadening of human understanding and matching it with moving people across often impassable roads was an education no college could give.

In all, Dr. Padam's Points of Departure are live examples of what young professionals can do in their own quest for excellence and for sustained institution-building for generations of students and professionals who follow.