A middle-class joint family is living happily run by the responsible father Ethiraj, a retired headmaster. He has three sons - Maheshwaran, Raman, and Krishnan. Maheswaran is a Hindi professor, married to Parvathy and they have 5 children. Raman, a clerk in high-court is married to Seetha and they have two children. Krishnan, a medical representative is married to Rukmani. Apart from them, Sumathi, the younger sister of Seetha also stays in the same house, as she is pursuing higher studies in the same city. Though it's a joint family, the father has set-up his three sons in three different portions in the same house, and takes turns to eat in each of his son's house, to avoid any possibility of problems between them. The sons give their salaries to their father, and all the financial matters are dealt by him efficiently. He is respected and feared by everyone in the family. Wrong-doers in the house-hold are made to stand on a bench by him as punishment.