The drive up to the palace is much like a game of hide-and-seek. The palace hides behind the trees that line up the long driveway and you catch only glimpses of it from the car. The glimpses build upon the anticipation, which eventually turns into awe when you see the palace in all its glory.

The palace is palatial, to say the least. It stands on acres and acres of land, having been owned by generation after generation of a royal Rajput family. Until now, that is. A long-term SIP investor has now bought the palace.

Vinod Patel, an Ahmedabad-based investor, has recently bought the royal palace in Rajasthan. In cash. “It’s a huge dream come true for me,” said Vinod while posing for the press on the expansive gardens, his brand new home behind him. “I dreamt of living in a palace even when I was a child.”

He says that he used to keep his GI Joe action figures in a castle he had made out of cardboard. “I only had a couple of GI Joes, but I would put them in that toy castle at night” he reminiscences.

Vinod grew up in a lower-middle-class family. “My father was a government officer. He was an honest, humble man who tried to give us the best.” One of the four children of his parents, Vinod had to make do with whatever little he received as his share. “I wasn’t one to complain, though,” he says. “I knew my father worked hard for the money he earned and that is what I have learned from him.”

Vinod has always believed that there is no substitute for hard work and he has carried forward this philosophy to his investments as well. “I began investing via SIPs a long time ago,” he says. “It’s easy to invest when the markets are doing well, but the hard work comes in when the markets fall and you have to convince yourself to continue investing.”

Vinod says that he is now reaping the fruits of all his hard labour. “I started with an SIP of Rs 100 and see where I’m now,” he says, gesturing to the palace he just bought. “Every year, I would increase my investments and by just this simple way, I have managed to buy a palace worth crores.”

While the exact purchase price of the Rajasthani palace is not public knowledge, unreputable sources have told this reporter that Vinod Patel has paid somewhere close to Rs 30 lakh crores for his new home. Vinod paid the entire amount after redeeming his mutual fund investments that he had accumulated by investing through SIPs.

“My father would be proud of me today,” says Vinod. “The hard work and persistence I’ve shown with my investments are traits I’ve learned from him.”

Vinod says that the purchase of this palace is not merely a dream come true for him, but is a victory of the common man as well. “I just want people to hear my story and understand that they too can achieve anything.” When asked what his advice to others like him would be, Vinod said, “Just dream big and invest in SIPs. No dream is small if you invest in SIPs.”

What you just read was satire. But SIPs are actually the best way of investing in mutual funds.