637. Felicitation Function

In the function held to felicitate spiritual speaker Pandurangan, many people spoke about his special attributes and achievements.

"There are many speakers well versed in narrating mythological stories. All of them are scholars. They are well read and well informed. Among them, Pandurangan has created a unique approach for himself, following which he has been delivering discourses that delight the listeners."

"On the one side, Mr. Pandurangan's discourses are commended by scholars and connoisseurs, impressed by his knowledge of the scriptures and mythological stories and his power of expression. And on the other, ordinary people are also attracted by his speeches. This is something rare to find."

"The Hindu mythology mentions about Souta Pauranika, an expert in giving discourses. The epics say how people showed a lot of interest in listening to his discourses. Mr. Pandurangan occupies a place today that was occupied by Sauta Pauranika during ancient times."

The above were some of the observations made by speakers who felicitated Panduangan. 

Finally, it was Pandurangan's turn to reply to the felicitations.

"Reading books on any subject and becoming an expert on that subject is something within the reach of every one. Anyone, who is willing to put in hard work will be able to achieve this. But, conveying what one has learnt, to other people, in an interesting and intelligible way is a special skill. Not many people had learnt this skill."

The audience were somewhat surprised by Pandurangan's words, which appeared to be self-praising. 'What is this? Why does this person praise himself, without even pretending to be modest, while speaking in public?' thought some people.

"In the beginning, I had not learnt that skill."

The audience now realized that Pandurangan was not indulging in self-praise and became interested in listening to what he was going to say.

"When I started giving discourses. not many people found my speeches to be interesting. Only a few people, who were able to discern the profound messages I had tried to convey through my speeches, appreciated me. I was able to comprehend that most of the audience felt, 'He is trying to convey something, but it is not interesting.'

I didn't know what I could do about this problem. I shared my problem, with a person close to me. That person was not well-educated, but she possessed worldly wisdom. She attended my next discourse. After listening to the discourse, she said, 'There is good content in your lecture. But your speech is not structured in a way to kindle the interest of the listener.'

"I asked her what I could do about it. She thought for sometime and then said, 'You are narrating stories written during ancient times. The happenings in those stories do not fit with the present day scenario. So, when you are telling those stories, if you can relate them to present day occurrences, the audience might feel interested. For example, when you narrate the story of Ramayana, you can compare Rama's unquestioning obedience to his parents with the attitude of the young people of today, who don't give any consideration to their parents' words. When talking about Lakshmana using strong words against his father, you can point out that even a good person, when gripped by anger, could lose his balance and use harsh words against his parents. This way, if you can link the events and characters in the mythological stories to the present day occurrences, your narration could stimulate the interest of the audience.'

"From my next discourse, I began to follow her advice. I was able to sense the enthusiasm my new approach created among the audience. Thus, it was not only the things that I had learned from books, but also the wisdom I had learned from that person that contributed to my speeches being liked the audience."

After a brief pause, Pandurangan continued.

"It would have been appropriate for me to bring the person responsible for my success to this felicitation event and honour her. But, I have not been able to do that."

Pandurangan paused again, removed his spectacles and wiped his eyes with his handkerchief.

"The person, who guided me in understanding the world and attuning my behaviour in accordance with the characteristics of the world, is not alive now. It has been three years, since my wife left me" said Pandurangan in a voice choked with emotion.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 64
Being A Minister

Verse 637 (in Tamil):
seyaRkai aRindhak kadaiththum ulagaththu
iyaRkai aRindhu seyal.

Meaning:

Even if you know well how to do a task,

do it knowing the nature of your world.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'pArAttu vizhA' by the same author.) 

Verse 638 (Soon)
Verse 636