577 Father, or Son?

"Welcome, bard! You were not to be seen for a long time" said the Minister, welcoming the bard.

"You have eyes. So, you are able to sense that I was not seen for a long time. If you didn't have eyes, you wouldn't have sensed this" said the bard. 

"I don't have the intelligence to decipher your cryptic reply. The fact remains that you didn't visit the King's court, since the present king took over, after his father passed away!"

The bard closed his eyes for a moment and said, "True, Minister. When I heard you refer to our late king, my eyes closed on their own for a while. Tears welled up from inside my eyes. What a noble soul was he! He was visually handicapped, but his eyes brimmed with so much compassion as to qualify him to be called the embodiment of compassion" said the bard.

"You are implying that in contrast, the present king, though blessed with the facility of vision, is bereft of the virtue of compassion so essential for a king, aren't you?" asked the Minister, smiling. 

"You are putting words into my mouth, my friend! I never implied such an opinion. Do you want to make me a victim of the king's displeasure?" said the bard, also smiling, even while pretending to have been scared.

"Have no fears, my friend! Only we two are here. We, being friends, can converse freely, sharing our inner thoughts with each other. There is no one here to carry our views to the king's ears" said the Minister.

"What you say is true. Yet, the fact remains that you are the powerful Minister and I am a poor poet. I can't risk taking the liberty of speaking my mind."

"But a poet can convey a message in a subtle way through a well-crafted poem. Many poets have done this."

"How is it going to help? If a compose a poem with a subtle message that the king lacks compassion and recite it before the king, will he reform himself and embrace the quality of compassion? It is not uncommon for the son to not inherit the virtue of his father. Dhritarashtra had the quality of compassion. But his son Duryodhana didn't have even an iota of compassion" said the bard.

"I am unable to agree with your view that Dhritarashtra had compassion in him. Even after knowing that his son Duryodhana had planned to kill the Pandavas by making them stay in a house of wax and setting fire to it, he didn't do anything to stop the plot. On the other hand, he sent the Pandavas there. If he had mercy, would he have done so?"

"Oh! I will modify my statement and say that Dhritarashtra had more compassion than his son Duryodhana!"

"Okay. This is more acceptable, at least less unacceptable!" said the Minister.

"Our conversation about Dhritarashtra and Duryodhana has triggered in me an idea for a poem" said the Bard, feeling excited.

"That is wonderful. Since I have also played a role in triggering your idea, by talking to you on this topic, I expect you to share with me, the prize money the king will reward for this poem!" said the Minister, jokingly.

"I don't mind. But what if the king feels offended by my poem and rewards me with whiplashes?"

"In that case, you can have them all for yourself! I won't mind. By the way, can you share with me the theme of your poem?"

"I will give you an outline of the poem to you."

"I am all ears" said the Minister.

"When we were discussing Dhritarastra and Duryodhana, a thought struck me. Compassion is a natural attribute of the eye. When the eyes see someone suffering, they are filled with compassion. This is what should happen naturally. So, logically, if one has eyes, one will have compassion. If a man has no compassion, we will consider him a person lacking the ability to see. But, sometimes, the reality is different. 

"Dhritarashtra, who was not blessed with the facility of vision, had more compassion than his son Duryodhana, who was born with the facility of vision. This is the Mahabharata story. 

"In Ramayana, the other great epic of our country, there is a story of Shravana Kumara. who took great care of his parents, both of whom were visually handicapped, by carrying them on his shoulders and providing for their needs. 

"Once, when he was filling water in a pot from a river, mistaking the sound of water being filled in the pot as the sound of an elephant drinking water, Dasaratha, the king of Ayodhya, who was hunting in the forest, sent an arrow in the direction of the sound, which hit Shravana Kumara.

"Dasaratha realized his mistake when he went near the spot and apologized to Shravana Kumara. Shravana Kumara, who was dying, forgave him, but requested him to take the water to his visually handicapped parents, who were thirsty. 

When Dasaratha went to Shravana Kumara's parents and apologized to them, Shravana Kumara's father Santanu cursed Dasarata that he would suffer the pain of separation from his son, the same way Santanu and his wife did.

"If we consider the father-son pairs in the above two stories, Dhritarashtra, who didn't have eyesight, had more compassion than his son, blessed with eyesight. Sravana Kumara, blessed with eyesight, was more compassionate than his father, not blessed with eyesight. 

"In our country, the deceased king, who had no eyesight had more compassion than the present king blessed with eyesight. However, it is said that compassion is an attribute, delivered through the eyes. This is the theme of my poem. How do you find the theme?"

"The theme of the poem is excellent. But how are you going to present the poem with this theme to the king?"  asked the Minister, showing his concern.

"After all I am going to tell the truth. Why should I be afraid? Anyway, I am not belittling the king in any manner. I am only saying that the father of the present king had more compassion than the present king. So, the king won't feel offended" said the bard.

The minister didn't say anything, his silence reflecting his concern.

"I was worried that your poem might make the king feel offended. But you have written a poem with a distorted meaning and got rewarded by the king!" the Minister told the bard, his tone expressing his anger and disappointment.

"I didn't distort any fact" protested the bard.

"The theme of the poem you presented before the king was different from the theme you had outlined to me. The poem you read out before the king says that the present king has more compassion than his father had."

"That may be the apparent meaning of the poem, as understood by the king. But my poem carried the meaning that the king's father had more compassion than the king."

"How do you say that?" asked the Minister, perplexed.

"Did you wonder why I wrote the poem in Sanskrit, rather than in Tamil, the language spoken by you, me and the king?"

"Yes. I did wonder about it. But since it is well known that you are proficient in both the languages, I didn't attach much significance to your choosing to write the poem in Sanskrit."

"My friend! In Sanskrit, the word 'dhata' has two meanings. It can mean the son and also the father. In my poem, I used the word 'dhata' to refer to the father. But the Sanskrit scholars in the king's court, fearing that the king would be angered by the real meaning of the poem, chose the meaning 'son' to the word 'dhata' and interpreted the poem to give the meaning that the son had more compassion than the father, though they would have known that the structure of the poem would permit only the meaning 'father' to be chosen for the word 'dhata' used by me in the poem" said the Bard, laughing.

"You are not only a bilingual poet, but a master of double entendre as well" said the Minister, appreciatingly.

Thirukkural

Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 58

Compassion

Verse 577 (in Tamil):

kaNNOttam illavar kaN ilar kaN udaiyAr
kannOttam inmaiyum il.

Meaning:

Those who lack compassion have no eyes;

Those who truly have eyes can’t lack compassion.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'pulavar sonnadhum poyyE poyyE' by the same author.)

Verse 578 (Soon)
Verse 576

133. Family Background

On receiving the phone call from the school in which Gunaseel was studying, Gunaseel's mother Manjula sent a message to her husband Swaminathan, who was in his office and hurried to her son's school. 

As she entered the school, Swaminathan's car also arrived there.

Both the parents together went to the Principal's cabin.

The Principal received them with a tight expression on his face and asked them to be seated. 

"Where is Gunaseel?" demanded Swaminathan.

"He is lying down in the room. I think he will become sober soon. Before that, I want to talk to you about him. Are you aware that your son has been drinking?"

"What do you mean, sir? Gunaseel is a boy of impeccable character. I could not believe what you conveyed to me over phone. We want to see him first" said Manjula.

"I was also shocked to learn that a student of ninth grade has drinking habit. But, some students have confirmed to me that they have seen him in the liquor shop, a few times" said the principal.

"We have not groomed our son that way. He might have been influenced by the company he has been keeping. He should have got into this habit, because of his association with some undesirable elements" said Swaminathan.

"The liberal allowance you give him every month as pocket money might also have been a reason!" quipped the Principal.

At that time, a teacher entered the Principal's room, bringing Gunaseel with him. Another boy also came along with them.

Gunaseel, who walked into the room, presenting the appearance of having been woken up from sleep, looked at his parents through his tired eyes. 

"How did you get into this habit? No one in our lineage had this habit!" asked Swaminathan, angrily.

Gunaseel didn't say anything.

"Who is that boy?" asked Manjula, pointing to the boy, who came along with Gunaseel.

"He was the one, who found Gunaseel lying unconsciously on the side of the road and brought him here" said the Principal.

"So, Gunaseel had drunk in the company of this boy! Did I not say that our son should have been spoiled because of his association with undesirable boys?" asked Swaminathan. "Don't you have a system of screening to ensure that only boys with a good character and background are selected?" he added.

"This boy doesn't study in our school" said the Principal, tersely.

"How did you become friends with him?" Manjula asked Gunaseel. "Moving closely with street urchins has made you take to drinking and adopt it as a habit!"

"Madam! You are completely mistaken. Your son didn't drink in the company of this boy. During the lunch interval, your son had gone to the nearby liquor shop, bought some liquor and drank it. While walking back to the school in an inebriated state, he fumbled and was about to fall down. This boy, who was walking on the road, saw your boy's condition, rushed to him, held him on his hands and prevented him from falling on the road. Judging that Gunaseel was a student of this school, by looking at his uniform, he brought him here. I asked the boy to be here till you came, so that you could, if you wanted, ascertain the facts from him. Why do you blame this boy for the wrong committed by your son? Is this the reward you are giving him, for going to the rescue of your boy who was about to fall down and get hurt?" asked the Principal, his tone conveying his unpleasantness with both the parents.

The boy showed signs of saying something and after hesitating for a few seconds, said, "My father is a drunkard. But I don't drink."

Thirukkural

Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 14
Possession of Propriety 

Verse 133 (In Tamil)

ozhukkam udaimai kudimai izhukkum
izhindha piRappu Ay vidum.

Meaning:

Class is determined by propriety of conduct; impropriety will lead to

being considered part of an ignoble class.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'nalladhoru kudumbam' by the same author)

Verse 134 (Soon)
Verse 132

576. One Week's Time

When Guruswamy went to meet Sabhapathy, he took along Kannan, who had joined him as a partner recently.

"I have already sent a notice to you through my lawyer. What is the need for you to meet me?" asked Sabhapathy, in a stern voice.

He then looked at Kannan and asked Guruswamy, "Who is this person?" in a cautious tone.

"He is Kannan. He has recently joined me as a partner" said Sabhapathy.

Kannan greeted Sabhapathy. Ignoring the greeting, Sabhapathy told Guruswamy, "You have taken him as partner recently. Did you come here to tell me that you are going to pay the amount due to me, using the capital brought in by him? I am so happy. When will I get my payment?"

"He has not invested any capital. He has joined me as a working partner. He is highly experienced. He has a lot of ideas. We are going to implement some of his ideas and improve our business" said Guruswamy.

"Glad to hear that. Does he have some ideas for the repayment of the loan taken by you from me?" asked Sbhapathy, mockingly.

Ignoring his jibe, Guruswamy said, "I have been having business dealings with you, for the past several years."

"Not business dealings. You have been doing a business and I have been giving you loans for your business. That is all."

"I meant to point out that I have borrowed money from you several times and promptly repaid them with interest."

"Not promptly. You never repaid any of the loans in time."

"I have paid penal interest for the period of delay."

"You were bound to. It was as per the terms of the loan agreement. You are talking to me, as if you have done some favour to me."

"I wanted to convey that dealings between you and me have been going on for many years, without any hitch or problem. Your money had always been safe with me. Only this time, there has been some delay. And, you have sent me a lawyer's notice, for attaching my house given to you as security for the loan. Please don't proceed with any legal action. I will settle your dues fully in two months' time" pleaded Guruswamy.

"Our lawyer has told me that if I file a case now, I will be able to get an attachment order from the court in two months' time. I will give you one week's time. You should repay the amount due to me with interest till that date, within this time. Otherwise, I will file a case in the court. I have nothing more to discuss with you. You may leave now" said Sabhapathy.

After coming out of Sabhapathy's house, Kannan told Guruswamy, "If, instead of talking to this man, you had spoken standing in front of a tree, the tree would have moved a little!"

"I noticed that you were just looking at his face. But you didn't utter a word. Why?" asked Guruswamy.

"He did not consider my presence at all. So, what could I have talked to him? You have repaid all the loans taken by you in the past. You have mortgaged your house as security for the loan. But, he refused to give you even two months' time. He could have said, 'Okay. I will wait for two months. If you don't repay the loan before the end of two months, I will file a case in the court.'" said Kannan.

"He has seen my track record and he knows I won't default. I thought he would show me some mercy."

"He is not capable of doing it!" said Kannan.

"Why do you say so?" asked Guruswamy, surprised.

"Because, he has no quality called compassion. You mentioned about my looking at his face for long. I was looking at his eyes. There was no trace of compassion in them. I realized that there would be no point in talking to him. That is why I kept quiet. Don't worry. We will make some arrangement to raise money and repay his loan within a week, the time given by him" said Kannan, reassuringly.

Thirukkural

Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 58

Compassion

Verse 576 (in Tamil):

maNNOdu iyaindha maraththu anaiyar kaNNOdu
iyaindhu kaNNOdAdhavar.

Meaning:

People born with eyes bereft of the attribute of compassion in them are like trees rooted in the earth.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'oru vAra avakAsam' by the same author.)

Verse 577
Verse 575

1134. Avvai Shanmugi!

Two palace guards hauled up a young man, with his hands tied by a rope, before the Chief of Security.

"Chief, when it was getting dark, this young man, dressed as a young woman, was walking surreptitiously, hiding himself now and then. We thought that it was a woman in danger and went near the person, intending to escort the person to a place of safety. Only when we went close to the person, did we realize that it was not a woman, but a man. When we questioned him about the reason for his disguise, he refused to answer" said one of the guards.

"Tell me. Why did you disguise yourself as a woman? Are you playing the role of a woman in a play? Even if it were the case, you would be getting the make-up done at the theatre" the Chief queried the suspect.

"Sir! You may not believe what I say. I was going to meet my lover" said the young man.

"Why did you put on this disguise, while going to meet your lover?"

"Sir! A few days back, some of my friends and I had taken a pledge that we would remain unmarried and serve the country, by joining the army. But, after meeting a girl, I instantly fell in love with her. I proposed my love to her and she accepted it. If my friends come to know of this, they will make fun of me and mock me for taking a pledge to remain unmarried and serve the country. So, I decided to meet my lover, disguising myself as a woman. My lover also likes this arrangement, since she doesn't want people to see us together and gossip about us. Please set me free. My lover will be waiting for me."

"Where will she be waiting?"

"In the park at the end of this road."

"Okay. Our guards will come with you to the park. If your lover is there waiting for you, they will set you free. Otherwise, you will have to come back here" said the Chief of Security. 

"My lover will be definitely waiting for me there, even if I were to arrive there late. Please ask your guards to take me to the park" said the young man, confidently.

The Chief told the guards, "Get his name, his parents' names and his address and take him to the place he mentions. If his lover is not there waiting for him, arrest him and lock him up in the prison."

"My name is Shanmugam. I live in Avvaippatti Village" said the young man.

"Avvaippatti Shanmugam! Since you are disguised as a woman, the female version of this name will be appropriate to you - Avvai Shanmugi!*" said the Chief, laughing.

*Avvai Shanmugi is the title of a popular Tamil film, in which the hero (Kamal Hasan) disguises as a woman, deceives his father-in-law and takes up a job in his house, as part of a plan to win over his estranged wife, living there.

Thirukkural
Section 3

Love

Chapter 114
Shedding Shyness

Verse 1134 (in Tamil):
kAmak kadum punal uykkuum nAnOdu
nallANmai ennum puNai.

Meaning:

The strong current called lust will sweep away the boats called masculinity and modesty.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'avvai shaNmugi' by the same author.)

Verse 1135 (Soon)
Verse 1133

575. 'Benefactor of Education'

In the function held to celebrate the sixtieth birthday of 'Benefactor of Education' Doraiswamy, the speakers were extolling his praise.

"Mr. Doraiswamy has always considered providing education equivalent to providing eyesight to a person with visual disability."

"Having been born in a poor family, Mr. Doraiswamy did not get a chance to get good education. This deprivation inspired him to make a resolve to provide the opportunity he couldn't get, to poor boys and girls of our country. It was this resolve that made him establish various educational institutions."

Karunakaran, sitting among the audience on a rear seat, murmured, 'There should be a limit even for making false claims.' 

Ramanan sitting next to him heard Karunakaran's murmur. He turned to Karunakaran and smiled.

After a couple of minutes, Ramanan asked Karunakaran, "Can we go out and get some fresh air?"

Karunakaran nodded his head and stood up from his seat. 

Both of them came out of the meeting hall and stood on the open area outside.

"Though the hall is airconditioned, its ambience is no match to the fresh air we breathe in the open" said Ramanam.

"Listening to the false claims made by speaker after speaker suffocated me so much that air-conditioning had no effect on me!" said Karunakaran. 

He added, "This 'noble man' won't give admission, if there is a shortfall of even one rupee in the donation demanded by the college. And they say such a person has been running educational institutions with the noble objective of providing education to the poor! Though my son had scored high marks, I had to shell out a lot of money for his admission, in the form of fees, under various heads, in addition to the donation and the tuition fees. Even for conducting this function, they have forcibly collected donations from us. What more, they have asked the students to bring their parents for this function without fail, threatening them of consequences, if they failed to do so."

"Your son and our daughter had secured good marks. Doraiswamy's people would extract even more money from students with poor marks. Parents of many poor people have borrowed money much beyond their means, for paying the exorbitant sums demanded by these people. Not only the students, but also the teachers are harassed in Doraiswamy's institutions.

"How? Are they not being paid in time?"

"They will get their salaries, alright. But the teachers are made responsible for making the students score pass marks in the examination. If they fail to ensure this, they will lose their jobs. Desperate to save their jobs, the teachers give vigorous coaching to weak students, by taking extra classes for them in the evenings and during weekends. During the annual vacation, the teachers will be asked to come to the college and do administrative work. Apart from work relating to the colleges, work relating to the other businesses of Doraiswamy group will also be given to them."

"Oh, my God! I was upset about my being forced to attend this kind of meetings. But, it is shocking to know that the teachers are harassed so much! How did you come to know of these?" asked Karunakaran.

"A professor working here is known to me. He would often share with me the ordeal he and his colleagues are being subjected to." 

"A man with no compassion is being glorified as a benefactor of education and as a person born into this world with the objective of providing education to the poor and downtrodden! How atrocious!" said Karunakaran, expressing his contempt.

"...It is only because our 'benefactor of education' has considered education as his eyes, he doesn't have the need to wear glasses even at the age of 70!..."

Speeches lauding 'the benefactor of education' were being carried by the air and delivered to their ears.

Thirukkural

Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 58

Compassion

Verse 575 (in Tamil):

kaNNiRku aNikalam kaNNOttam ahdhu inREl
puN enRu uNarappadum.

Meaning:

Eyes are adorned by compassion; but for it,

they would be considered wounds.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'kalvi vaLLal' by the same author.)

Verse 576
Verse 574

574. Meenakshi's Empoyer

"What a poor job you are doing, sweeping the floor? There is dust in the corner" Kayalvizhi told Meenakshi, the maid. 

Meenakshi looked at the spot pointed out by her employer. She couldn't see any dirt there. However, to satisfy her employer, she swept that spot once more.

After sweeping the house fully, Meenakshi told Kayalvizhi, "Madam! I have backpain. Can I wipe the floor tomorrow?"

"What is the point in sweeping the floor and not wiping it? Only if the floor is wiped every day with a wet cloth, it will have a clean look. You always have the problem of backpain. How can you be sure that you won't have backpain tomorrow?" snapped Kayalvizhi, unsympathetically.

Meenakshi cursed herself for making the request and proceeded to wipe the floor, using the mop.

"I have worked as a maid in many houses. But I have never come across another person like Kayalvizhi, who has no compassion or consideration for others!" Meenakshi told her friend Rani.

Meenakshi and Rani have been friends from their childhood days, growing up in the same neighbourhood. 

Even when Meenakshi was a girl, she was assisting her mother, who was working as a housemaid in a few houses. After her mother's death, she began to work as a maid, by dropping out from the school.

Rani went to a college and after completing her undergraduate course, began to work in a firm. 

The two friends would often meet and converse about their life and topics of mutual interest.

"Kayalvizhi? The name sounds fascinating. Do you know that in Tamil, Kayalvizhi means one with eyes resembling a fish? Her father might have been a Tamil scholar or a person fond of Tamil" said Rani.

"No. Her real name is Sivakami. Her husband, who married her, after falling in love with her was fascinated by the beauty of her eyes and lovingly addressed her Kayalvizhi. One of Kayalvizhi's friends heard this and began to call her Kayalvizhi, to taunt her. With other people also picking up this name, Sivakami has come to be known as Kayalvizhi. I happened to hear this, when she was narrating this to one of her friends" said Meenakshi.

"It is said that one's attributes and feelings like love, compassion etc, will be reflected in one's eyes. When your employer doesn't have even an iota of compassion, what is the use of her having beautiful eyes?" said Rani.

"You may be right. Her eyes look beautiful, alright. But when I see her acting with no sympathy or empathy, I will often think that it is a pity that such beautiful eyes don't have even a bit of compassion in them."

"You and your employer share a common trait!" said Rani, smiling.

"Are you suggesting that like my employer, I am also a person with no compassion?" asked Rani, upset by her friend's remark.

"No. I referred to the interesting coincidence of the names of both of you having the same meaning. Meenakshi is a Sanskrit name meaning one who has eyes resembling a fish, while Kayalvizhi is a Tamil name with the same meaning!"

"Oh! I don't know. After all, I am not educated. If I had pursued education, just as you had, I wouldn't have to suffer the ordeal of working for a person like Kayalvizhi, totally devoid of compassion!" said Meenakshi, with a sigh.

Thirukkural

Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 58

Compassion

Verse 574 (in Tamil):

uL pOl mugaththu evan seyyum aLavinAl
kaNNOttam illAdha kaN.

Meaning:

If the eyes are not abound with compassion,

what purpose do they serve, by giving the appearance of being on the face?

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'mInAtchiyin ejamAni' by the same author.)

Verse 575
Verse 573

573. The Novice Composer

"What kind of music have you composed? The lyrics depict a sad mood. But your music is set for a joyous mood!" said Kanniappan, the Director of the film.

"I will compose another tune, sir!" said Nathan, apologetically. It was the first opportunity he got to compose music for a film and it was the first song he composed for the film.

"I can't wait till you compose another tune. I have to shoot the scene" Kanniappan yelled at him.

He then turned to Venu, the producer of the film and told him, "I can't work with him. Replace him with Sundar."

Venu bent his head towards Kanniappan and spoke to him in a low voice, "Mr. Kanniappan. This boy is young and inexperienced. But he has talent. This being his first song, he has composed a good tune to impress us, failing to notice that the tune was not appropriate for the mood of the song. He says he will compose another tune. Let us give him a chance."

"Sir! If you think that he is so important to you, then you may engage another director in my place" said Kanniappan nonchalantly. He said "pack up" to the team and left the studio.

Venu looked at Nathan, who was standing unnerved, and told him, "Don't worry, young man. Kanniappan being a veteran director, would only talk that way. I will talk to him later and pacify him. Compose another tune for this song and keep it ready. In case, he is adamant about replacing you, I will give you a chance in my next film. You have talent. I have no doubt that you will come up in this field. Even if I have to replace you with another composer for this film, I won't ask you to return the advance payment I gave you. My best wishes" said Venu.

Nathan paid obeisance to Venu with folded hands and left.

"What is this, sir? This director speaks to you in a disrespectful way" said Venu's assistant Sakthivel.

"Success has gone to his head. He is is in demand and so he thinks he can dictate to others. He is driven by arrogance. When he doesn't give the respect due to me as the producer of the film, how can we expect him to show some consideration towards a novice like Nathan? The poor boy is rattled by Kanniappan's tantrums. Kanniappan says that the music composed by Nathan does not fit with the mood of the song. But he doesn't realize that acting towards other people without empathy and compassion doesn't fit with human nature!" said Venu, in a regretful tone.

Thirukkural
Section 2
Materialism
Chapter 58
Compassion

Verse 573 (in Tamil):

paN ennAm pAdaRku iyaibu inREl kaN ennAm
kaNNOttam illAdha kaN.

Meaning:

What value does a tune have, if it is not appropriate to the tune?

What is the purpose of having eyes that have no compassion?

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'pudhiya isai amaippALar' by the same author.)

Verse 574
Verse 572