182. What Priya Couldn't Understand

When Priya was doing her homework, Sarada, a neighbour came to see Priya's mother Valli.

Both were chatting about various topics. Priya was able to hear some words. Though she was focused on doing her home work, some of the things heard by her attracted her attention.

Initially, the two women were talking about matters relating to their own families. The conversation then turned to matters relating to other people, living in the neighbourhood. 

"I have never seen another supercilious woman like Thangam" said Valli. 

"I don't know much about her. But I have heard that she is somewhat arrogant" said Sarada.

"Not only arrogant, but also conceited. She hails from a poor family. His father has been earning his livelihood, by working as a low-paid accountant in a shop. Till recently, her husband had also been struggling, with his business not doing well. But, suddenly he had a stroke of luck and his business took off. He has become wealthy now. After that, this woman started behaving as if she was born rich."

"I hear that she visits you often" said Sarada.

"She does. She needs to boast about her new acquisitions and extravagant spending to someone!"

"Oh! That means, like me, she is also a friend of you!" said Sarada.

"I can't say she is a friend. My husband helped her husband a lot, when he had been struggling with financial problems. Thangam's husband is grateful to my husband. She has also been trying to show that she has not forgotten our help. But she has a circle of friends, who would keep flattering her. She would be in their midst most of the time. She is friendly with me, only to please her husband."

"I think her parents-in-law are living with her" asked Sarada, turning the conversation to another aspect of Thangam's life.

"Oh, it is a pity. She treats them like slaves. They have to eat whatever food she serves them and keep quiet. They have no say in their family affairs."

Priya found the conversation distracting. But there was no place in her house, where she could sit quietly, away from the talk. She also enjoyed the distraction, since it gave her some relief from the boredom of the homework. 

Sarada left after some time. 

After sometime, there was a knock on the door. Priya went to the door and opened it.

Thangam aunty!

'It was about her that mom was talking to Sarada aunty, a few minutes back.'

"Come in, aunty!" said Priya. 

Presently, Valli came from inside the house.

"Oh, Thangam! Welcome! Nowadays, you come to my house only rarely" said Valli and took Thangam inside.

Priya was distracted again, this time by the conversation between Valli and Thangam, making it difficult for her to concentrate on her homework. 

Since Thangam spoke in a low voice, Priya couldn't hear most of what she said. She could only hear her repeatedly addressing Valli as akkaa*, respectfully.

But, Priya was able to hear her mother's words clearly.

"Just now, I was speaking to Sarada about you. I was telling her, 'We can't find another humble person like Thangam. She brought luck to her husband. It was only after marrying her that there was a turnaround in the fortunes of his business. They are now one of the wealthiest families in the town. But, both the husband and wife are so humble, kind and helpful.'"

"We are like we always were in the past. What is remarkable about it?" replied Thangam. Priya had to guess some of the words, Thangam's voice being so low.

"Everyone in our town appreciates the way you take care of your parents-in-law. You look after them so nicely. You won't allow them to do any work. You take care to see that they are comfortable and happy.Your modesty is exemplary. Even women with a little education act with an air of superiority. But, in spite of having a college education, you are modest and humble, like a village girl" said Valli. 

Thangam left after a while. 

After Thangam had left, Priya asked her mother, "Mom! Just a few minutes back, while conversing with Sarada aunty, you spoke ill of Thangam aunty. But, while talking to Thangam aunty, you praised her!" 

"You can't say bad things about a person to the person's face. Courtesy requires that we say good things about a person, while conversing with that person" said Valli.

"Then, why should you speak ill of a person behind the person's back? You could have refrained from saying anything, whether good or bad about Thangam aunty to Sarada aunty. After all, you have been having a good relationship with Thangam aunty. In such a case, is it not wrong to speak badly about her to others?" asked Priya.

"You can't understand these things. Complete your home work" said Valli, with irritation in her voice. 

*akka - elder sister

Thirukkural
Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 19
Refraining From Backbiting

Verse 182 (In Tamil)

aRan azhI allavai seydhalin thIdhE
puRan azhI poyththu nagai.

Meaning:

To wear a deceitful smile in one’s presence but to slander him in his absence slaughtering his reputation, is more heinous than giving up all that is virtuous and doing unrighteous deeds.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'priyAvukkup puriyAdha vishayam' by the same author)

Verse 183 (Soon)
Verse 181

722. A Class for the Erudite

"You went to that coaching institute for an interview. What was the outcome?" Manavalan asked his friend Yogi. 

"They wanted me to take a class for their senior faculty members, who would be sitting in the class like students" said Yogi, showing his irritation.

"Why don't you do so?"

"I did. But those senior teachers, acting like dull students, asked me stupid questions, asked me to explain what I taught again, saying that they couldn't understand what I had taught and harassed me in other such ways. I gave up, feeling disgusted." 

"Oh!" said Manavalan and remained silent, as though thinking about what Yogi had said.

"Looking at the way you are thinking, I surmise that you want to try for that job!" said Yogi, mockingly.

"Yes. I want to make an attempt " said Manavalan.

"I won't like other people, especially my friends, to go through the ordeal I went through. But, if you want to get a taste of that embarrassing experience, God help you!" said Yogi. 

"Congratulations, Mr. Manavalan. Our team of senior faculty members has selected you for the job" said the Director of the coaching institute.

"Thank you, sir!" said Manavalan. 

"We expect our teachers to be well-versed in their subjects. That is why we ask people who apply for a teaching job at our institute to handle classes for the senior faculty members. The senior faculty members sitting in the class, being scholarly people, would pose incisive questions to the candidate who is teaching them. They would also check whether the candidate is able to explain the concepts in a way even students with below-the-average intelligence or leaning capacity can understand. The senior teachers would assume the role of a dull student and pose questions that a dull student would pose in a real classroom. We select only those candidates who are able to meet these challenges and perform to the satisfaction of the senior teachers, testing the candidate's knowledge and teaching ability. Only very few people are able to come out of this test successfully. There are many educated people in the world, but only very few of them are outstanding. You can take pride from the fact you belong to this tribe."

Manavalan felt proud and elated by the Director's words of appreciation.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 72
Divining the Mind

Verse 722 (in Tamil):
kaRRAruL kaRRAr enppaduvar kaRRAr mun
kaRRa selach cholluvAr.

Meaning:

Those who can demonstrate their learning before the learned will be regarded as the most learned among the learned.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'kaRRavar avaiyil' by the same author.) 

Verse 723 (Soon)
Verse 721

721. Why Did Ramkumar Lie?

Selvaratnam met Ramkumar, in a function.

Selvaratnam was the Secretary of the 'Association of Finance Professionals,' which had finance professionals as its members.

Learning that Ramkumar was a senior executive in the Finance department of a big company and that some of his research essays in the field of Finance had been published in reputed journals on Economics and Finance, Selvaratnam asked him, "Why don't you deliver a talk in our association, on a topic relating to Finance?"

"The members of your association would be experts in the field. What can I talk to them about?" replied Ramkumar.

"You have practical experience in handling finance. You are a scholar, who has academic knowledge and written articles in professional journals. I am sure you will be able to share something useful with our members" said Selvaratnam, encouragingly.

Ramkumar reluctantly accepted the invitation to speak in Selvaratnam's Sssociation.

"I will fix up a date next week and inform you the date in about two days" said Selvaratnam.

"What is the topic you want me to speak on?" asked Ramkumar.

After reflecting for a minute or two, Selvaratnam said, "The government has recently made some changes in the laws relating to non-banking finance companies. Maybe, you can speak on that topic."

"Okay" said Ramkumar. He then added, "Can you send me a brief profile of your members? If I know about their background, I can tailor my speech accordingly."

"In fact, I recently prepared a profile of our members for some other purpose. I will send it to you by email" said Selvaratnam.

After two days, Selvaratnam called up Ramkumar and gave him the date fixed for his lecture.

"Can you postpone the talk by one week" asked Ramkumar.

"Why?"

"An important work has come up in my office. I will be fully engaged for the whole of next week. I will have no time to prepare for my talk."

"No problem. I have not yet communicated the date of the meeting to our members. We will have your lecture on 21st, instead of 14th."

"Yes. That will be fine" said Ramkumar.

"Mr. Ramkumar! Your speech was excellent. It was well appreciated by our members," Selvaratnam told Ramkumar over phone.

"Thank you. After my talk was over, some of your members met me and conveyed their appreciation to me. I should thank you for the opportunity."

"It was my pleasure. By the way, when I suggested a date, why did you want the date to postponed?"

"I told you the reason already" said Ramkumar, somewhat defensively, perplexed why Selvaratnam asked the question now.

"You said that you had some important things to attend to, in your office. But, I think that was not the reason. Last week, when I had been to a place near your office on some other work, I dropped in to your office. I was told that you were on leave for a few days. If you had important work in the office, you wouldn't have taken leave at that time!"

"When I went through the profile of your members sent by you, I noticed that your members were highly qualified professionals. There were Chartered Accountants, Cost Accountants and other types of Finance professionals. I thought that most of them would be aware of the changes in the laws relating to non-banking finance companies, the topic on which I was to speak. They would catch even a small mistake or factual error in my speech. Therefore, I decided that I should make my speech thorough, without giving any scope for anyone to find even a small error in the facts or information I would be presenting. So, I wanted to take more time and prepare the speech thoroughly" said Ramkumar, with a slight discomfort. 

"Without adopting the attitude 'Let me present things to the extent of what I know,' you had resolved to make your speech perfect, free from even a small mistake and spent a lot of time to prepare well for your talk. I think that you took leave only for preparing for the speech. I appreciate your sincerity and commitment" said Selvaratnam, with a heartfelt feeling of appreciation.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 73
Knowing Your Audience

Verse 721 (in Tamil):
vagai aRindhu vallavai vAy sOrAr sollin
thogai aRindha thUymaiyavar.

Meaning:

Those who are well versed in various kinds of speech,

will choose the right style for a forum, and won’t blunder out of fear.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'iLam pEcchchAlarukku oru aRivuRai' by the same author.) 

Verse 722
Verse 720

181.The Whistle Blower

Chandran did not expect that his sending the letter to the head office would lead to such a consequence.

Chandran, working as a junior officer in a government undertaking, had been watching with shock and helplessness, the irregularities and corruption in his office..

On several occasions, he brought the violations to the notice of Sundaravadanam, the Branch Manager. But Sundaravadanam's response to Chandran's complaints was lukewarm. In course of time, Chandran realized that Sundaravadanam had also a role in the irregularities taking place in his office.

The office where Chandran was working was functioning in a rented place. The branch decided to construct its own building for the office and got the approval for its proposal from the head office. Tenders were called for constructing an office building on a piece of land owned by the organization.

The files relating to the tender came to Chandran, as per the work allocation in the office. Chandran scrutinized all the tenders received and forwarded the file to the Branch Manager, recommending that the tender of a reputed firm that had quoted the lowest cost be accepted 

The file did not come back to him from the Branch Manager. After a few days, Chandran came to know that the file was allocated to another officer. He also learnt that the tender was decided in favour of a firm, which had quoted a higher amount.

Chandran thought that it was a good opportunity to expose the irregularities practiced in his office and sent a letter to the head office, narrating the developments relating to the tender. 

A few days after Chandran had sent the letter to the head office, he received an email message from the head office that he was suspended, for violating the rules of the organization. 

Filled with anger and dismay, Chandran went to Sundaravadanam's office.

"Why have you suspended me, sir? What crime did I commit?" he asked the Branch Manager, angrily. 

"I have not suspended you. The head office has" said Sundaravadanam.

"I am only asking you to tell me the reason."

"Mr. Chandran! You wrote to the head office and they replied to you. Why are you asking me for the reason?"

"How did you know that I wrote a letter to the head office? Was it not because they told you about it?"

"What do you expect me to do?"

"I wrote to the head office, informing them of an irregularity that has taken place in this office, giving all the details. Instead of probing the irregularity, the head office has suspended me. Is this not preposterous?"

"Mr. Chandran! You should have known that your writing a letter to the head office directly was improper. As per the procedures in place, you can send any communication to the head office, only through the branch office."

"Through you, you mean! My complaint was against you. How could I have sent that complaint to the head office, through you?"

"You could have brought it to the notice of the Vigilance Officer, posted in our office!"

"He works under you. And, the entire office knows that he is your accomplice!"

"Don't use words like accomplice. Speak in a responsible way" said Sundaravadanam, angrily.

"What is going to happen next, sir?"

"Usually, the head office will constitute an enquiry committee to go into the charges against the suspended employee. It will take several months for the probe to be completed. But, the General Manager told me that since he was visiting our office on Monday, he would conduct the enquiry himself and take a decision" said Sundaravadanam. 

"He was the one who suspended me. And, he is going to question me about the allegations against me! It is clear that everything that has been taking place in this office has his knowledge and blessings. He appears to be your partner in crime" said Chandran, with disgust.

"Mr. Chandran! You are making one mistake after another. I can record that you made a wild allegation about the General Manager and take action on you."

"You will do anything, sir. You have the authority, after all!" said Chandran angrily and came out of the Branch Manager's cabin. 

'In a fit of anger, I spoke to the Branch Manager, making an allegation against the General Manager. What if the Branch Manager carries this to the General Manager and the General Manager acts against me? I should have been more restrained' thought Chandran, after he came out of Sundaravadanam's cabin.

On Tuesday, Chandran went to Sundaravadanam's cabin to meet him.

"Did you meet the General Manager yesterday? What did he say?" Sundaravadanam asked Chandran.

"Sir! May I ask you something? The other day, in a fit of anger, I said certain inappropriate things about our General Manager. Did you tell the General Manager about it?" asked Chandran. 

"Did the General Manager ask you anything about it?"

"No. he didn't?"

"How could he have asked you about it, when I had not told him what you had told me about him?"

"You mean you didn't tell the General Manager about it?" asked Chandran, in astonishment.

"Mr. Chandran! I may be unhappy with you about certain things you have done. But, it doesn't mean that I will carry your words to others and indulge in backbiting. I am not such a person. If I had conveyed your words to the General Maanager, won't that have prejudiced him against you and clouded his judgement, when he probed the allegations against you?"

For the first time, Chandran felt a respect for Sundaravadanam.

"When will the General Manager convey his decision about my suspension?" asked Chandran.

"Did you not check your mail? The General Manager has already lifted your suspension, after giving you a warning. You can go to your seat and attend to your work" said Sundaravadanam, with a smile. 

Thirukkural

Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 19
Refraining From Backbiting

Verse 181 (In Tamil)

aRan kURan alla seyinum oruvan
puRam kURAn enRal inidhu.

Meaning:

Even if a a person doesn't speak of morality, but indulges in immoral acts, it will be good if it is said of him "he does not indulge in backbiting."

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'chandiran seydha thavaRu' by the same author)

Verse 182
Verse 180

720. A Speaker's Experience

Chitrambalam, being a renowned speaker, known for his wit and wisdom, would often receive speaking assignments from various forums. The invitation received from the entertainment club was one such. 

Since it was an entertainment club, Chitrambalam thought that it would be appropriate to speak on a humorous topic. He prepared a speech on the topic 'The intoxication of fame.'

When Chitrambalam returned home after delivering his speech in the entertainment club, his wife Vanathi asked him, "Why are you looking so dull? Are you not feeling well?"

"No. I am okay" said Chitrambalam and sank into the reclining chair. 

"Are you running a temperature?" asked Vanitha, touching his forehead with her fingers, in an attempt to gauge the warmth of his body.

"No. I am fine, physically. But, I feel mentally exhausted, after speaking in the entertainment club. I realize that I made a mistake in accepting the speaking assignment at that club. I have never seen such an unruly and uncivilized audience" said Thiruchchitrambalam, with disgust.

"What did they do?"

"The major activity of the members of the club appears to comprise only drinking, chatting and playing cards. The secretary of the club had arranged my lecture, for a change, thinking that the members would have an opportunity to experience something different from what they usually do. It was as if he had told them that he would arrange for drinks to be served, only after the lecture got over! Almost every one sitting in the audience began to look at their watches, the moment the meeting had begun. I felt dismayed at that sight. Even as I was speaking, standing on the dais, the members were talking among themselves, sitting in their seats. The secretary appealed to them several times to stop talking and listen to my speech, but the members paid no heed to his words. I was delivering a humorous speech, but it was falling on deaf ears. Only a few people, scattered at different spots in the hall, listened to me and showed their enjoyment. Towards the end of my speech, one person stood up and asked me, 'Sir! I have a question relating to your topic, 'The Intoxication of Fame.' Will the intoxication of fame be as powerful as the intoxication of liquor?' 

"I prepared a speech for one hour, but, discouraged by the behaviour of the audience, I curtailed my speech to thirty minutes. The Secretary of the club apologized to me for the behaviour of the members. He told me, 'For the first time, I arranged for a speech in our club. But, our members had shown that they didn't deserve such good programs. I apologize to you for their behaviour.' I told him, 'I appreciate your gracefulness in apologizing for the behaviour of your members. But, I have a small piece of advice for you. Let this be the first and last speech you would ever arrange for your club members! Please don't invite any other speaker and humiliate him.' I feel like cooking a delicious feast and throwing it on a dirty surface" said Thiruchtrambalam, still not recovering from his discomfiture. 

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 72
Divining the Mind

Verse 720 (in Tamil):
angaNaththuL ukka amizhdhaRRAl tham kaNaththAr
allAr mun kOtti koLal.

Meaning:

Speaking before an audience who don't belong to your intellectual class is like throwing away the nectar into the drains.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'mana magizh manRam' by the same author.) 

Verse 721
Verse 719

719. Advice to A Budding Speaker

Many speakers spoke commending the young speaker, who delivered a maiden speech in the event.

Bard Senthilnathan, the last person to speak in the event, said, "Orators will receive many offers to speak in various events and functions. But, a budding orator should not accept all the offers. He should accept only those assignments, which involve speaking in an assembly of learned people, or people keen on listening to the speaker. If he gets a chance to speak in a forum comprising stupid or petty minded people, he should summarily reject it. This is the advice I would like to offer to any budding speaker."

After the event had got over, Gokul, a long-time associate of Senthilnathan, asked him, "Senthil, I was surprised by the advice you gave to budding speakers. Don't you think that only if a budding speaker makes use of all the opportunities that comes his way, he would be able to earn name and fame?"

"That was my idea when I was young. I accepted all kinds of speaking opportunities offered to me. But, I realized that speaking in an assembly of people not interested in listening to the speech had only made me depressed. Subsequently, I began to avoid speaking in forums or assemblies that would largely be composed of people with no interest in listening to the speakers."

"What kinds of audience responses would make a speaker feel depressed?"

"An audience with interest in listening to the speaker would listen to the speech earnestly, by paying attention to the speaker's words. Even if they didn't find the speech interesting, they would keep listening to the speech quietly, by way of showing their courtesy to the speaker. On the other hand, an audience, largely made of people with no intention to listen to the speaker, would openly display their lack of interest, through face expressions, gestures and other actions. They would raise both their arms, lock their palms and release them, as if they were trying to convey their boredom to the speaker! They would keep shifting their sitting positions, even without moving out of their chairs. They would engage themselves in whispering conversations with their neighbours. Some would do this, even while looking at the speaker through the corner of their eyes. Some would talk to their neighbours and laugh, as if sharing a joke, even while looking at the speaker straight in his eyes, clearly communicating a message to the speaker, 'you carry on. I have more interesting things to do, than listening to your speech!' Above all, some would do things diverting the attention of others, preventing others from listening to the speech, in the process. Now, in the cellphone era, they could resort to more creative speeches, to disrupt the speaker!"

"Were a renowned speaker like you also subjected to such experiences?" asked Gokul, with dismay.

"Gokul! The examples I gave just now were the experiences I had during my speech events!" said Senthilnathan, laughing. 

"This is surprising to me. I have invited yo to speak in many events organized by me. You politely declined some assignments, citing a health problem, or some other reason. Was your unwillingness to speak in an assembly of certain types of people the real reason for your doing so?"

"Gokul! You are my friend" said Senthilnathan, smiling. 

He didn't have the heart to tell his friend, 'Gokul! Most of the incidents narrated by me happened in the meetings organized by you!' 

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 72
Knowing Your Audience

Verse 719 (in Tamil):
pul avaiyuL pochchAndhum sollaRka nal avaiyuL
nangu salach cholluvAr.

Meaning:

Those who can speak lucidly in a learned forum,

should refrain from speaking in an unworthy forum, even by mistake.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'iLam pEcchchAlarukku oru aRivuRai' by the same author.) 

Verse 720
Verse 718

180. Dealing With Competition

"We have been in this business for the past many years. A person who started his business five years back has grown so much within a short time" said Madan, the Managing Director of Anand Industries, grudgingly.

"Sir, I think you are talking about Lakshmi Enterprises. They are operating at a much smaller scale than us. They can never be a competitor to us" said Sundar, CEO of the firm.

"No, Mr. Sundar! People have been talking about them, in the market. This is not a good sign. If we want to retain our market share, we should nip any competition in the bud."

"What do you suggest, sir?"

"Let us first gather complete details about Lakshmi Enterprises. I feel disturbed looking at their factory on the main road. It is a rented place. We should find a way to evict them from that place."

After two days, Sundar came to Madan, with information.

"Lakshmi Enterprises has taken their factory building on lease, for five years. The lease is going to expire in two months. The firm has been making arrangements to renew the lease" Sundar told Madan.

"We should ensure that the lease is not renewed. Get in touch with the owner of the building and request him not to renew the lease to Lakshmi Enterprises. If necessary, we can even buy that building from the present owner."

"Sir! We have not been able to make full use of the space we have in our factory building. Should we invest our funds in a new building?" asked Sundar.

"We may not be able to use the building, but we can give it for rent. Even if the building is going to remain idle, it doesn't matter. We should aim to drive our competitor out of business in six months and take over his customers."

"What if the owner of the building doesn't want to sell the building?"

"Offer thim a price higher than the market price. We will mobilize the required sum of money by raising some loans" said Madan.

"I don't understand why the owner of the building is refusing to renew the lease, at the last moment" Shanmugam, the General Manager of Lakshmi Enterprises, told Lakshminarayanan, the Managing Director.

"Ok. What can we do, if the owner of the property doesn't want to renew the lease? It will take two years for our factory building to come up in the land we have purchased recently. Till that time, we have to rent some other place for our factory. A factory building located in the industrial estate, has been vacant for the past six months. The building owner told me, when I met him in a meeting recently that he intended to give it on rent. We can rent that place. The area is slightly smaller than what we have now. But, I think we can manage" said Lakshminarayanan.

"Sir! I understand that Mr. Madan, the Managing Director of Anand Industries has given pressure to the owner of the building, not to renew the lease to us. It appears that Anand Industries is going to buy that building."

"Why should we be concerned about it? We have got another place to locate our factory."

"Sir! We should hit Anand Industries back in some manner. We can make a few of their top technical people quit Anand Industries and join us. I hear that the employees are not happy there. They will be willing to join us, even for the same salary they are getting there. We need more people, since we will be expanding our operations in two years' time. Mr. Madan will realize that this game can be played by both the sides, only if we hit him hard."

"Anand Industries is much bigger than us. But they want to grab our share of the business, which is quite small. Let, us not think like them and grab their senior staff from them. Let us just focus on our own business" said Lakshminarayanan.

"You have dropped a bombshell!" exclaimed Madan.

"The Government order is expected today. The government is taking over the land and building bought by us, for road expansion" said Sundar.

"Such takeovers will take time. Someone will get a stay from the court."

"This scheme had been announced by the government five years back. The implementation was pending, because of the cases filed by some people. With the cases pending in the court, everyone seems to have forgotten about the scheme. That was why this issue didn't come to our notice, when we bought the land six months back. Yesterday, the court gave a judgement in favour of the government. The government is acting swiftly, by issuing an order today. They will start working on the scheme without delay."

"But, the government will compensate us for taking over our land and building!"

"Yes, sir. But the price fixed by the government will be much below the market price. And, it may take a few years for the government to pay the price to us. They may even pay the price in two or more installments. We have purchased the property at a price much above the market price. The loss we will suffer may be substantial" said Sundar.

Madan began to wonder how much would the loss be and to what extent that loss would affect his business.     

Thirukkural

Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 16
Bearing No Envy

Verse 180 (In Tamil)

iRal Inum eNNAdhu vehkin viRal Inum
vENdAmai enum serukku.

Meaning:

Coveting the wealth of another, unmindful of consequences, will bring destruction. The nobility of living without coveting others' wealth will bring success.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'mARiyadhu kaNakku' by the same author.)

Verse 181 (Soon)
Verse 179