558. Keep the Change!

After the taxi came out of the airport and entered the main road, Vivek asked the driver, "Before starting the car, you worshipped a picture by touching it and then touching your eyes. Is it the picture of Mahatma Gandhi?"

"Yes" replied, Senthil, the driver. "Did you see me touching it and paying obeisance to it?" 

"Yes, I did. But it appeared that you were doing it secretly, taking care to ensure that no one saw you doing it!" said Vivek, laughing.

"Yes. Some people, who had seen me doing this, made fun of me. That is why I do it, without giving a chance to others to see my doing it."

"I won't make fun of your act. I don't know why you pay obeisance to Gandhi, treating him as God. But I feel that at this point o time, we need a person like Gandhi, to salvage our country."

Senthil turned back and looked at the passenger with surprise.

"I worship Gandhi, praying that he should save this country. But, I am surprised that wealthy people like you also think that way!" said Senthil.

"A political party can come to power only by getting the votes of the poor, who constitute an overwhelming majority of the electorate. People who are now in power have come to the position, only because the poor people of this country have voted for them. But, if an industrialist like me finds fault with the government, people like you ask us, 'You belong to the affluent class. What problem could you have!'"

"Sir, don't mistake me. I don't know about you. But is it not true that the actions of this government have affected the poor people in a big way? The present rulers have hiked up the prices of all essential commodities. They have taken away the rights of the workers. They arrest the journalists who criticize the government and keep them in prison for months together. As a result, there is virtually no one to raise their voice for the poor. It is true that the rulers got the votes of the poor and won the elections. It doesn't mean that the poor are happy under this government" said Senthil.

"What you say is true. But not many people are aware of the difficulties faced by people like me - industrialists, traders, people engaged in small business, self-employed etc. Except for a couple of big industrialists, all businessmen have been facing severe problems, under the present government. The economic and taxation policy of this government favours only a handful of big corporate groups. It appears that the government is there, only to take care of the interests of these people. It appears that very soon, people like us will have to shut down our businesses and work as sub-contractors for these corporate groups. Already, many industrialists and businessmen have closed shop and come to the streets, unable to repay the loans taken by them. Nobody is even talking about these developments. When workers are affected, they will come out and protest. We can't do even that!"

"Sorry to hear that. I was thinking that only the poor suffered under this government. It appears that people whom I consider well-to-do have been suffering even more" said Senthil.

"Seeing you pay your respect to Gandhi, I had an impulse to open my mind and share my feelings with you. I have never shared my views about this government with anyone, except a couple of my close friends" said Vivek.

After that, neither of them said anything.

When the taxi reached the destination, Vivek looked at the taxi app on his mobile screen. It showed the fare as Rupees 550. Vivek handed two five hundred rupee notes to Senthil.

Without receiving the money, Senthil asked Vivek, "Don't you have a fifty rupee note?"

"I don't" said Vivek.

"In that case, pay me only five hundred rupees" said Senthil, and took one five hundred rupee note from Vivek.

"You are taking fifty rupees less. Will this not be a loss to you?" asked Vivek.

"It is okay, sir!" said Senthil.

It appeared to Vivek that Senthil might be thinking, 'You are worse off than me. Keep the change!'

Thirukkural

Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 56

Tyranny

Verse 558 (in Tamil):

inmaiyin innAdhu udaimai muRai seyyA
mannavan kOl kIzhp padin.

Meaning:

If one were to live under an unjust ruler.

being wealthy is worse than being poor,

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'Keep the change' by the same author.)

Verse 559 (Soon)
Verse 557

557. After the Migration

"Guru! I find the sufferings of the people of this Maragatha country heart-rending" said the disciple.

"Yes. Even a person like me, who is considered to have attained a status of having absolute control over my emotions feel depressed, by looking at the sufferings of these people. Of all the tragedies in the world, the tragedy resulting from the failure of rains is the most gruesome" said the Guru.

"Why do things like this take place, Guru? Why is God so merciless towards the people of this country?"

The Guru closed his eyes for a moment and then said, "If we could understand God's mind, then the very idea of God will become meaningless. This is the only reply I can give you now."

"Maybe, if I become more matured, I will be able to give you a better reply!" he added, with a smile.

After some time, the Guru told his disciple, "A severe famine prevails in this country because of the failure of the rain to arrive. However, people, in spite of not getting enough food even for themselves, have been offering food to us, considering that we are ascetics. We can't accept this strained hospitality for long. It is only appropriate that we leave this country and migrate to some other country. Even after migrating to some other country, we will continue to pray for relief for the people of Maragatha country. That is the only thing we can do."

Accordingly, they migrated to Gomethaka country.

"In contrast to Maragatha country, Gomethaka country is full of fertile lands and bountiful crops" said the disciple.

'Yes. Let us pray that Maragatha country also be blessed with abundance of grains from the crops grown there" said the Guru.

A few weeks after their settling down in Gomethaka country, the disciple told the Guru, "Guru! Though this country is blessed with abundance of resources and plentiful yield of grains, people of this country do not seem to be happy. I see on the faces of people of Gomethaka country, the same signs of grief I saw in the people of Maragatha country, due to their suffering from famine conditions."

"Yes. The intensity of grief on the faces of the people of Gomethaka country is even more than that on the faces of Maragatha country."

"Why is it so, Guru? Why are these people engulfed in grief, when they have been living in a state of abundance?"

"Living in abundance has not made these people happy. How can people be happy, when they are under a tyrannical rule?"

"What do you mean, Guru?"

"The king of Gomethaka is a tyrant. People have been suffering under his rule, the way plants will suffer from lack of rain."

"But I have heard people praising the king!"

"Two kinds of people will praise a tyrant. One kind of people, who blindly support the king, praise him. The other kind of people praise the king, fearing that if they don't do so, they would be branded enemies of the state and put in prison. There is also a third kind of people, who, like a farmer desperately hoping for the rain to arrive, have been waiting for the tyranny to come to an end and for breathing the air of freedom. Since they don't reveal themselves, we won't be able to identify them" said the Guru, wit a sigh.

"What should we do, Guru?"

"Just as we have been praying for rains to arrive in Maragatha country, let us pray that the tyrannical rule of the king in Gomethaka country come to an end soon and that people of this country be blessed with a benign rule. What else can we do?" said the Guru.

Thirukkural

Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 56

Tyranny

Verse 557 (in Tamil):

thuLi inmai gnAlaththiRku eRRaRRE vEndhan
aLi inmai vAzhum uyirkku.

Meaning:

Just as lack of rain is to the world, so is

rulers’ lack of benevolence, to the people.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'nAdu vittu nAdu vandhu' by the same author.)

Verse 558
Verse 556

556. The Lucky Ruler!

"Oh, king! After a long time, you wanted to meet me and invited you to your palace? What is the matter?" asked the king's mentor.

"Pardon me, Guru! Since I was facing a lot of problems, I didn't find the time to meet you and pay my respects. Don't mistake me" said the king.

'It didn't strike you to meet me and seek my counsel, when you had problems. Perhaps, you felt that my advice won't be palatable to you!' thought the mentor.

"Since you have now found the time to meet me, I believe that you have resolved the problems faced by you!" said the mentor.

The king looked at the mentor, with an embarrassed expression and said, "Guru! You can't be unaware of the fact that our country has been facing a lot of problems, for the past couple of years. The problems are intensifying day by day and new problems are cropping up every day. I feel that things are going out of my control. I requested a meeting with you, to seek your help and counsel."

"Tell me. What is your problem?"

"Guru! For the past few years, there have been a lot of protests and agitations in the country. People who were affectionate towards me earlier, seemed to have developed a dislike towards me. They are even angry with me. It is true that there are problems like food shortage etc. in our country. But what is the justification for people becoming angry with me because of these problems?"

"Is it true that you invited me only to seek my counsel?"

"Yes, Guru. Why do you have this doubt?"

"In that case, I should tell you some truths. You said that earlier, people were affectionate towards you."

"Yes, Guru. I have experienced their affection."

"It is true. I have also witnessed it. But there should be a reason for people who had affection for you to develop a dislike for you."

The king remained silent.

"In your heart, you know the reason for people's anger towards you. But you are reluctant to accept it. I will be frank with you. In the beginning, you governed the country with righteousness and compassion. You had concern for people's welfare. People reciprocated your good rule, by showing their affection towards you. But, when the problem of food shortage arose, instead of coming to people's help, you imposed more taxes on them. When people protested, you put down the protests, by unleashing repression on the protesters, by the use of force. The protesters were beaten up by the guards and many of them were imprisoned for long periods. You did these on the advice of some people surrounding you. Since you knew that I wouldn't have approved of your actions, you avoided meeting me. I was aware of your predicament. Since, people affected by food shortages, undaunted by your highhandedness, have intensified their protests, you realized that the situation had gone out of control and then called me for advice. Am I right?" asked the mentor, looking into the king's eyes.

The king turned his face away, averting the mentor's gaze. "Guru! What you say is right. But what is perplexing me is that people don't respect my authority" he said, in a faint voice.

"People respect only the authority of the sceptre of the king. If the sceptre is straight, they will respect and love the king. If the spectre's uprightness is violated, the king will lose his respect. However, I think you are a lucky person!"

"Lucky person! What do you mean?" asked the king, perplexed.

"Because, even when the people are dissatisfied with you, you continue as the king! In some countries, a new system of rule called democracy has come into force. Under that system, people will decide who should rule them through a system of voting. The person who gets the votes of the largest number of people will rule the country for five years. After that, there will be another election. If people are not happy with the person who ruled them for the last five years, they will vote him out and elect another person as the new ruler. You don't have to face such a situation. That is why I called you lucky" said the mentor, smiling.

The king looked at his mentor with a mixed feeling of amazement and apprehension.

Thirukkural

Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 56

Tyranny

Verse 556 (in Tamil):

mannarkku mannudhal sengOnmai ahdhu inREl
mannAvAm mannarkku oLi.

Meaning:

Just rule yields lasting fame to a ruler;

no justice, no fame.

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

Verse 557
Verse 555

1130. The Mirror That That Reflects 'His' Image!

"I think it has been six months since Thirumaran left on his tour. Am I right?" Kodhai asked Maragadham.

Kodhai was a distant relative of Maragadham. She lived in a street adjacent to the one Maragadham lived. Kodhai would often visit Maragadham's house to have a chat with Maragadham's mother. Every time, she came to their house, Kodhai never missed asking Maragadham about Thirumaran.

"It is nearly six months" said Maragadham.

"You are saying this casually, as if you are telling me the age of a child! What has he been doing for six months?"

"Auntie! He gives spiritual discourses. During his tour program, he will visit many places and then only return home. He is not a prince. So has can't be sending me a message about his location and next place of visit through a messenger. Usually, he returns from a tour in two or three months' time. Last year, when he visited some places for the first time, the people there asked him to visit their places every year. So, this time, he is taking a longer time to cover all the places. At the time of leaving, he told me that it might take six months for him to complete the tour and return home."

"It has been decided by both of your parents that you two are to be married to each other. Thirumaran could have gone on the tour after marrying you" said Kodhai.

"What difference would it have made?" shot back Maragadham.

"Once you are married to him, you will be able to have him in your control. If he has love for you, he shouldn't go places, leaving you alone for such a long time!" commented Kodhai, before leaving the place. 

'Goodbye, auntie! Go to some other house, find out what problem they have and aggravate their agony, by talking to them about it and making unhelpful comments' Maragadham said to herself, looking at the figure of Kodhai, leaving her house.

Maragadham stood before the mirror and looked at her reflection. She felt the excitement that she always did, while looking at the mirror. She was having this experience, from the time Thirumaran had left the village.

When Thirumaran, before starting his journey, came to her house for taking leave of her, Maragadham asked him, "You are going away, leaving me alone here for six months. How am I going to survive without seeing you?" holding back her tears, with great effort.

"Maragadham! There is an idol of the Vaishnavite saint Ramanuja in Sriperumpudur. The legend is that Ramanuja, before leaving Sriperumpudur, embraced the idol and infused his personality into it, so that his disciples could sense his presence, by looking at the idol and overcome the grief of his separation. After that, whenever Ramanuja left Sriperumpudur, his disciples would look at the idol and experience the feeling of seeing Ramanuja himself. That idol is called 'thaam ugandha thirumeni' an expression in Tamil, which means, 'an idol authenticated by (Ramanuja) himself.' In the same way, I am going to infuse my personality in you, so that you could always see my appearance, even when I am away" and embraced her tightly.

When Thirumaran embraced  Maragadham, she experienced a sensation of thrill. She realized that that thrill indicated his entering her heart.

From that time, Maragadham had been looking at the mirror several times a day and seeing her lover in her reflection. 'How can people like Kodhai understand this?' thought Maragadam, feeling proud.

"What is this, Maragadham? You stand before the mirror several times a day! Have you gone crazy? As soon as Thirumaran returns, I will get your marriage performed. Otherwise, your craze will intensify into  some form of mental disorder" said Maragdham's mother, seeing her daughter standing before the mirror.

Thirukkural
Section 3

Love

Chapter 113
In Praise of Love

Verse 1130 (in Tamil):
uvandhu uRaivar uLLatthuL enRum igandhu uRaivar
Edhilar ennum ivvUr.

Meaning:

He ever lives in my soul, with delight. But the townsfolk will call him loveless, saying 'he has gone far away, leaving her alone.'

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'uruvaththaik kAttidum kaNNAdi' by the same author.)

Verse 1131 (Soon)
Verse 1129

555. Why This Punishment?

"How could they have delivered such a verdict? During my long political career spanning over 30 years, there has not been a single allegation of corruption against me. When I was the Chief Minister, whenever there were allegations of corruption against a minister in my cabinet, I ordered a probe and took action against the minister concerned, if the probe indicated that the allegations were prima facie true. They filed a case accusing me of accumulating assets disproportionate to my income. I have been convicted and given prison sentence. They have also imposed a fine of ten crore rupees on me. I don't have assets to the value of ten crore rupees!" lamented Manimaran, a former Chief Minister, to his lawyer who had come to meet him in the prison.

"We have filed an appeal in the Supreme Court and also sought bail. You may get the bail in about a week. We have requested the Supreme Court to hear your case expeditiously" said the lawyer.

 ''Getting bail is fine. But this is a fundamentally flawed verdict. Since I was not guilty, in the beginning, I didn't take the case seriously. I was confident that I would be acquitted. But my political opponents created a false narrative that my younger brother's properties were acquired by me from ill-gotten income and that he was only a front for me. Even when the lower court convicted me, accepting this story, I was hoping that I would get justice in the High Court. But to my shock and surprise, the High Court has dismissed my appeal and confirmed my conviction."

"Sir! We have discussed the case in detail. Your brother was a bachelor and he lived in your house. He earned a lot of money in his real estate business. But, unfortunately, to evade taxes, he understated his income in his financial statements. He didn't keep proper records either. Since he had no children, he wrote a will leaving all his assets to your children. He died and all his assets came to your children. After you had lost the election, your political opponents made clever use of these facts to project that the assets acquired by your brother were, in act, acquired by you, since your brother had no means to acquire those assets and that his writing a will leaving his properties to your children confirmed this. Unfortunately, the circumstances supported their allegations and the courts accepted the case made out against you" said the lawyer.

"Then, how did you say that I would get a favourable verdict in the Supreme Court?" asked Manimaran, sounding angry.

'When did I say so?' said the lawyer to himself. 

"We will present strong arguments that the entire case is based on assumptions and that there is no evidence to show that you acquired the assets owned by your brother. There have been many instances of some big lawyers, through their skills of persuasion and argument, having successfully got the Supreme Court overturn the High Court judgements" he told Manimaran, in an attempt to infuse a sense of optimism in him.

"I am not sure. Anyway, please proceed with the appeal and the bail petition, as per your plan" said Manimaran.

Manimaran's wife Kumari came to the prison to meet him.

"Kumari! You know about me. I never took any bribe from anyone. I didn't have money to acquire these assets. Why should this happen to me?" asked Manimaran, sounding desperate.

Quite unexpectedly, Kumari reacted with an angry outburst.

"Do you want to know why? When you were in power, you adopted a highhanded approach and committed atrocities against ordinary people. You might not have taken bribes. But, what about your autocratic, aggressive and oppressive acts? I have cautioned you several times not to do things that would harm others. But you didn't listen to me."

"I don't understand what you are talking about. When I was running the government, I was bound to use the powers vested with me, to put down protests and agitations. My distractors called me an autocrat and a tyrant. But I only acted tough against people who tried to obstruct me from carrying our my plans. What can be wrong about it?" shot back Manimaran.

"The things you did were not just wrong. They were merciless and cruel. How many people did you imprison? You ordered lathi charge on peaceful protesters. You even ordered shooting on the agitators which led to the death of several people. It was nothing short of murder!"

"A strong government has to act strongly against people who hold protests and launch agitations!"

"Just because you had the power, you thought you could use it anyway you wanted to. You took the law into your hands. When people protested against that chemical factory, complaining that its exhaust fumes caused environmental effects resulting in many people including children getting diseases, you ordered firing against the protesters. Fifteen people were killed in the police firing. Even a boy who was supplying tea was killed. Do you know how I felt when I saw in the TV the cry of his mother? When I heard her curse, 'God will punish those who killed my son,' I was struck by the fear that something bad would happen to us. Now, you are in jail and we are going to lose all our properties, which are going to be confiscated by the government, as per the court order. Our two sons and I are going to be on the streets!"  cried Kumari, feeling both angry and frustrated.

Thirukkural

Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 56

Tyranny

Verse 555 (in Tamil):

allal pattu ARRAdhu azhudha kaNNIr anRE
selvaththaith thEykkum padai.

Meaning:

The tears shed by citizens subjected to intolerable grief

are the weapons that erode the rulers’ wealth.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'edhaRku indha dhandanai?' by the same author.)

Verse 556
Verse 554

554. Opinion Polls

The meeting of the High Power Committee of People's Democratic Party was going on.

"It has been two years since our party came to power. We contested the elections on three planks - honest politics, efficient administration and power to the people" said Shyam Prasad, a senior leader of the party.

 "Of course, we did! But, why are you mentioning this?" asked Amarnath, the party president.

"Are we running the government in tune with these principles?" asked Shyam Prasad.

"He is attacking the Prime Minister. We shouldn't allow this" yelled a supporter of the Prime Minister, in a loud and angry voice. 

"Let him air his views" said Prime Minister Mahadev. "Mr. Shyam Prasad! You are one of the most senior leaders of the party. I am willing to listen to your views and correct my functioning, if necessary. Tell us what deficiencies you find in our government."

Kalidas, who was sitting next to Shyam Prasad, whispered in his ears, "This is a trap. He will encourage you to speak your mind, but use your words to take action against you, accusing you of acting against the party's interests. Don't fall into this."

"I am not concerned about what they will do to me" Shyam Prasad told Kalidas, in a whispering tone. 

He then turned to the Prime Minister and said, "Don't you know what you have been doing? Your government is being run in contravention of the three principles propagated by us during the election campaign. Corruption in the government has increased many times over what it was when you took over. You have enacted laws that would affect the poor and the downtrodden people. You have let out repression on those who protest against the government and those who are critical of the government. You have taken several measures so as to benefit a couple of business houses, to the detriment of the vast majority of the people of our country. Because of your arbitrary actions, the economy of our country is in a precarious state."

"In which world are you living Mr. Shyam Prasad?" asked Amarnath, in an agitated tone. "The entire media has been saying that there was never a leader like Mr. Mahadev in any country of the world, during any time in history. All the opinion polls say that the Prime Minister has an approval rating exceeding 80%. We are going to win not only the next election, but also all the elections that will be held in the next hundred years. The newspapers describe Mr. Mahadev as the permanent Prime Minister of our country. Don't you read these papers?"

"You have imprisoned all critics of the government, branding them anti-national and created a situation that only the kind of media that sings the praise of the government could exist. You are living in a delusional world created by the pretentious praise of such media. You don't know what the reality is" shot back Shyam Prasad

"Mr. Shyam Prasad! I am pained to hear you speak the language of the enemies of our nation. I respect your views. But, since, no one in this committee agrees with you, I think we can talk of other things" said Mahadev, putting an end to the discussion.

The next day, there was an announcement from the People's Democratic Party that Shyam Prasad had been expelled from the party, because of his anti-party activities. There was also a raid on Shyam Prasad's house by the income tax authorities. But, nothing incriminating was recovered during the raid.

After getting expelled from the party, Shyam Prasad used the social media to voice his criticism about the government's policies and functioning. He was severely trolled by the supporters of the ruling party. Many libelous allegations were made against him.

During the next three years, the economy of the country kept deteriorating, going from bad to worse. But in the government's annual surveys, reports and budgets, a rosy picture of the economy was being projected.

It was time for the next election. The opinion polls carried by the media projected a huge win for the ruling party. They said that Mahadev's party would win an even more impressive victory than it did in the previous election.

The exit polls presented at the end of the polling day also confirmed the predictions of the opinion polls, by projecting that the Prime Minister's party would win about 80% of the seats in parliament.

However, when the votes were counted and the results announced, Mahadev's People's Democratic Party had ended up losing most of the seats it had contested. Mahadev himself was defeated in his constituency, losing his seat by a huge margin.

The new government that assumed office after the election, after making an assessment of the state of the country's economy and the government's finances, revealed that the country's economy was in a very bad shape and that the previous government had been giving out false and misleading information about the state of the country's economy.

Thirukkural

Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 56

Tyranny

Verse 554 (in Tamil):

kUzhum kudiyum orungizhakkum kOl kOdich
chUzhAdhu seyyum arasu.

Meaning:

The king who lets his sceptre tilt towards tyranny

will lose all his wealth, people and state.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'karuththuk kaNioougaL' by the same author.)

Verse 555
Verse 553

129. "Remember Me?"

Thirty years had passed. In Dhandapani's mind, the memories of spending his life as a boy in that village were like the impressions of a hazy dream.

Dhandapani's father had passed away two months before he was born. Dhandapani could not even know his father's face, since no photograph of his father was available.

In the year1960, in the village his family had lived, the number of people who would have been photographs was in single digit.

Arranging to be photographed even during a special occasion like marriage was a practice only among the well-to-do people living in towns.

"Look at your face in the mirror. What you will see is your father's face!" Dhandapani's grandmother would often tell him.

Dhandapani lived in his native village till he was five. Since he was brought up in a joint family, he did not feel the absence of his father very much.

When he was five years old, an incident happened. During the Deepavali festival, he was holding a sparkler in his hand and whirling it. 

His shirt caught fire, from coming into contact with the flame of the sparkler. For a couple of minutes, no one noticed it. By the time someone saw his shirt burning, pushed him on to the ground, rolled him a couple of times and put out the fire, the fire had burnt a small area on the side of his torso, below his right shoulder. It took a few weeks for the burn injury to heal.

A few months after this incident, Dhandapani left the village, with his mother, for Chennai, for living in his uncle's house.

He had his education in Chennai. After completing his education, he got a job, got married, begot children and settled down in Chennai.

After thirty years, he got a chance to visit his native village. 

His family members had decided to sell the properties in the village jointly owned by hem. The sale was finalized and the date for registration of the sale deed was also fixed. As one of the joint owners, Dhandapani was required to go to the Registrar's office and sign the registration of the sale.

Dhandapani arrived at the village, a day before the date of registration. He stayed in a relative's house. 

In the evening, he went around the village. No place appeared familiar to him. People said that the village had not changed much. Yet, he had no recollection of any place, which he should have visited as a boy.

He went to the house in which he had lived. He had no recollection of living in that house. Images of his standing outside that house, whirling a sparkler, someone shouting, 'fire, fire,' someone pushing him to the ground and rolling him and his getting scared by what was happening to him seemed to be the only things that stayed in his memory.

He sat on the pial of the house and wondered why he couldn't remember anything about his life in that house till his fifth year. 

He heard a noise and turned back.

A tall old man had come and stood near him. 

"Dhandapani! Do you remember me?" he asked.

Dhandapani looked at him. Even as he was wondering how he could possibly remember a face seen by him thirty years back, a spark appeared in his mind.

"Are you not Kulasekaran uncle?" asked Dandapani.

"Amazing! You remember my face after thirty years!" exclaimed Kulasekaran.

A scene appeared in Dhandapani's mental screen. It was vivid like a scene from a movie.

After he had the burn injury, went to the hospital, got medicated and came home, many people came to see him.

He was able to remember only one among them - Kulasekaran, the man known in the village for his sharp tongue!

"Lad! You have survived the fire accident. Though you swallowed your father, even when you were in your mother's womb, your father, dwelling in the heavens as an angel, saved you from getting burned."

Kulasekaran's words fell on Dhandapani's ears like a flame and inflicted an agony that was even more intense than the one caused by the burn.

After thirty years, Dhandapani felt the same pain rising up again in his mind. He reflexively put his hand on his chest.

"How can I forget you?" asked Dhandapani, with a smile.

Kulasekaran couldn't have sensed the bitterness behind Dhandapanils smile.

Thirukkural

Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 13
Restraint

Verse 129 (In Tamil)

thIyinAl sutta puN uL ARum ArAdhE
nAvinAl sutta vadu.

Meaning:

A wound caused by fire will heal inside;

a scar caused by the tongue never heals.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'ninaivirukkiRadhA?' by the same author)

Verse 130 (Soon)
Verse 129