692. The Unlikely Successor

Chief Minister Adimoolam surprised every one, by issuing a statement that he was going to retire from active politics. He said that he would be resigning as the Chief Minister and that after sometime, he would also step down from the position of the president of his party. He concluded his statement with the announcement that the high power committee of his party would decide who would succeed him as the Chief Minister.

That the high power committee of his party with twenty members had-picked by Adimoolam was just a mirror that would reflect his wishes was known to all.

The media speculated on who would succeed Adimoolam as the Chief Minister. The names of quite a few senior leaders of the party were floated.

But, quite unexpectedly, the high power committee of the party chose Poovarasan, a junior minister in Adimoolam's cabinet, who became a minister for the first time only two years back, as Adimoolam's successor for the Chief Minister's post. 

"When there are many seniors like us, how could our leader pick up a rookie like Poovarasan?" lamented a senior minister.

"What can we do? Adimoolam is the supreme leader of the party. He does things as per his wishes. No one has the courage even to make a suggestion that will not be in congruity with his wishes. After some time, he is going to step down from the position of the party president. Let us hope one of us, the seniors, get that position!" said another senior leader.

"You made it, Poovarasan! How did our leader choose you, overlooking the aspirations and expectations of many senior leaders?" asked Arul, a friend of Poovarasan in the party. 

"I have been with the party for the past twenty years. I had been a district secretary. When I had the chance to observe our leader from close quarters, I realized that he was highly possessive. He is also a suspicious person. He has always been nurturing a suspicion that other leaders in the party might be making attempts to undermine his leadership and conspiring to overthrow him at the appropriate moment. He wanted to be in power perpetually. He decided to resign only after the doctors advised him that given his state of health, he should be under rest. Even several years back, I understood that if I had to secure our leader's confidence, I should not aspire for power. He had offered to make me a minister a couple of times. I politely declined his offer twice, saying that I had no desire to be a minister. If he had sensed that I desired to be a minister, he would have begun to suspect that I could, at some time, conspire to unseat him and grab his position. Only after he offered me the post for the third time and insisted that I should accept the position, I accepted it reluctantly. Now, because of the confidence he has in me, he has made me the Chief Minister" said Poovarasan.  

"He is going to give up his leadership of the party also after some time. What will you do, if the new president of the party tries to unseat you and make some other person the Chief Minister?" asked Arul. 

"You don't seem to have understood what I said. When I told the leader that I had no aspiration for power, I was not pretending! After knowing our leader's mind, I made up my mind that I won't aspire for any position in the party or in the government and that I would remain faithful to our leader. In fact, I have conditioned my mind to firmly stick to that attitude. So, I won't feel disappointed or sorry, if the office of the Chief Minister is taken away from me, sometime in the future!" said Poovarasan.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 70
Getting Close to the Ruler

Verse 692 (in Tamil):
mannar vizhaiba vizhaiyAmai mannaRal
manniya Akkam tharum.

Meaning:

Not aspiring for the things desired by the king will give lasting riches through the (grace of the) king.

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

Verse 693 (Soon)
Verse 691

691. The Minister's Proposal

"How are you, bard?" asked the voice from the other end of the phone.

Tamil scholar and poet Vedachalam was momentarily stunned, recognizing the voice on the phone.

"What a pleasant surprise, sir! If you had sent me a message through your personal secretary, I would have come and met you" said Vedachalam, his nervousness reflecting in his voice.

"It is fine. Instead of sending a message through my secretary, I am giving you the message myself! Meet me at my office at 4 pm today."

Minister Subbu ended his conversation abruptly. 

"You once told me that you had bought a house-site several years back. Are you still holding it?" asked Subbu. 

'He remembers my telling him about buying a house-site during a casual conversation long time back! But, why is he asking me about it?' wondered Vedachalam.

"Yes. I still have it" said Vedachalam. 

"What will be the present market price of the site?"

"I have not checked. I guess it may be in the range of 1 to 1.5 million rupees. But, why are you asking this question?"

"If someone offers to buy the site for 20 million rupees, will you sell it?" asked Subbu, with a mischievous smile.

"How is this possible, sir? Who will buy a site worth about 1.5 million rupees for 20 million rupees?" asked Vedachalam, perplexed.

"Don't worry about 'how' and 'who.' There is a buyer who offers you 20 million rupees for that site. What you have to do is to sell it to him for 20 million rupees and buy a mansion I have identified, for the same price. In fact, the market value of that mansion is 50 million rupees. But, the owner of that mansion is willing to sell it to you for twenty million rupees, in deference to my wishes!" said Subbu.

Vedachalam began to understand the scheme behind the minister's proposal. 

"What will happen after that?" asked Vedachalam.

"After that, you will lease the mansion to me for 3 million rupees. I will pay you 3 million rupees in cash, upfront. Afterwards, at the appropriate time chosen by me, you will transfer the ownership of the mansion to a person I specify."

"Is it not a good deal? We will get 3 million rupees in cash. You can transfer the house to the person specified by the minister at any time. What is the hitch in this?" asked Kamala, Vedachalam's wife.

"The minister is trying to use me as his benami*. If there is going to be any case against him about his accumulating assets disproportionate to his income, I will also be arraigned as an accessory. Many years back, I got his acquaintance accidentally, I thought that being close to a politician can be useful to me and maintained my acquaintance with him. Perhaps, unknown to myself, I had become too close to him. It has led to a situation of his asking me to be his benami" said Vedachalam, with exasperation.

"What did you tell him?"

"I told him that I didn't feel comfortable about the arrangement. I pleaded with him that I am a timid and fearful person and requested him to not involve me in this arrangement. Fortunately, he understood my reluctance and refrained from pressing me to accept his proposal. I hope he is not displeased with me. Hereafter, I should be careful about how I move with him. I will not make any contact with him. Of course, if he wants me to meet him, I will meet him, lest I should antagonize him. I have realized that in maintaining an acquaintance with powerful people, one should exercise the caution a person sitting next to a flame of fire, for getting the comfort of its warmth, will" said Vedachalam.

Kamala noticed that her husband had still not completely come out of his nervousness and anxiety.

*benami - An Indian word for proxy (now accepted by and entered in English dictionaries)

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 70
Getting Close to the Ruler

Verse 691 (in Tamil):
agalAdhu aNugAdhu thIk kAyvAr pOlga
igal vEndharch chErndhu ozhuguvAr.

Meaning:

A person who is acquainted with a ruler of unpredictable nature should, like a person who warms himself at the fire, be neither (too) distant, nor (too) close.

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

Verse 692
Verse 690

690. A Shoulder Injury

"It is my duty to warn you of the dangers you may face when you go to Ponni country, as our emissary" said the Minister.

"I am not scared of dangers, sir" said Kathavarayan, who had been chosen as the emissary.

"Kathavarayan! I know that you are a fearless person. That was  the reason I recommended you to the King, for being sent as the emissary to Ponni country. But, it is always wise to be forewarned of the dangers one might encounter, during the mission one undertakes." 

Kathavarayan listened with keen attention to the potential dangers outlined by the Minister. 

"Congratulations, Kathavarayan! You completed your mission successfully. The King of Ponni has accepted my peace proposal and sent a reply through you. We have averted a war. The people of both the countries have been spared the agony of a war" said the King, appreciating Kathavarayan. 

"Your Majesty! Kathavarayan paid obeisance to you by raising only his left hand, instead of raising both the hands as per the custom. Don't you find his behaviour disrespectful?" the Minister asked the King. 

"The emissary has returned after completing his mission successfully. I didn't notice that he raised only one hand, while paying obeisance to me. Even if I had, I wouldn't have minded it. Kathavarayan is well-versed in etiquette and manners. If he had raised only one hand, it could have been due to a sprain in his other hand!" said the King, in good humour.

"It was not a sprain, Your Majesty. His right shoulder has an injury resulting from laceration by a sword" said the Minister.

"He was attacked with a sword! How did it happen?" asked the King, shocked. 

"Your Majesty. Some people conspiring against the King of Ponni had been making secret attempts, to create a war between the two countries. Their plan was to dethrone the King and capture power, when the King would be engaged in fighting the war. They had arranged to capture the King with the connivance of some officials working in the palace. I had come to know of this conspiracy, though our secret agents operating from Ponni country. Based on this information, I anticipated that the conspirators would try to sabotage our peace efforts and that as a part of their strategy, they might try to cause physical harm to our emissary, before he could meet their King with your peace proposal. I warned Kathavarayan about these risks, while briefing him about the mission" said the Minister.

"But, your warning the emissary did not avert the mishap. If there was a risk of a danger to the emissary's life, we could have avoided sending him!" said the King. 

"Your Majesty! Considering the interests of our country, there was a need for us to launch a peace initiative, by sending an emissary to Ponni country. I had warned Kathavarayan about the dangers he could face and also given him exhaustive advice about the measures he needed to adopt to save himself from such dangers. He agreed to take up the mission, only after knowing about the potential dangers he could face. It was because he was aware of the dangers and well prepared to face and overcome them that he was able to survive the attack made on him. After knowing about the attack made on our emissary, the King of Ponni identified the conspirators and arrested them. In the process, the threat to his throne was also eliminated. Thus, the attack made on our emissary has turned out to be a blessing in disguise to the Ponni country, in general and the King, in particular. Kathavarayan requested me not to tell you about the injury suffered by him, lest you should feel saddened by the incident. But, since I wanted you to know that he took up the mission, braving the potential danger to his life and that he suffered an injury during his mission, I pointed out to you that he had paid obeisance to you by raising only his left hand, as if I was finding fault with him and brought the injury suffered by him to your knowledge!" said the Minister.

"Kathavarayan, who took up the mission, unmindful of the danger he could face and did his job in an admirable way leading to a peaceful agreement between the two counties that would do a lot of good to the people, deserves all the praise and appreciation. His valuable service can never be compensated adequately" said the King, looking at Kathavarayan with pride. 

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 69
The Ambassadorial Mission

Verse 688 (in Tamil):
iRudhi payappinum enjAdhu iRaivaRku
uRudhi payappadhAm thU thu..

Meaning:

An emissary should fearlessly seek his sovereign's good, even at the risk of facing a danger to his life (in the course of delivering the message).

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'thOLil vizhundha vettu' by the same author.) 

Verse 691
Verse 689

689. A Close Shave!

Sravanan, who was sent by his king as an emissary to a neighbouring country, conveyed the message to King Abhishekavallabhan. 

Abhishekavarman was impressed by Sravanan's way of conveying the message and his pleasant manners. So, he conversed with Sravanan for a while.

During the course of the conversation, Abhishekavallabhan remarked, "I hear that your king's step-brothers have been creating problems for him."

"It is not true" said Sravanan briefly, not willing to discuss the internal affairs of his country with the king of another country. 

"It was your king who told me this. When I met him sometime back, he told me that his step-brother Suryakesi had been conspiring against him" asserted Abhishekavallabhan. 

"I am not aware of such a thing, Your Majesty. All I know is that our king is loved by the people, because he has rightfully..."

Sravanan quickly checked himself and said, "I mean he has been ruling the country in the right way!" and smiled.

'Thank God that I was able to check myself in time from saying 'our king has rightfully climbed the throne.' If I had said so, Abhishekavarman, who is an illegitimate son of the late king, would have construed my statement as a veiled reference to his ascending the throne by killing the legitimate sons of his father. If he had concluded that I made the remark with an intention to degrade him, the mission successfully carried out by me by deploying a lot of care and by using nuanced strategies, would have turned into a disaster. It could even have led to an enmity between the two countries. I saved myself and my country from a grave danger, by stopping in the middle of a sentence and changing my statement, as if I was correcting the structure of my sentence to make it grammatical! It was a close shave. I will use this experience to be even more careful in my speech in future' Sravanan told himself.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 69
The Ambassadorial Mission

Verse 689 (in Tamil):
vidu mARRam vEndharkku uraippAn vadu mARRam
vAy sErA van kaNavan.

Meaning:

An emissary conveying his ruler’s message to another,

should be firm enough never to denigrate him even by a slip of his tongue.

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

Verse 690
Verse 688

688. The Minister's 'Impropriety'

"We are sending Chithiraichelvan as an emissary for the first time. Will he able to perform the role effectively?" the King asked the Minister.

"Your Majesty! There will be a first time for every person. After all, Nandi country is our friendly country. The experience Chithiraichelvan will gain by going as an emissary to a friendly country will prepare him well to take up challenging assignments in future."

"Okay. Let us see how he performs" said the King. 

"Minister! Chithiraichelvan has come back after completing his mission. He seems to have done a good job" said the Minister.

"Yes, Your Majesty! I can confirm it" said the Minister.

"How?"

"You should forgive me, Your Majesty! Without seeking your approval, I arranged to have the emissary monitored."

"How did you monitor him?"

"I sent a message to one of our intelligence agents operating from Nandi country to keep a watch over Chithiraichelvan. The agent monitored every activity of Chithiraichelvan, from the time he stepped into Nandi country. Even before Chithiraichelvan returned to our country after completing his mission, I received a coded message from the agent about Chithiraichelvan's performance."

"Is it not improper to have an emissary monitored by an intelligence agent?"

"It is, Your Majesty! But there was a need to assess how an inexperienced person going to another country as an emissary for the first time performs. Your Majesty also expressed some concern about his ability to perform the role!" said the Minister, apologetically. 

"Ok. What did the intelligence agent say about Chithiraichelvan's performance?"

"Chithiraichelvan had been steadfast in maintaining his character, while being in Nandi country. The intelligence agent set a honey trap to him, by sending a seductive call girl to entice him. But. Chithiraichelvan spurned her seductive moves and sent her away. Secondly, Chithiraichelvan got acquainted with a wise and courageous citizen of Nandi country to get some help he might have needed while being in that country. Thirdly, while conveying your message to the King of Nandi, Chithiraichevan had been bold and unequivocal. He answered the King's questions truthfully. When the King repeatedly asked Chithiraichelvan about things which he was not expected to talk about, he told the king that he had no information on that subject and added courageously that even if he had, he wouldn't reveal it."

"Minister, I am happy about the assessment you made about the emissary. But, as to your act of asking an intelligence agent to follow our emissary..."

The King paused.

The Minister looked at the King, with apprehension. 

"It was an act of impropriety. But, I can't fault you for it, because I also committed the same impropriety!" said the King.

"How, may I ask, Your Majesty."

"Just like you, I also engaged a spy to monitor the emissary. The report given by my source is in concurrence with the report you received from your source!" said the King smiling. 

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 69
The Ambassadorial Mission

Verse 688 (in Tamil):
thUymai thuNaimai thuNivudaimai immUnRin
vAymai vazhi uraippAn paNbu.

Meaning:

The qualifications required of a person who faithfully delivers his king's message are purity, ability to seek support from sources in the country of his visit and boldness. In addition to the above three, he should also be truthful.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'thUtharaip pin thodarndhu' by the same author.) 

Verse 689
Verse 687

687. The Emissary Who Became Ill

"You said an emissary had come from Maragatha country!" King Subhakeerthy, asked the Minister.

"Yes, Your Majesty! He arrived here last night. We have put him up in our guest house. We told him that he could meet you this morning. But, this morning, he suddenly became ill. So, we can get him to the palace only tomorrow" said the Minister. 

"What if he is not well? He can come here, convey the message, go back to the guest house and take rest!" said the King, showing his displeasure.

"He is suffering from severe dysentery, Your Majesty" said the Minister, with embarrassment.

The emissary could not come to meet the King the next day, either. The Minister informed the King that the palace physician was treating the emissary, but that the emissary was still not cured.

"In that case, you may meet him and get the message from him" the King told the Minister.

"I tried to do so, Your Majesty. But, the emissary told me that the King of Maragatha had strictly instructed him that he should personally communicate the message to Your Majesty" replied the Minister.

"In that case, I will visit him at the guest house this evening and hear the message from him."

"Your Majesty! It may not be appropriate for you to go to the place where the emissary is staying and see him."

"There is a dispute between us and Maragatha country about the ownership of the Cardomom island. I am curious to know what message the king of Maragatha had sent to us through the emissary. I am impatient of waiting for the emissary to recover from his illness and come to meet me."

"How is your health, Emissary?" asked the King.

Meganathan, the emissary, who was lying on a cot, was momentarily startled by the King's voice and made a strong effort to get up. 

"Don't strain yourself. You can convey the message to me, lying on the cot" said King Subhakeerthi, in a commanding tone.

"Your Majesty! How can I be llying down, when you are standing?"

The King sat on a seat near the bed and told Meghanathan, "Now, convey the the message to me!"

Meghanathan said something, but his voice being feeble, the King could not hear him clearly. The King bent down, kept his ear near Meghanathan's lips and listened to him. 

After listening to the message conveyed by Meghanathan, the King became livid with anger. In an impulse, he almost drew out his sword to strike Meghanathan, but restrained himself and got up from the seat. 

Observing the King's reaction, the Minister, who was standing nearby asked him, "What was the message conveyed by him, Your Majesty?"

"The King of Maragatha asserts that the Cardomom Island belongs to his country and demands that we immediately withdraw our troops stationed there. If we don't, he will send his warships there and decimate our troops stationed in the island! This was the message conveyed by this sick man, lying on the cot! If he had conveyed this message to me in my court, it would have caused me immense disgrace. In such a situation, I don't know what I would have done to him. Driven by an impulse, I could have even beheaded him, violating the tradition of not harming an emissary. Whether the emissary recovers from his illness or not, ensure that by the end of tomorrow, he is taken away from here and left at some place outside the border of our country."

The king left the place in anger, after instructing the minister.

When the minister looked at Loganathan's face, he discerned a faint smile at the corners of his lips.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 69
The Ambassadorial Mission

Verse 687 (in Tamil):
kadan aRindhu kAlam karudhi idan aRindhu
eNNi uraippAn thalai.

Meaning:

Foremost among envoys is one who knows the task,

weighs the time and place, and speaks with sagacity.

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

Verse 688
Verse 686

686. The Minister's Suggestion

"We have to send an emissary to Kalanjiya country. Servarayan, the king of Kalanjiya is a scholar. He has read books on a wide range of subjects. He will try to convince our emissary that he is being fair and reasonable. He will cite many historical events to justify his point of view. Therefore, the emissary we send should be an erudite person, be able to present the facts to him boldly and answer his arguments in a logical way. He should be able to convey our message to Servarayan clearly and boldly, without mincing words.

"Servarayan has the habit of trying to intimidate the other person if he fails to convince the other person, or if he finds that the other person is firm in his convictions. Though there is an unwritten rule that no harm should be caused to an emissary, Servarayan will try to intimidate the emissary, using an angry gaze and veiled threats. The person we send as our emissary should be capable of facing these challenges."

The minister listened to the king's words, without saying anything.

"Why are you silent? Are you not able to think of anyone with the capabilities mentioned by me?" asked the king.

"Your Majesty! There is one person who fits the requirements mentioned by you. But, I am not sure whether we can send him as our emissary" said the minister, in a tone of hesitation. 

"Who is he? Why can't we send him as the emissary?"

"If you permit, he can be sent. He is in prison now!"

"Whom are you referring to?"

"Your cousin Nandivarman" said the minister and looked at the king, wondering how he would react to his suggestion.

"Nandivarman! He was sent to jail for his disloyalty to the throne. You are picking up that man for this job!" remarked the king, angrily. 

"Your Majesty! You had entrusted him with with certain duties relating to the administration of the country. But, you were displeased with some of his activities. When you questioned him about his deeds, he justified them from his point of view. You didn't accept his explanation. He averred that he acted after careful thinking of the issues involved and that his actions were aimed at the good of the country. His crime was that he reiterated his views, without being intimidated by your disapproval of his line of thinking. If you can look at his actions from another perspective, you can see that he has the qualities required of an emissary, the qualities listed by you. It is my humble opinion that you should release him from the prison, send him as your emissary to Kalanjiya country and subsequently make use of him in the performance of tasks relating to governance!"

The minister waited with bated breath for the king's response to his suggestion. 

The king was silent for a minute and then said, "Minister! After listening to you, I have realized that the qualities of an emissary listed out by me are possessed not only by Nandivarman, but also by you! Ask Nandivarman to be released, treat him with honour and bring him to me. I will request him to accept the assignment of going to Kalanjiya country, as our emissary" said the king. 

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 69
The Ambassadorial Mission

Verse 686 (in Tamil):
kaRRuk kaN anjAn selach chollik kAlaththAl
thakkadhu aRivadhAm thUthu.

Meaning:

A good envoy is well learned, can look anyone in the eye without fear, has compelling speech and comes up with timely strategies.

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

Verse 687
Verse 685