597. Embezzlement

"The situation has become so bad. What are you going to do?" Parimala asked her husband Paranthaman..

Paranthaman did not reply.

The business he had been running for the past five years, was running into problems, during the past few months. 

Mahesh, who as the Manager of the firm, was looking after the business, suddenly quit his job, citing his family problems as the reason.

After Mahesh's departure, Paranthaman, who had entrusted the day-to-day running of the business to Mahesh and concentrated on expanding his business, was forced to look after the day-to-day functioning of the business. 

Within a few days of taking over the routine management of the business, Paranthaman discovered a shocking fact.

Taking advantage of the bulk of the transactions in the business being on cash, Mahesh had misappropriated a substantial amount of money, through falsification of records.

Cash payments received from some of the customers of the firm were not recorded. When Paranthaman reminded the customers about the amounts due from them, they told him that they had made the payment already.

Some customers took offense at being treated as defaulters, by being reminded of the payments due from them, while they had made the payment already. 

While Paranthaman was able to pacify some customers, by telling them about the fraud committed by the firm's Manager and apologizing to them, a few customers abruptly terminated their business relationship with Paranthaman's firm, saying that they didn't want to do business with his firm, after the trust had been breached.

Some people, who had supplied goods to the firm, reminded of the payments due to them, while Mahesh had recorded in the books that payments had been made to them already.

There was misappropriation under various heads of expenses too. 

It was recorded that cash advances had been made to some workers, by way of short term loans. But, the workers concerned denied taking such loans.

Paranthaman's efforts to contact Mahesh were not successful. Mahesh had moved from his earlier address. It was clear that Mahesh had executed his fraud, after careful planning, taking all precautions to ensue that his whereabouts couldn't be traced.

"Can you not file a complaint with the police?" asked Parimala.

"Most of the transactions being on cash, I won't be able to prove anything against Mahesh. Even if the police, acting on my complaint, were to trace and arrest Mahesh, he would be released soon. I won't be able to establish his fraud in a court of law. I won't be able to recover even one rupee from him. I will only end up wasting my time and spending a lot of money in the process. It will be like throwing good money after bad money" said Paranthaman.

"But I find that you have been writing a lot. I thought you were writing down the details of his fraud, for filing a case against him!"

"What is the point of writing the details? The money has gone. But, I have realized that the reason for Mahesh's ability to commit such a fraud is the absence of a well-designed system for running my firm. I have to employ another person in place of Mahesh and continue to run my business. Then only I can focus on building up my business, by identifying areas of growth and expanding my business in those areas. But, I have to ensure that such frauds could never be committed by any other person in future. For this, I have to create well-structured systems and procedures for running the business. I am thinking about various measures I have to implement to create such a fool-proof system and writing down my ideas. Very soon, I will complete the process and  bring out a comprehensive blueprint, for creating and implementing a good system of controls for running my firm" said Paranthaman.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 61

Possessing Zeal

Verse 597 (in Tamil):

sidhaividaththu olgAr uravOr pudhaiyam piR
pattuppAdu UnRum kaLiRu.

Meaning:

The zealous won’t flinch in the face of setbacks;

the elephant, even if buried under a barrage of arrows, never relents.. 

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'mahEsh seydha mOsadi' by the same author.) 

Verse 598 (Soon)
Verse 596

1135. Clinking of the Bangles

Vairavan meeting the girl accidentally happened one evening.

Vairavan, who was working in a jewellery shop, was returning home, after completing his day in the shop. 

When he turned the corner at the end of a quiet road, he dashed against the young girl walking from the opposite side.

Vairavan held her, in an attempt to prevent her from falling down. He was surprised to see that she was wearing bangles, covering her hands up to the elbows.  

Saved from falling down, the girl looked at her hands, as if to check whether any bangle had broken.

She then looked at Vairavan, smiled at him and said, "Thank you, for saving my bangles from breaking!"

"I saved you from falling down. But, rather than thanking me for that, you are thanking me for saving your bangles!" exclaimed Vairavan. "Are you so fond of bangles? Covered with bangles, your hands resemble vadaimalai, adorning the idol of Hanuman" he added.

She looked at her hands again, with satisfaction and pride.

"Where do you live?" asked Vairavan. 

"See this cross street here? If you enter that street, my house will be the last on the right hand side. If you ask anyone 'which is Pandit** Valaiyapathi's house?' they will point out the house. Valaiyapathi is my father's name."

"Oh! Vailai in Tamil means bangle. Being the daughter of Valaiyapathi, it is no wonder that you are fascinated by bangles. By the way, I only asked you where you lived. But you have given me your address and your father's name. Is it your desire that I should visit your house, meet your father and ask him to give me your hand in marriage" asked Vairavan, with a smirk.

She looked at him with a smile and said, "Before asking for my father's consent for marrying me, should you not ask my consent? How can I consent to marry you, without meeting you a couple of times and getting to know you better?" 

Excited by an accidental dashing having sown the seeds of an intimate relationship, Vairavan said, joyfully, "In that case, why don't we meet every evening at some place nearby, a place that will provide us some privacy?"

"Of course, we can. But, you should wait for five or six days, for these meetings to happen. We are leaving for a short trip to another place tomorrow."

"When will you be back?"

"We will be back before the Full Moon day. We will meet at this spot on the Full Moon day, the same time in the evening." 

After saying this, she flew away.

'Today is the seventh day aster the New Moon day. When is the Full Moon day?'

Vairavan began to calculate how many days were left for the Full Moon day.

She was waiting for him at the specified spot, the evening of the full Moon day. 

On seeing her, Vairavan gave her the palm leaf manuscripts*** he was holding in his hand.

"What are these?"

"These are the letters written by me, one each day, starting from the next day of our meeting."

"You wrote me letters, when I was away. But you hand them over to me in person, after I have returned home! Are you mad?"

"Yes. I am mad with love. From the time I met you, the evenings have changed for me. I have not been able to think clearly. The clinking sound of your bangles has been constantly ringing in my ears. Every day, I wrote letters to you, pouring out my feelings. Since I couldn't send the letters to you, I kept them with me. I am handing them over to you now!" said Vairavan.

"You are really mad!" she said, laughing. 

"It was you who made my mind go crazy in the evenings. Again it was you, who made me write letters to you, to overcome that craze!" said Vairavan.

*Vadamalai - a garland of vadais, a small dish of circular shape, with a hole at the centre, traditionally offered to the idol of the Hindu God Hanuman. The vadais are then distributed to devotees as prasad (divine offerings). 

**Pandit - a title given to a scholar in a field.

***Palm leaf manuscripts - During ancient times, palm leaves were used for writing on.

Thirukkural
Section 3

Love

Chapter 114
Shedding Shyness

Verse 1135 (in Tamil):
thodalaik kuRundhodi thandhAL madalodu
mAlai uzakkum thuyar.

Meaning:

She, with the small garland-like bracelets, has given me the palmyra horse* and the sorrow that is endured at night.

*'Palmyra horse' refers to letters written on palm leaves. 'Horse' is used to convey the desire for the letters to travel fast like a horse and reach the lover.

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

Verse 1136 (Soon)
Verse 1134

596. Sales Targets

"For this year also, our MD (Managing Director) has given us unrealistic sales targets. Let alone achieving the targets, we can't go anywhere near the targets."

"It has been the same story every year. Our MD does not seem to have learnt any lesson from the past!"

"Our Sales Manager should have told him that these targets were unachievable. But, not having the courage to speak against the MD's ideas, he was sitting quietly in the meeting. But he would torment us, by continuously reminding us about the targets!"

This was the conversation among the sales executives of the company, after coming out of the sales budget meeting held by the Managing Director. 

"Sir! I didn't want to say this in the meeting where the sales executives were present. I feel that the targets fixed by you are too high" said Vikraman, the Sales Manager.

"I am happy to hear you saying that the targets are 'too high.' If you had said that the targets were 'somewhat high' or 'a little high,' I would have thought that I could have made them still higher!" said Senthil, the Managing Director, smiling. 

"Sir! Please don't think that I am finding fault with your approach. Every year, we keep fixing the targets at very high levels. But we have been able to achieve only fifty to sixty percent of the targets fixed by us. Will this not discourage the sales executives?"

"We don't sack any sales executive for not achieving the target. We give them good increments every year. They have not been quitting their jobs, frustrated by their failure to achieve the targets. During the past three years, only two sales executives quit their jobs, that too because they got better jobs" said Senthil.

"It is true, sir. Many sales executives have been telling me that you are very graceful and magnanimous. They are loyal to you. But, is there not a principle that targets should not be unrealistic?"

"Yes, there is. But, I follow a different principle. My principle is that our goals should be high!" said Senthil, laughing.

"Is this approach pragmatic?"

'Let me share something with you. I had aimed for several things in my life. But, in most of the cases, what I got was much less than what I had aimed. But, I keep aiming for something big again and again. In the beginning, I was working in a company. I aimed to come to a top position in that company. But I was able to rise only up to some level. Then I started my own business. I had the aim of growing my business into a corporate entity. But, our firm still remains quite small. However, I have not given up my efforts. As you know, our firm is one of the top firms among the small firms in our line of business. I believe that this was made possible by my setting high goals."

"After listening to your explanation, I am able to see the efficacy of your approach. Though our performance has been below our targets, our growth has been above the average growth of firms in our line. I am beginning to understand how your approach of setting high goals has yielded results" said Vikraman.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 61

Possessing Zeal

Verse 596 (in Tamil):

uLLuvadhellAm uyarvuLLal maRRadhu
thaLLinum thaLLAmai nIrththu.

Meaning:

Fervently aspire for the best; even if you fail,

you should not stop aiming high.

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

Verse 597
Verse 595

595. A Father's Advice

Industrialist Arumugam, the Chief Guest for the anniversary function of the college, addressed the students:

"I am not a person with good education. I have not even completed my schooling. I hail from a poor family. Having not had the facilities for education, my education stopped at the level of fifth grade. I don't know what message I can deliver to college students like you. I am standing before you, because I felt that courtesy demanded that I accept the invitation extended to me by the principal of your college.

"I think I will share with you some of the things taught to me by my late father. Like me, my father was also not well-educated. So, I don't know how far what he had taught me would be useful to you. But, I don't have other knowledge to share with you.

"There was a pond in our village. It had some water plants like lotus, lily etc. If you had observed water plants, you would have noticed that the flowers borne by those plants floated on the surface of the water. The stems bearing the flowers would be submerged in water. With some plants, a short length of the stem below the flower may be visible, if at all.

"Some times, the water level in the pond would be high and some other times, the level would  be low. But, whatever may be the water level, the flowers would be on the surface of water and the stem beneath the surface. This was surprising to me. Assuming that the water level in the pond was five feet, the length of the stem under the water would also be about five feet, won't it be?

"Let us say, the water level came down to three feet. The length of the stem being five feet, only three feet should be under the water and the remaining two feet should be protruding above the water. But it was not so. I didn't understand how this was possible. I asked my father about this.

"He told me, 'The length of the stem would match the level of water in the pond. If the water level goes up, the stem will extend its length to reach the surface of water. If the water level falls, the stem will shrink in length so as to be at the water level.' When I asked him why it was so, he told me that it was the way things worked in nature.

"Once he asked me to throw a ball ahead. He showed me a spot a few feet away and asked me to throw the ball to reach that spot. After I threw the ball a couple of times, he asked me to throw the ball to reach a spot, a little farther from the previous spot. When I said, 'I can't throw that far,' he told me, 'Have a determination in your mind that you you are going to throw the ball that far and then throw the ball.'

"The first time I tried, I couldn't throw it that far. My father encouraged me saying, 'You have thrown the fall farther than you did last time. This is an improvement. Keep trying and you will succeed. Following his advice, I kept trying and I was able to throw the ball to that spot. Not only that, subsequently, I was able to throw even farther than that distance.

"This advice given by my father had been the basis for my actions in my life. I cultivated the belief that if we set high goals and work towards them with determination and persistence, we would achieve our goals. I did things following this belief and I was able to achieve things. This is the message I want to convey to you today. How high you can go in your life will be determined by how high your goals and beliefs are. Therefore, set high goals, have a firm belief that you can achieve your goas and work with determination and perseverance. You will definitely achieve success."

On completing the speech, Arumugam received a big ovation from the students.

After the applause had subsided, one student got up and asked Arumugam, "Sir, I have a question. You told us about your father's advice to you. Can you tell us whether your father implemented this advice in his own life and achieved success?"

Arumugam looked at that student for a few seconds and then said, "I appreciate your intelligent question. The answer to your question is: My father did not utilize this advice in his life!"

There was a stunned silence in the hall.

Arumugam continued:

"You may be wondering why my father, who gave me this advice, didn't follow it in his own life. The fact is that my father didn't give me this advice. My father died when I was a child. I don't even remember his face.

"When I was invited to address the students of this college, I contemplated on what I could speak about. My first thought was to ask my secretary to write out an appropriate speech and deliver it. This is what I often do, when I have to speak in meetings of professional bodies I am invited to. Then I thought that if I could share with you a few things I had learnt in my life, it would be useful to you. But if I were to deliver a speech filled with dos and don'ts, it would sound like a classroom lecture. So, I chose to deliver my speech in the form of a story, by presenting it as an advice given to me by my father. I think telling you this truth at this point is fine, because I can see that the message I wanted to convey to you has been deeply ingrained in your minds. I could decipher this from the interest shown by you while listening to my speech. Thank you."

The ovation Arumugam received now was bigger than it was earlier.

Thirukkural

Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 61

Possessing Zeal

Verse 595 (in Tamil):

veLLaththu anaiya malar nIttam mAndhar tham
uLLaththu anaiya uyarvu.

Meaning:

The depth of water determines how high an aquatic plant will rise;

zeal in the heart dictates how high a man will grow.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'appA sonna aRivurai' by the same author.) 

Verse 596
Verse 594

594. When Expectations Were Exceeded

"For the past two years, you have been making vigorous efforts to market your product. But the market has not been receptive to your product. It will be better if you wind up this business and take up a job. Even if the salary is low, we will at least be sure of a steady income for the family" said Meenakshi, feeling frustrated.

"If people who had been making efforts to achieve something got frustrated by failures and gave up their efforts after a while, the world would not have seen so much progress in various fields" said Ramkumar.

"Philosophy won't feed us " said Meenakshi.

Ramkumar learnt about a firm that might be interested in buying his product and visited the firm's office.

After hearing Ramkumar explain the features of his product, the General Manager of the firm told him, "We will think about it and let you know."

This being the stock reply Ramkumar had been hearing from many of his prospects, he got up to leave, feeling frustrated.

The Managing Director of the firm who came to the General Manager's cabin to ask him something, seeing Ramkumar, asked the General Manager "Who is this person?"

"He met me to explain about his product. I told him that I would contact him, if we intended to buy his product" said the General Manager.

Sikamani, the Managing Director, observing the frustrated expression on Ramkumar's face, told him, "Come to my cabin and tell me about your product. Let me also know about your product" and led him to his cabin.

After Sikamani went into his cabin with Ramkumar, the General Manager told his assistant who was sitting nearby, "I don't know how good this gentleman's product would be. Our MD is a compassionate person. He may give him an order, out of sympathy. That is why I don't let any sales person to meet our MD!"

Ramkumar explained the features and benefits of his product to Sikamani.

After listening to Ramkumar patiently, Sikamani told him, "Mr. Ramkumar! Even if we were to buy our entire requirement from you, it won't help you much, since the quantity required by us is quite small"

Disappointed by Sikamani's reponse, Ramkumar told him, "Sir! I will be happy, even if you give me an order for a small quantity."

"Of course, I am going to give you a small order. But listening to you, I feel that your product has good market potential. I will make use of your product and if I find it of good quality, I will take up the distribution of your product. I have a good dealer network. Once I take up the distribution of your product, your sales will increase substantially in a short time. In fact, you may even have to increase your production. Are you ready for it?" asked Sikamani, smiling.

"Definitely, sir. I came her expecting to receive only a small order. I never expected to be presented with such a big opportunity" said Ramkumar, overwhelmed by joy. 

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 61

Possessing Zeal

Verse 594 (in Tamil):

Akkam adharvinAych chellum asaivilA
Ukkam udaiyAn uzhai.

Meaning:

Wealth, on its own, will find the way to reach

those with unflagging fervor.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'Ardar kidaikkumA?' by the same author.) 

Verse 595
Verse 593

136. An Evening of Pleasure

"Friends! We have come here to enjoy. All of you can feel free. There are no differences here based on your rank or designation in the company. The General Manager and the Junior Assistant will both be at the same level here!" said Manibharathy, the Managing Director of the company. 

"It is only to ensure that we could enjoy ourselves freely that we have not invited women employees to this party" said Murugan, the General Manager.

The company had the practice of bringing all its male employees to the resort on the hilly town for a day out. Women employees, who were fewer in number, had a day out for themselves at another place, also hosted by the company.

It was six months since Madhavan had joined the firm. This was the first time that he was participating in the day out. The scenes of the General Manager who was hissing like a snake in the office and the Managing Director who never stepped out of his cabin, mingling with employees at all levels, cheering them, shaking hands with them, placing their arms on their backs and joking with them appeared amazing to Madhavan. 

The entire day was spent on outdoor activities like visiting different places, boating, hiking etc, in keeping with the interest of each individual.

After returning to the resort in the evening and relaxing for sometime in their rooms, every one assembled at the banquet hall, for the evening get-together. 

On the table at the front side of the banquet hall were placed various alcoholic drinks and glasses. A few bartenders were in attendance to mix the drinks as required by the guests. 

People picked up the drinks of their choice, came to the chairs, sat in small groups and began to converse among themselves, sipping the drinks in a leisurely pace.

Madhavan was sitting alone in a place, a little away from where others were sitting and drinking.

Mukesh, who was senior to Madhavan, with whom Madhavan began to move closely after joining the firm, came to him and said, "What, Madhavan? You don't drink! Try some beer. You will then get used to drinking. Shall I bring you a glass?"

"No, Mukesh. I don't want to drink."

"In the beginning, I was also like you. But, after joining this company, I changed myself, so as to give company to my friends! In a few minutes from now, we are going to watch a performance. After watching it, you will get an impulse to drink!" said Mukesh.

"What kind of performance?"

"A cabaret dance!"

"Cabaret dance?"

"Yes. That is the specialty of this resort. We can't watch such a show even in city hotels."

"No, Mukesh. I am not going to watch it. I will retire to my room" said Madhavan.

"Don't be a fool. People play a couple of thousand rupees to watch a cabaret dance in some city hotels. They have to watch it under fear, since those shows are illegal and are offered secretly to a select number of customers. People watch the dance, feeling nervous about the prospect of getting arrested by the police, in the event of a raid. Our company has arranged for this show, by spending money under the head of entertainment expenses, to provide us an exotic enjoyment. You want to shut yourself off, refusing to watch this show!"

"No, Mukesh. I apprehend that if I get exposed to such pleasures, I may become addicted to them and it may lead to my life getting ruined. That is why I want to keep away from this kind of pleasures."

"You seem to have taken the Thirukkural verses you studied in the school serious. You said you won't drink. I didn't force you to. But, how can watching a cabaret dance impact you? Don't you watch glamorous dances and scenes in films?"

"In the types of films I watch, such a dance may be featured for five minutes. But I don't go to a movie to watch such kinds of dances!"

"Hey, ascetic! You are not going to grab the girl perfoming the show with your hands and dance with her. What is the big deal in watching a seductive dance? Has anyone become ruined by watching a dance?"

"Yes, of course. Even ascetics have been ruined by watching such seductive performances."

"Can you name one such ascetic?" asked Mukesh, in a challenging tone. 

"Sage Viswamitra!" said Madhavan, calmly

Thirukkural

Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 14
Possession of Propriety 

Verse 136 (In Tamil)

ozhukkaththin olgAr uravOr izhukkaththin
Edham padubAkku aRindhu.

Meaning:

The strong-willed will not slacken in their observance of the proprieties of life, knowing that the misery that such transgressions can lead them to.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'vENdAm mEnakai' by the same author)

Verse 137 (Soon)
Verse 135

593. Meeting A Friend After A Long Time

Selvam was my classmate in the college . 

After graduating from college, I, like most of my friends, sought employment, got a job in Kolkatta and settled down there. 

Selvam had a goal of starting his own business. He didn't apply for any job.

Some of my friends were skeptical of Selvam's plan.

One friend said "Selvam hails from a poor family. His parents would have struggled to fund his college education. If he takes up a job and starts earning, it will help his parents. But, he intends to start his own business. How can we start a business, when he doesn't have money to invest?" 

The rest of us also had a similar view.

However, Selvam somehow managed to start a business with a small investment and succeeded in making his business grow big over the years.

Since I was working in Kolkatta, I was not in touch with Selvam, who was running his business at Chennai. I heard about his business growth through my other friends.

Some of my friends admired Selvam for his entrepreneurial spirit, determination and perseverance. 

"Initially, many of us thought that Selvam had set an unrealistic goal and that he won't succeed in his efforts. But it is remarkable that Selvam had not only started a business, but also built it up to this level" said one of my friends.

"His passion for launching a business, his determination to achieve his goal, his dedication and hard work and his perseverance that enabled him to overcome all hurdles and march ahead are the factors that contributed to his success" said another. 

I made it a point to meet Selvam during my visit to Chennai. 

When I went to Selvam's house, he received me with enthusiasm and warmth. 

We chatted for a long time recalling our college days and sharing information about the developments in our lives after we left the college. Our conversation was replete with warmth, excitement, humour and friendly tease, the way it had been during our college days. It was as if two friends studying in a college were chatting.

A couple of days after I had met Selvam in his house, I met Sundar, another friend of mine. I told Sundar about my visit to Selvam's house.

"Was he in the same address? Has he not yet moved to another house?" asked Sundar, showing surprise.

"He told me that he would be moving to another house. He had some of his things packed. His children had been to their grandmother's house. There was no furniture. He seemed to have already moved the furniture to his new house" I said.

"No. He has sold all the furniture!"

"Sold! Why? Is he going to buy new furniture for his new house?"

"Obviously, Selvam has not told you about his present position. He incurred a huge loss in his business. His house is going to be auctioned. He has sold the furniture, his wife's jewelry and other moveable assets. He has rented a small house, where he will be moving. He has sent his children to his father-in-law's house, intending to bring them back, after he gets settled in his new house" said Sundar.

"My goodness! He didn't tell me about this. He was speaking to me with so much excitement! His wife appeared to be somewhat dull. I thought that perhaps she was not well."

"Since you were meeting him after several years, he would have decided not to talk to you about his misfortune and make you feel sad for him. He told me that he would be starting another business soon. When I observed the determination in his tone and considered his past actions, I felt that he would rise up and reach a high level soon. I have no doubt about it" said Sundar, feeling certain.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 61

Possessing Zeal

Verse 593 (in Tamil):

Akkam izhandhEm enRu allAvAr Ukkam
oruvandham kaiththudaiyAr.

Meaning:

If a person with an enduring zeal were to lose his wealth for some reason, he won't bemoan the loss.

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

Verse 594
Verse 592