642. The Missed Opportunity

"Mr. Selvam. You are the leader of our trade union in your company. Should you not have acted with  responsibility?" asked Senguttuvan, a member of the State level committee of the trade union.

"Are you suggesting that I should submit myself to the repressive approach of the management?" countered Selvam.

"Surya, an employee, spoke to the supervisor in an insulting way. The management suspended Surya for this. Instead of meeting the Managing Director (MD) and settling the matter amicably, you fought with the MD. Now he has hardened his stand against Surya and decided to take stringent action against him. The situation has become more complicated now."

"I asked the MD whether it was fair on his part to have suspended Surya, for using an inappropriate word against the supervisor, in an emotional moment. He didn't like me asking that."

"You didn't stop with that. You asked the MD, 'Did you not once call your persona assistant 'bastard,' when you were angry with him?' Wonder how I knew about this? Your MD himself told me!" said Senguttuvan.

"You spoke to my MD! When? You had never met him, without taking me along?" asked Selvam, shocked.

"Yes, I met him without taking you along. I met him only to pacify him about your inappropriate remarks. How could I have taken you along? You would have again said something untenable and exacerbated the problem. But, I didn't go alone. I took your deputy Manikandan along, since he was present when you spoke in an inappropriate way with the MD."

The fact that Senguttuvan had taken along Manikandan, whom Selvam considered a potential rival shocked Selvam even more. 

"What have you done, Senguttuvan? You have taken along my deputy Manikandan, without my knowledge, to meet the MD. Is this fair?"

"Having failed to exercise restraint in your speech, you can't expect that your action won't have any consequences" said Senguttuvan, with irritation. 

"Okay. What did you tell the MD? Did you apologize to him for Surya being disrespectful to the supervisor?"

"There was no need for that. I only apologized to him for the way you spoke to him. The MD, on his own, said that he was revoking the suspension of Surya. If you had told the MD, during your meeting with him that what Surya did was wrong, he would have revoked Surya's suspension immediately. You would have got the credit for getting Surya's suspension revoked. By speaking to the MD in a provocative way, you not only missed that opportunity but also earned a bad name for yourself. At least hereafter, be careful in the use of words" said Senguttuvan.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 65
The Power of Speech

Verse 642 (in Tamil):
Akkamum kEdum adhanAl varudhalAl
kAththOmbal sollin kat chOrvu.

Meaning:

Since (both) wealth and destruction result from a one's speech, one should carefully guard oneself against faultiness in one's speech. 

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'mudhalALiyudan pEchchu vArththai' by the same author.) 

Verse 642 (Soon)
Verse 640

151. A Journey Into the Forest

Finding the hermitage of Valmiki in the deep forest was not an easy task for the old man. 

Starting from Ayodhya, the old man entered the forest, after traveling for several days. With no one in the forest to seek guidance from, he roamed about in the forest with no sense of direction, before finally arriving at the hermitage.

After reaching the hermitage, he sent word through a disciple standing at the doorstep that he wanted to meet Sita, residing there.

Sita came out in a moment.

Looking at the fatigued state of the old man, Sita told him, "You look fatigued and exhausted. First, have some food."

Even before Sita could complete the sentence, a disciple came from inside, carrying a fruit tray. He placed the tray before the old man.

"If you know who I am, you may not be so hospitable to me!" said the old man. 

"Who you are doesn't matter. We follow the practice of offering food to anyone visiting this hermitage. Especially in the case of people who are old or fatigued, we would ask them any details, only after making them eat food" said Sita.

"No. madam, First, I will introduce myself. I am a washerman."

"Oh! But, in our hermitage, we wash our clothes by ourselves. We don't engage the services of a washerman."

No, madam. I didn't come here, offering my services as a washerman. I am coming from Ayodhya."

There was a trace of grief on Sita's face, for while. But, quickly changing her expression and assuming a cheerful disposition, she asked the old man, "Are Rama, his brothers and others doing well?"

The old man broke down suddenly and began to sob uncontrollably. 

"Madam, you still don't seem to have realized my identity. I am the one responsible for your having to come to the forest and live an arduous life here. It was only after listening to my thoughtless remark questioning your chastity that your husband Rama decided to send you to the forest" said the old man, amidst sobs.

There was a faint smile on Sita's face. "It happened several years back. Why talk about it now?"

"No. madam. I made a scandalous remark in some mood, without  realizing the implications of my thoughtless and irresponsible remark. You had already proved your chastity to the whole world, by stepping into fire and coming out of it unscathed. It was cruel of me to have spoken ill of you, in spite of knowing about it."

Sita didn't say anything. 

"I have been living in regret, blaming myself for my stupid and arrogant remark and getting seared by the flame of guilt that has constantly been burning inside me. I realized that I would be able to come out of my feelings of guilt only after meeting you in person, apologizing to you for my sin and accepting a punishment at your hands. It was only with that determination, I gathered information about your whereabouts and came to this place, after walking for several days" said the old man. 

"I am sorry that I had engaged you in conversation, without asking you to take your food. Please have your food" said Sita. 

"No, madam. You should award some punishment to me. Please ask someone in this hermitage to give me lashes with a whip or a crane."

"Ok. But, your body needs strength to withstand the punishment. You have come here, after a few days' travel. You might not have got adequate food on the way. Therefore, have your food first" said Sita. 

"Will you award me some punishment, after I take my food?" asked the old man and began to eat the fruit.

Sita went inside. When she came out after a few minutes, she was accompanied by a disciple, carrying a spade in his hand. 

The disciple began to dig a pit on the ground outside the hermitage. 

'Why is this man digging a pit? Is he going to bury me alive into this pit?' the old man began to wonder, with apprehension.

Since the ground was moist, digging through the earth was easy. Within a short time, a pit with the depth of a few feet was dug.

Sita told the man who was digging the pit, "Enough. Now, please descend into the pit."

The man stopped digging, kept his spade aside and descended into the pit.

Sita asked the old man, "Sir! Can you tell me why the man is standing in the pit, without going under the earth?"

"Because the earth is supporting him" answered the old man, puzzled by the question. 

"When he was standing on the surface of the earth, the earth was supporting him. But, even after he dug the earth and stood in the pit dug by him, the earth has still been supporting him.

"My father Janaka picked me up from the earth, when he was ploughing the fields. So, I am considered the Earth's daughter. Being the daughter of the Earth, which is an embodiment of forbearance, won't I have a little forbearance myself? 

"I don't want to punish you. You can return home with the satisfaction of having expressed your regret for your action and live your life, without any feeling of guilt.

"I have asked the men to give you a packet of fruits to serve you as food, on your way back. Please take it and leave. A disciple will come with you some distance to show you the way in the forest" said Sita.

Thirukkural

Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 16
Forbearance 

Verse 151 (In Tamil)

agazhvAraith thAngum nilam pOlath
thammai igazhvArp poRuththal thalai.

Meaning:

Like the earth that bears even those who dig through it, supreme virtue is to be patient with one’s deriders.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'kAnagaththaith thEdi' by the same author)

Verse 152 (Soon)
Verse 150

641. The Reluctant Negotiator

"I don't have the means to send my son to the college. After completing his school education, he is sitting at home. There is a saying, 'one who has the gift of the gab will be able to survive.' My son won't even speak loud. He has no capacity to talk to the other person and get his need fulfilled" Sengamalam lamented about her son Raju.

After making several attempts at getting a job, Raju got a job as an assistant in the Personnel department of a company, in Chennai.

Since Sengamalam did not want to leave the village where she had been living for many years, Raju took up residence in Chennai and lived alone.

There were discussions between the management of the company and the leaders of the employees' union on the demands made by the union. The Personnel Manager participated in the discussions on behalf of the management. Raju was sitting with him with the relevant files, to provide the details that may be needed by the Personnel Manager, in the course of the discussion. 

When a union representative raised an issue, the Personnel Manager asked Raju to read out specific details from a file.

After Raju had read out the details, the union representative asked a question about the point being discussed.

The Personnel Manager did not reply. Seeing that he was quiet for several seconds, Raju reluctantly ventured to answer the question raised by the union representative. 

Following that, the union representative asked for a clarification and Raju responded.

For the next few minutes, Raju, without being consciously aware of what he was doing, was debating with the union representative, countering the points raised by the union representative, through facts and figures as well as logical arguments. 

The Personnel Manager was observing this scene, with interest. 

The union representative kept talking to Raju, as if he was the sole spokesperson on the other side.

 After a few minutes, the union representative accepted the point made by Raju. He looked at Raju, with a sense of respect and admiration 

When the leader of the union representatives' team had a chance to speak to the Personnel Manager in private, he told him, "You brought the right man along, for the negotiations. When I saw him articulating his views with so much clarity and cogency, I wished that I had a person like him on our side!" 

The Personnel Manager accepted his remarks, with a smile. 

The Personnel Manager spoke to the General Manager about Raju.

"This young man possesses the skill of making his points smoothly, yet forcefully. He speaks softly, but in a way to make the other person accept his views. He is articulate, clear, gentle, logical, patient and empathetic. When he speaks, the other person finds it compelling to listen. And after listening to him, the other person will find it difficult to counter his arguments. He is an asset to our company. Though he is only an assistant, we should make the best use of his talents. I would like to include him in my team, for all negotiations in future."

"Hearing what you say, it appears to me that he won't remain an assistant for long!" said the General Manager.

"I only hope that you won't replace me with him!" said the Personnel Manager, laughing.

Sengamalam called up Raju and asked him to come to the village next week to attend the marriage of one of their relatives, Raju said, "I can't make it, mom. I have to be here for a discussion with the union on the marriage day" said Raju. 

'What is this boy, who can't even ask for something he needs, going to do, sitting through some serious discussion?' wondered Sengamalam.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 65
The Power of Speech

Verse 641 (in Tamil):
nAnalam ennum nalan udaimai annalam
yAnalaththu uLLadhUm anRu.

Meaning:

The benefits the power of speech can offer can't be found in any other asset.

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

Verse 642
Verse 640

150. Not Guilty Of

A week passed, since Jaganmurthy had returned home, after serving a prison sentence of two years.

No one visited him at home, during this time.

When Jaganmurthy was released from prison, he expected his son Kittu to be present outside the prison, to take him come. But Kittu didn't come to take his father home. When his son himself did not come to the prison to receive him, Jaganmurthy was not surprised that neither his daughter Radhika nor her husband Kumar came to receive him. He knew that his wife was not able to come on her own, since she needed someone to take her to any place. 

It was only after reaching home, did Jaganmurthy realize that one week before Jaganmurthy was scheduled to be released from prison, Kittu had moved to a house rented by him, since he didn't want to live with his father.

Only Jaganmurthy's wife Kokila was home, to greet him, when he went there from the prison. As soon as Jaganmurthy entered the house, Kokila began to cry, unable to control her tears. 

She called up her son and told him that Jaganmurthy had come home. But, even after that, their son did not come to their house to see his father. Nor did their daughter. 

Concerned that Jaganmurthy wouldn't have had good food in the jail for two years, Kokila cooked a variety of dishes for him. But he didn't relish those preparations.

"I served my firm for twenty years, working hard like a bull. They gave me awards and promotions acknowledging my performance and achievements. But, all of a sudden, one day they charged with fraud, dismissed me from service and sent me to jail, for two years.

"After I had been released from prison, even my son and daughter didn't come to see me. None of the people I worked with in the company want to see me. People who roamed with me, calling themselves my friends, are nowhere to be found. But, you alone have been taking so much care of me and cooking a variety of dishes every day for me. Have you not been upset with me?" asked Jaganmurthy.

"Of course, I am upset with you. I am also angry with you, for what you have done, which brought shame to me and our children, apart from making you suffer in prison for two years. But..."

"But, you are devoted to me as a traditional Indian wife will be, to her husband, irrespective of what he does to her?" asked Jagnmurthy, mockingly.

"Not just that. Above every thing, I respect you for one thing."

"What is that?"

Before Kokila could answer him, the door bell rang.

Kokila opened the door.

It was Bhavani, who was Jabanmurthy's personal assistant in his company.

"I am sorry, sir" said Bhavani, after coming inside.

"You handed over all the documents that incriminated me to the police that helped them to convict me and send me to jail and you are saying 'sorry' now!" said Jaganmurthy, angrily. 

"Sir! How could I have not given the details our office asked me to give? But, I have always had great regards for you, sir."

"I did so much for you. I had recommended and got liberal increments to you. I recommended that you be promoted too."

"Yes, sir. You have been good to me and helped me in many ways. But those are not the reasons for which I hold you in high esteem ."

"For what reason, then?"

"It is for the way you treated me, the way you moved with me, when I, as your personal assistant, was close to you in the office for several hours a day. I have worked under quite a few male executives in the past. All of them would exhibit some inappropriate behaviour towards me, one way or the other. They would touch me, as if their hand landed on some part of my body, accidentally. They would stand very close to me, almost brushing against me. They would say things with some hidden meaning. They would ask me whether I was living happily with my husband, with a smirky expression on their face. They would tell me vulgar jokes and check how I take them. They would comment about my dress, my complexion, my being slim etc.

"But, you were one person who treated me and the other women employees of our company with dignity. Not a single inappropriate word slipped out of your tongue, even inadvertently. You never looked at any woman employee with lust in your eyes. We women know the feeling behind the look of a man. We, the women employees of our company would always be holding you in high esteem, for the dignity with which you treated us. The reason I came to see you was only out of the respect I have for you. Other women working in our office asked me to convey their regards to you. I now take leave of you, sir."

Bhavani left.

"I was telling you that there was another reason for my respect for you, over and above the traditional sentiment of devotion a wife has for her husband. It was the same reason that Bhavani had mentioned!" said Kokila.

Thirukkural

Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 14
Possession of Propriety 

Verse 150 (In Tamil)

aRan varaiyAn alla seyinum piRan varaiyAL
peNmai nayavAmai nanRu.

Meaning:

Though a man performs no virtuous deeds, but commits wrongs, it will be well, if he doesn't covet another man's wife.

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

Verse 151
Verse 149

640. The Man Who Delivered Victory

Election results were announced. People's Democratic Party (PDP) won the majority of seats and emerged as the party entitled to form the government. 

A meeting of the newly elected legislators of PDP was called to elect the leader of the legislative party, who would become the Chief Minister of the state.

While it was widely expected that Thirunavukkarasu, the seniormost leader of the party would be elected to lead the government, to the surprise of many, Manivasagam was elected the leader.

Manivasagam offered the post of Deputy Chief Minister to Thirunavukkarasu, but Thirunavukkarasu declined the offer.

"You have been given the mandate. Use it well and provide a good government. If I were to be the Deputy Chief Minister, you would often feel my shadow falling on you. Such a feeling won't be good for governance" said Thirunavukkarasu.

Three years passed since Manivasagam had become the Chie Minister. A meeting of the party's legislators was convened, in response to the demand made by a few legislators. 

Alageasan, the President of the party, who presided over the meeting said, "Mr. Manivasagam has been functioning as the Chief Minister for the past three years. Some legislators have written to me, demanding that he be replaced. I request Dhandapani, one of the legislators who have made this demand, to speak."

Dhandapani spoke:

"The major factor that contributed to the victory of our party in the last elections was our election manifesto. The manifesto prepared by Mr. Manivasagam outlined the schemes we planned to implement in elaborate details, in an exhaustive and attractive way, no other political party had done till then. It was an excellent blueprint that was appreciated both by the ordinary people and the experts. The media gave it a lot of publicity by telecasting a lot of discussions about it. The opposition parties were stunned. Realizing that by criticizing the manifesto, they would only be giving more publicity to it, they tried to ignore it, but they couldn't stop it being discussed by all. Till the time we came out with the manifesto, the pollsters were predicting that we would lose the election. It was the manifesto that turned the tide in our favour and facilitated our win. 

"It was by way of acknowledging the role the manifesto played in our electoral victory that a majority of our legislators chose Manivasagam, the architect of the manifesto, as the person who should lead the government. 

"But, during the past three years, Mr, Manivasagam's performance as the Chief Minister has created considerable discontent among the people. Today, our party has an unfavourable image among the people. 

"Mr. Manivasagam is a good leader, no doubt. Though he had displayed great skills in preparing the election manifesto of our party, he doesn't seem to have the skills needed to implement the plans devised by him. We now understand that the skills needed to implement a plan are vastly different from the skills needed to prepare it. So, it is the wish of the majority of the legislators that Mr. Manivasagam should step down from his position of Chief Minister and pave the way for a person having the competence to implement the plans in an efficient way, making the benefits to reach a large number of people, to be elected in his place."  

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 64
Being A Minister

Verse 640 (in Tamil):
muRaippadach chUzhndhum mudivilavE seyvar
thiRappAdu ilAdhavar.

Meaning:

A minister who lacks the ability to do things will not be able to execute his projects properly, though he may have conceived and planned them the right way.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'mudhalvarai mARRa vENdum' by the same author.) 

Verse 641
Verse 639

149. The Short-listed Candidate

"I have shortlisted three candidates for the post of the General Manager. You may select one of them for appointment" Mukundan, the CEO of the company told Sankararaman, the Chairman.

"If we are appointing a candidate from outside our company, I may be interested in looking at the background of the candidates. These three are the senior executives of our company. As the CEO, you would have interacted with them closely. You are the best person to evaluate them and choose the one you consider the best. Why do you want me to look at their profiles?" asked Sankararaman.

"I think that since we are choosing a person who is going to occupy a position immediately below me, I thought it would be appropriate if the appointment was made by someone above me."

"I appreciate your ethical standards. Please show me the profile of the three people shortlisted by you. Can I take it that the name on the top of the list is your first preference?"

"In a way, yes. But, I would consider all the three candidates to be equally good."

"Okay. Let us start with the first name - Giridharan."

After spending a couple of minutes going through the profile, Sankararaman said, "His profile is quite impressive. But you have attached a bunch of papers to the profile. What are these?"

"The Human Resources (HR) department has prepared a profile sheet, incorporating all the important information about each candidate. That is what you went through. The attachments are supporting papers, kept by the HR department, for reference, in case of necessity. I should have removed them, while giving you the file. I am sorry" said Mukundan. 

"That is ok" said Sankararaman and quickly browsed through the papers. He stopped at a page and asked. "What is this? There is a reference to some FIR!"

"That is a something relating to a happening in a company Giridharan worked earlier."

"What was the issue? Can you elaborate?"

"It seems there was an affair between him and a female employee. But, it is said that it had happened only with the consent of the woman."

"Was it something like a consensual rape?" asked Sankararaman, with a smile.

"Sir! It was not rape. Giridharan and the woman had been having a relationship for quite some time. Every one in the company had known about it. But, allof a sudden, one day, that woman gave a police complaint that Giridhran sexually assaulted her."

"Interesting! Then?"

"It transpired that the woman's husband had forced her to give such a complaint, intending to use it to extract money from Giridharan." 

"That means that the affair had been going on only with the consent of the woman's husband. This is real consensual sex!"

"The woman's husband had planned to use the police complaint to blackmail Giridharan and withdraw the complaint after extracting some money from him. But, the police registered an FIR immediately. So he was forced to hurriedly reach a compromise and withdraw the complaint. Since Giridhran's name was in the FIR, that fact was recorded by his company in his personal file."

"But, how did you come to know of these details?"

"When Giridharan was selected by our company for the job, I saw these details in the confidential report sent by his previous company at our request. I spoke to the HR Manager of the company to ascertain the details. He was the one who gave me the details. He also said Giridharan was very good at his job and that it was an isolated incident resulting from an indiscretion on the part of Giridharan." 

"You had been very thorough. But you made a mistake in appointing him in our company, even after knowing about this incident."

"Why do you say so, sir?"

"A man who had an affair with another man's wife doesn't deserve anything good in life. If I had known about these facts, I would have stalled his appointment even at that time. Now, of course, we can't dismiss him. But, we can stop him from becoming the General Manager."

"Sir! That incident happened many years back. After Giridharan had joined our company, there was no complaint against him. He is a person with an excellent performance record and proven competence. I would say that he is the best among the three short-listed candidates."

"Then, let us go for the second best. I am sorry, Mr. Mukundan! As I had said earlier, I don't consider a person having a liaison with another man's wife a human being at all. He does not deserve to be considered for a high position. Please strike off his name from the list. Let us select one of the other two" said Sankararaman, firmly.

Thirukkural

Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 14
Possession of Propriety 

Verse 149 (In Tamil)

nalakkuriyAr yAr enin nAma nIr vaippin
piRarkku uriyAL thOL thOyAdhAr.

Meaning:

Those who don't touch the shoulder of a another man's wife are the ones who deserve all the good in this world surrounded by the fearsome ocean.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'mUvaril oruvar' by the same author)

Verse 150
Verse 148

639. A Remark During the Press Meet

Chief Minister Adhavan met the media persons, in connection with his government having completed two years in office.

After detailing his government's achievements during the two year period, he answered the questions posed to him by the media persons.

A question was asked about the criticism of his government by the opposition parties. 

'"The role of the opposition parties is to oppose the government. They have just been playing their roles. I am not concerned about them" said Adhavan.

"You talk about your achievements. But the opposition parties talk about the shortcomings in your performance. Don't you think that this will tarnish the reputation of your government, you have been trying to build?"

"I should definitely be concerned about issues affecting the reputation of my government. But I don't believe that our reputation would be affected by the criticism levelled against us by the opposition parties. It may, however, be affected by other factors" said Adhavan, smiling.

"Can you elaborate what you imply by 'other factors?'"

"I said it in general. Let us conclude this meet at this stage."

Adhavan got up and left the press meet, after waving his hands to the media persons, by way of saying goodbye to them. 

"What have you done, sir? You have cast a stone in still waters and created ripples. Now everyone is talking about your use of the phrase 'other factors.' The media has been speculating about the 'factors' you referred to," Aravanan, President of Adhavan's party, told Adhavan.

"Let them speculate. Let there be debates on what I meant. Then only the erring ministers in my cabinet will realize the damage they have been causing to the reputation of our government" said Adhavan, somewhat angrily.

"You mean..."

"You know who are the people I have been referring to. A senior minister has been doing things that are against public interest. His actions have brought a bad name to our party and the government. Our own partymen are angry with him. But, since he is a senior leader in our party, I cannot sack him from the ministry. I have spoken to him about his wrongdoings many times and emphasized the need to mend his ways. But he has not changed his ways. That is why I threw a hint in the press meet by mentioning about other factors that could create a bad name to our government. I hope he would have got the message and would mend his ways. If he doesn't, I have no option but to drop him from the cabinet. As I indicated in the press meet, our government  does not face any threat from the opposition parties. The real threat we face is only from people like this person. You may also talk to him and make him understand what is expected of him. I also expect that my remark would serve as a warning to other erring ministers, if any, whose wrongdoings might not have come to my notice" said Adhavan.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 64
Being A Minister

Verse 639 (in Tamil):
pazhudhu eNNum mandhiriyin pakkadhadhuL thevvOr
ezhupadhu kOdi uRum.

Meaning:

It is better to face 700 million foes

than have an erring minister.

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

Verse 640
Verse 638