190. The Gentleman From Kolkatta

When Kumar married Malathi, he was aware that her extended family was quite large. 

Malathi had two brothers and two sisters. And, she had many relatives from the sides of both of her parents. 

In contrast, Kumar didn't have many relatives. His parents had very few relatives. After the demise of his parents, his contacts with those relatives have dwindled. 

He would meet some of his relatives occasionally during the functions in the families of one of them and just exchange pleasantries with them. Otherwise, he was not keeping touch with them, by visiting them or by talking to them over phone, even occasionally.

On the other hand, the contacts and interactions between Malathi's relatives were frequent and intimate. 

Having a large number of relatives gave opportunities to Malathi to meet them quite often in the functions of the families of one relative or other. She and her relatives were also in the habit of visiting one another and keeping in touch through exchange of letters by post (during the earlier years, before they got telephone connections at their homes) and later, through telephone conversations.

During the initial years of his marriage, Kumar felt happy about Malathi being in such intimate contact with a number of her relatives, in contrast to his inability to reach out to his relatives. 

But, after a few months, he was concerned by a trend he observed in the interactions between Malathi and her relatives

Though they had been moving closely, Malathi's relatives had the habit of finding fault with one anotherr. Malathi was no exception to this. 

There were many informal groups and sub-groups among Malathi and her relatives. Members of one group would find fault with some of those not in their group. There would be gossip and slander. 

They also did this to members in their own group, while individually interacting with a person in their group or with someone in another group.

The disparaging remarks made by one person against another would, on occasions, be leaked by a member of the group, sometimes inadvertently, but often deliberately. This would result in mutual recriminations and bickering and ultimately to bitterness and at times, even lead to the relationship getting sour, at least temporarily.

During the times people had an opportunity to meet and talk to each other, the issues would be raked up. It would lead to arguments and verbal fights. When one person accused another of having done or said something against him or her, the other person would hit back saying, 'Did you not make a bad remark about me to that person, at such and such a time?' 

Kumar often heard Malathi complaining about her brothers and their wives, during her telephonic conversations with her sisters.

When he asked Malathi why she was doing so, she replied, "We sisters will share our grievances and disappointments among ourselves. Why should this disturb you?"

"Will you talk to them about me also?" asked Kumar, in a lighter vein. 

"I could. If I did so, obviously, I can't admit it to you!" said Malathi.

Kumar was not sure whether she said it in a lighter vein, or whether she really meant it!

"If you and your relatives keep finding fault with others among you and sharing it with some others, won't the relationship bonds get weakened? I find that almost everyone among your relatives has a grouse against every other person. Is there any one in your family against whom no one has a grievance?"

"Yes. there is one. Our Kolkatta uncle" said Malathi.

"But he is not closely related to you. He is your father's cousin. And, since he is residing at a place far off from Chennai, where most of your relatives are residing, you may not have had many opportunities to interact with him. Maybe, that is why none of you has any grievance against him!" quipped Kumar.

"It is not so. Though he is only distantly related to us, he is very intimate with us. He would attend all the functions in our families, by traveling down to Chennai all the way from Kolkatta. In fact, he will be coming to Chennai next month, to attend Priya's wedding" said Malathi.

Kumar began to think how Priya was related to Malathi, but didn't ask Malathi about it, lest she should find fault with him for having not remembered who Priya was!

Kumar had an opportunity to converse with Nagarajan, referred to as Kolkatta uncle by Malathi, during Priya's wedding.

When Kumar was alone with Nagarajan for a few minutes, he told him, "Sir! I have married a girl from your family. I am not sure how much liberty I could take to talk to you about your relatives. But, I find that there has been a tendency among many members of your family to nitpick and quarrel about various matters, many of which are petty and insignificant. As a result, there has been bitterness, resentment, anger and hostility in the minds of many of them. Malathi told me that you were one person, against whom no one had any growse. I admire you for this!" 

Nagarajan smiled and said, "I learnt a secret many years back in my career. It has been helping me in maintaining my family relationships too!"

"What is the secret, sir?" asked Kumar.

"We had a manager in our office. He used to keep a small wooden plaque on his table, inscribed with the message, 'The Boss is always right.' He didn't like any of us working in the office contradicting him or expressing a divergent view. If someone tried to argue with him, he would show him the plaque. Then, the other person would keep quiet. One day, the plaque was missing from his table. I asked him why he had removed that plaque. He told me, 'The general manager from the head office is visiting our branch today. If this plaque is on my table, I won't be able to express my opinion, when I may disagree his views. So, I don't want this plaque to be on my table, when my boss is here!' At that time, a truth struck me. Almost all of us think that we are right. If the other person contradicts us, we dislike it, resent it and get angry too. We dislike another person who expresses a view different from ours. We follow one yardstick for us and another for others. Our manager didn't want his subordinates to express an opinion different from his. But, he didn't want to accept what his boss would say, without any question."

"Interesting" said Kumar.

"I applied what I had realized to my relationships. If someone commits a mistake, we point it out. But, we never think whether we had also committed such a mistake in the past. Such situations would occur quite frequently in domestic matters. When I am attending a wedding, I may feel that the host has not paid much attention to me. The moment I had such a thought, I would think of weddings in my family, in which I had been the host. I would ask myself whether I had paid enough attention to all the guests, greeted them and treated them well. Most of the times, I won't even remember how I had acted in those situations. I would realize that I was so engrossed in looking after the wedding arrangements that I did many things mechanically. I might not have paid enough attention to some of the guests. So, I should give allowance to other people also for their inability to pay as much attention to me as I expected them to. By applying this approach to several areas of our life, I realized that most of the times, I also had the fault I found with another person. This realization was astonishing to me. So, I stopped finding fault with others. I made it a practice to refrain and pointing out anyone's fault to that person. This could be the reason why my relatives have no growse against me!"

"Wonderful, sir! But, have you realized that because of your approach, you have lost one important faculty?" asked Kumat.

"Which faculty?" asked Nagarajan, somewhat taken aback.

"The ability to find fault with others" said Kumar, laughing aloud.

Nagarajan joined in his laughter.

Thirukkural
Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 19
Refraining From Backbiting

Verse 190 (In Tamil)

EdhilAr kuRRam pOl tham kuRRam kANgil pin
thIdhu uNdO mannum uyirkku.

Meaning:

If one looks at his faults in the same way he does at others’ faults, will any harm befell the lingering human lives?

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'KalkaththA ChiththappA' by the same author)

Verse 191 (Soon)
Verse 189

728. A Missed Opportunity

The interview for selecting new entrepreneurs for rant of venture capital funding for their start-up ventures was being held in public view, to demonstrate the transparency of the selection process.

A panel of five experts, representing the venture capital firms, was sitting on the stage and interviewing the applicants, while the audience was watching the interviews, with interest. 

Dilip and Varun were among the candidates. They had together applied for venture capital investment for setting up a plant for manufacturing an innovative product created by them.

The applicants were required to make presentations about their products in English. 

Since Dilip had a good command over English, the duo decided that Dilip would make the presentation. However, Dilip had a shortcoming. He was diffident to speak before others. Varun had repeatedly exhorted Dilip to speak boldly.

They were listed 8th in the order of making the presentations.

After listening to first few presentations, Varun told Dilip with excitement, "Dilip! When it comes to the quality of innovation, the products of others cannot come anywhere near ours. I am sure, once we make our presentation, we will be selected for venture capital funding. You just have to make your presentation with confidence."

Dilip, who was apprehensive about how he was going to make the presentation with confidence, didn't say anything.

When the turn of Dilip and Varun came, Dilip began to speak. In spite of having prepared the presentation well, Dilip was unable to make a convincing presentation. He stumbled quite often, made mistakes and corrected himself, making himself a pitiable person in the process. 

Vaun tried to come to Dilip's help a couple of times, but the panel members didn't allow it, saying that under the rules, only one person was allowed make the presentation.  

After Dilip had completed his presentation, Varun told him, "You have made a mess of it, Dilip!"

"What could I do? I was not able to speak coherently. When I was explaining a point, I would remember that before introducing that point, I should have talked about another point, but I wouldn't know how to bring it up at that stage. It affected my flow and organization" said Dilip, sounding apologetic.

"Well! You are able to explain to me clearly why you couldn't make a coherent speech! It is pathetic that in spite of our having an excellent product, we are going to lose this opportunity to receive venture capital funding, because of our inability to make a good presentation" said Varun, expressing his frustration.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 72
Divining the Mind

Verse 728 (in Tamil):
pallavai kaRRum payam ilarE nal avaiyuL
nangu selach chollAdhAr.

Meaning:

One may be a person of great learning, but that learning can serve no purpose, if one cannot speak effectively before a good audience.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'pudiya muyarchikku nidhi udhavi' by the same author.) 

Verse 729 (Soon)
Verse 727

727. "Ignoamus"

When Vanchinathan, a Tamil scholar, who had made a deep study of many Tamil literary works, written a number of scholarly essays expounding Tamil literary works and authored a few books too, received an offer to participate in a debate, he was reluctant to accept it.

However, his friend Namasivayam talked to him and convinced him to accept the offer.

"You are more erudite than all the people who will be participating in the debate, including the Tamil scholar, who will be serving as the moderator. While people with a little learning have been showing off their knowledge, you have been keeping a low profile, like a lamp glowing inside a pot, as the saying goes! Someone who is aware of your erudition has given you this opportunity. Please make use of it" said Namasivayam. 

The two debating teams had four speakers each. Vanchinathan was the third person to speak on his his team.

The moment he stood before the mike, Vanchinathan became nervous. His mind suddenly went blank. He didn't know where to begin. 

While listening to the speakers from the other side, he had made mental notes of the points made by them and decided how to counter those points. But, all those thoughts seemed to have evaporated the moment he came before the mike.

Vanchinathan said something for the sake of saying something. He was at a loss for words and he couldn't speak coherently. 

After speaking a few sentences, he looked at the moderator, hoping that his time would have been over. The moderator signaled him to continue with his speech.

Vanchinathan spoke for a few minutes, without even being conscious of what he was saying and concluded his speech, even before his time was over.

After going back to his seat, he looked at the leader of his team and the other two speakers on his team. Their faces reflected their disappointment about the bad job done by him. The speakers from the other side appeared to look at him with glee and a sense of mockery.

After the event had got over, neither the leader of his team, nor the other two speakers said anything to Vanchinathan. The moderator attempted to say something, but on second thoughts refrained from saying anything.

When Vanchinathan was leaving the hall, he heard some members of the audience speaking disparagingly of him. He heard one person remark, "Everyone except one person spoke well. But, one speaker seems to be an ignoramus!"

When Vanchinathan wondered whether all his education, research and extensive studies were only to get the title 'ignoramus' from a member of the audience, he could not help feeling amused, even at that moment of humiliation.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 73
Knowing Your Audience

Verse 727 (in Tamil):
pagai agaththup pEdi kai oL vAL avai agaththu
anjum avan kaRRa nUl.

Meaning:

The learning of a person who is diffident before an assembly is like the shining sword in the hand of a coward facing a foe.

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

Verse 728
Verse 726

189. Vice President Vaiyapuri

"Sir! He is Arunmozhi, the Secretary of our party's Social Media Wing" Muthu, a senior leader of People's Rights Party (PRP), told Vaiyapuri, the Vice-President of the party, introducing Arunmozhi.

Arun paid obeisance to Vaiyapuri, by folding his palms in the traditional way. 

Arunmozhi was Arun, till he joined the party recently. It was the party president Vetri Vendhan, who elongated his name as Arunmozhi, saying that the longer name would sound more impressive.

"Social Media Wing! What is it?" asked Vaiyapuri. not paying attention to Arunmozhi's gesture of respect.

"Sir! This wing has just been created to spread our ideology and messages through social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter etc. We can not only carry our messages to a wide section of people through these platforms, but also reply to criticisms made by our political opponents and others" explained Muthu. "Our party president has appointed Mr. Arunmozhi as the Secretary of the Social Media Wing. He asked me to introduce him to you" he added. 

Though Veteri Vendhan would never consult Vaiyapuri, the Vice-President on any issue, he never failed to extend small courtesies like this to Vaiyapuri.

"Ok. Do your job well" said Vaiyapuri, by way of dismissing Arunmozhi. 

After Arunmozhi had left, Vaiyapuri asked Muthu, "Why do we need people like him? We have fire-emitting orators like Thunderbolt Thanikachalam!"

"Sir, in the present times, the role of social media has become very important. Only after getting convinced of the power of the social media, have our president recruited this young man, who was working in a software development firm, by offering him a huge salary" said Muthu.

'I now understand why our party president never consults you on any issue!' Muthu said to himself, mentally directing the comment to Vaiyapuri.

Within a few weeks of Arunmozhi's taking over the task of managing the Social Media Wing of the party, there was a considerable improvement in the reach of the party's messages to social media users.

Combining his technical skills and the creative talents of some young people belonging to the party, Arunmozhi was able to turn out highly impactful campaigns.

He met the party president, a couple of times. The party president appreciated Arunmozhi's work, making specific references to some of his campaigns. Arunmozhi realized that the party president had been keenly observing his work and evaluating it.

Arunmozhi also met Vice President Vaiyapuri, a few times. 

Vaiyapuri just said, "I hear that you have been doing a good job. Congratulations."

Beyond that, he made no reference to any of Arunmozhi's work. 

Arunmozhi came to know that Vaiyapuri was making slanderous comments about him to other leaders of the party. 

"We are squandering our funds by paying this man Arunmozhi a fat salary and spending money on his unproductive projects. Our party doesn't need this kind of promotion. Party workers have been telling me that this is wasteful and requesting me to put a stop to this" was his comment Vaiyapuri made to several leaders and office-bearers of the party.

Arunmozhi was pained to hear about Vaiyapuri's comments through other people. 'If he talks to me directly, I can explain to him the importance of my work and convince him how my campaign has improved the image of our party' he thought.

He met Vaiyapuri again, expecting that he would vent his criticism to him. But, Vaiyapuri didn't say anything to him.

"Sir! If you have any misgivings about my work, please tell me" Arunmozhi asked him. 

Vaiyapuri said, "I don't know anything about the field in which you have been working. I will read our party organ and give my feedback. I don't read online stuff like quitter etc" said Vaiyapuri.

Arunmozhi was not sure whether the use of the incorrect name 'quitter' was due to Vaiyapuri's ignorance or a deliberate slant by him, to express his lack of interest in social media.

Even after that meeting, Arunmozhi learned that Vaiyapuri continued to speak disparagingly of him.

Arunmozhi considered whether he should bother about Vaiyapuri's slander, when his work was recognized and commended by the party president.

However, he found that he couldn't ignore Vaiyapuri's criticism, which was pricking him like a thorn.

Once, when he had a chance to be alone with the party president, Arunmozhi told him, "Sir, please don't mistake me, for saying this. It appears that the vice president is not happy about my work. He didn't say anything to me. But, he has been belittling me and my work, while speaking to other leaders. While I am elated by your words of appreciation, I am also pained by the vice president's remarks. I don't understand what wrong I have committed."

The party president remained silent for a moment. He then said, "Don't worry about it. Keep doing your job."

After two days, Arunmozhi received a call from Sengai Singam, one of the top leaders of the party, who was considered close to the party president, asking Arunmozhi to meet him at the party office.

Arunmozhi met Sengai Singam in the latter's cabin, at the party headquarters.

"It seems you expressed some grievance about the vice president, to the party president!" said Sengai Singam.

Worried that his expressing a grievance against Vaiyapuri to the party president had been construed as complaining about a top leader of the party and taken a serious note of,  Arunmozhi said somewhat apologetically, "Sir, I didn't mean to complain..."

"Just a minute," Sengai Singam interrupted him. I didn't call you to seek an explanation from you. I called you to apprise you of a few tings."

He continued.

"Everyone in our party knows about Mr. Vaiyapuri. Since you have joined the party only recently, you don't know about him. It is the nature of Mr. Vaiyapuri, to find fault wit every one and every thing. That is his only occupation. He won't express his views to the concerned person directly. He would speak about people, behind their backs. He has even spoken ill of our president to some people. Our president knows about this. Our president has made Mr. Vaiyapuri the vice president of the party, in recognition of his stature, as a senior leader of the party. The office of the vice president being held by him is a position with no power. Mr. Vaiyapuri is of no use to the party. In fact, he is a burden. Our president has been bearing this burden, out of a sense of responsibility. It is the magnanimity of our president. Obviously, our president cannot tell you these things about the Vice President. So, he asked me to explain the situation to you.Therefore, don't bother about what Mr. Vaiyapuri says about you. Our president is very happy about your work. Get the thought of Mr. Vaiyapuri's criticism out of your mind and keep doing your job. Best wishes" said Sengai Sivam. 

       

Thirukkural

Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 19
Refraining From Backbiting

Verse 189 (In Tamil)

aRan nOkki ARRum kol vaiyam puRan nOkkip
pun sol uraippAn poRai.

Meaning:

The earth, out of its commitment to its virtue of patience, tolerates

the presence of a person, who slanders another on his back.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'thuNaith thalaivar' by the same author)

Verse 190
Verse 188

188. The New Neighbour

Kannan had the chance to meet his new neighbour Viswanathan, who had rented the apartment adjacent to his, a week after the latter had moved in. 

Kannan learnt that Viswanathan had worked in a company in Kolkatta and that after his retirement, he moved to Chennai.

During the subsequent interactions, each of them exchanged more information about their backgrounds. 

Kannan remembered that his friend's relative was a high level executive in the company, where Viswanathan had worked. 

"Do you know Mr. Balakrishnan?" Kannan asked Viswanathan. 

"How could I not know him? I had worked with him for the past several years" said Viswanathan. He then asked somewhat cautiously, "Is he related to you?"

"No. He is a distant relative of one of my friends. I happened to meet him in a function in my friend's family. At that time, my friend introduced me to him. When you mentioned the name of your company, I remembered him and asked you whether you knew him" replied Kannan.

"I just wanted to know whether he was close to you" said Viswanathan. After a pause, he added, "He is younger to me in age and junior to me in service. Since I joined this company after having worked in another company for a few years, Balakrishnan had become senior to me in our company. His knowledge about work in the company was poor. He would often seek my advice and guidance for doing his work! But he was sycophantic to his superiors. He had a nickname 'chamcha,' which in Hindi means 'a sycophant.' By virtue of his sycophancy, he was able to get quick promotions and go up in the ladder of hierarchy in the company. He is a General Manager now, there are quite a few General Managers in our company, though! But, I was unable to rise above the position of an Office Manager. Do education, experience, job knowledge, dedication, sincerity and performance have any value in today's world?" said Viswanathan, bitterly.

After a few weeks, Balakrishnan, who had come to Chennai on some work, came to Viswanathan's house, by way of paying a courtesy call.

When Balakrishnan took leave of Viswanathan, Viswanathan told him about his neighbour Kannan and took him to Kannan's house.

Viswanathan told Kannan, "Mr. Kannan! Since you told me that you had met Mr. Balakrishnan, I brought him to your house." 

He then left to his house, allowing the two to converse.

"We met in a function several years back. But, you still remember me. I was pleasantly surprised to hear Viswanathan tell me that you asked him about me. I couldn't place you immediately. Then I remembered that you are a friend of my relative Ravichandran" said Balakrishnan.

"Ravichandran would often talk to me about you and your fast rise in the hierarchy of your company" said Kannan.

After a few minutes, the conversation turned to the subject of Viswanathan.

"Have you been acquainted with Mr. Viswanathan, since long?" asked Kannan.

"I have known Viswanathan from the time he joined my company. When he came to Kolkatta from Chennai to join our company, he suffered for a few months, since he couldn't get a suitable house for rent. He had also vacated his house in Chennai. I had an extra bedroom in my house. I asked him to stay in my house with his family, till the time he was able to rent a house. His family stayed in my house for two months. So, our families have been close since that time. When he joined our company, both of us were at the same level. I was fortunate to get a few quick promotions and move up. But, Viswanathan was not able to get promotions quickly. He has been feeling bad about it" said Balakrishnan, smiling.

After Balakrishnan had taken leave, Kannan's wife Pushpa told him, "This person was so kindhearted to ask a newly acquainted person Viswanatan to stay in his house with his family till he got a house for rent. Both of them have worked together in the same company for several years. They seem to have been close. But, Viswanathan spoke ill of Balakrishnan to you, a person who just got acquainted with him! I wonder what he would say about you to some other people. I suggest that you keep a distance from him."

    

Thirukkural
Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 19
Refraining From Backbiting

Verse 188 (In Tamil)

thunniyAr kuRRamum thURRum marabinAr
enai kol EdhilAr mAttu.

Meaning:

If one is known to habitually sully his friends for their faults,

what damage would he do unto others?

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

Verse 189
Verse 187

187. Finding Fault With A Friend

"Where is Deepak?"

"He should be roaming with Mukesh. If the donkey is missing, we should look for it near a dilapidated wall. It will be standing there, scratching its back on the wall."

"It might be okay to compare Deepak to a donkey. But it is not appropriate to compare Mukesh, living in a palatial house, to a damaged wall!"

Even as some of Deepak's friends were talking about him this way, Deepak was with Mukesh, in Mukesh's palatial house.

"What is your program for tomorrow?" Mukesh asked Deepak.

"I have a seminar on Monday. I have to prepare for it" said Deepak.

"Yes. I remember your telling me about it. It is at some college near Madurantakam, isn't it?"

"Yes."

"You can take my car. I will send the driver too."

"Three of us are going there. We can travel by bus."

"It is okay. Both the car and the driver are going to be idle, otherwise" said Mukesh. "I could also come with you. But, I have a test that day" he added.

"When you are not coming, why should you send your car? We will go by bus" said Deepak.

"You have to take two buses to reach that remote place. Shouldn't my car be useful to a friend like you?"

'What have I done to deserve so much affection from him?' thought Deepak.

Deepak's father was working as a construction supervisor under a building contractor. He was not well placed, financially.

Observing that Deepak was moving closely with Mukesh, Deepak's father told him, "Mukesh's father is a wealthy businessman. We belong to the middle class. Be cautious while moving with Mukesh. Don't get too close to him. The friendship between a poor man and a rich man would often result in causing some trouble to the poor man" he said. 

However, Mukesh was uninhibited in his friendship with Deepak. He respected Deepak's parents, as he would his own parents. Whenever he visited Deepak's home, he acted as he if he was at his own home.

He would tell Deepak's mother, "Mom! That day you had made Chappathi and a delicious gravy, for packing in his lunch box. Will you make the same dishes for me today?"

Touched by Mukesh's graceful behaviour, Deepak's father told Deepak, "This boy is so friendly, affectionate and warm. His being wealthy is not an issue. You are fortunate to have such a wonderful person as your friend."

A few days after going to the seminar by Mukesh's car, Deepak was speaking to Raju, another friend of him. 

"Mukesh is an excellent person, no doubt. But he is afflicted by arrogance, a defining characteristic of wealthy people" said Deepak.

"How can you say such a thing about a person, who is your best friend?" asked Raju, surprised by Deepak's remark.

"He has been very good to us, of course. But, people in his household have no consideration for the people working for them."

"Even if that were the case, how can you blame Mukesh for the attitude of his parents? By the way, how do you know about this?" asked Raju. 

"You remember our going to Madurantakam in his car? At that time, his driver shared his grievances with me. It seems Mukesh's parents tire him endlessly. Even if there is no work, they won't allow him to go home early. They also won't allow him to take leave, even occasionally. The driver said that even Mukesh would treat him harshly. It pains me to learn that our friend Mukesh does such things" said Deepak.

In the next few days, Deepak observed some changes in Mukesh's attitude towards him. He avoided Deepak. While he conversed with his other friends, he hardly said anything to Deepak. Nor did he respond to Deepak's efforts to have a conversation with him. 

During the couple of times Deepak confronted Mukesh directly, Mukesh evaded him by saying that he had some other work to attend.

Deepak suspected that Mukesh would have come to know of what Deepak told Raju. How could he have known? Did Raju carry his remarks to Mukesh?

Deepak confronted Raju with his suspicion.

At first, Raju denied having told Mukesh about what Deepak said. When Deepak questioned him repeatedly, Raju admitted that he had inadvertently spilled Deepak's words to Mukesh. 

"Why did you do this?" Deepak asked Raju, angrily.

"During the course of our conversation, I made a mention of your remarks, due to a slip of my tongue. When Mukesh questioned me deeply, I had to report the entire conversation to him" said Raju.

"I told you something, trusting your discretion to keep it within you. But, you carried my words to Mukesh. Don't you think what you have done is improper?"

"You spoke to me disparagingly of your best friend. You didn't consider it wrong. But, you are finding fault with me for inadvertently revealing it to Mukesh, in the course of a conversation. Your idea of propriety is strange, indeed!" said Raju.

Deepak did not reply.

Thirukkural

Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 19
Refraining From Backbiting

Verse 187 (In Tamil)

pagach chollik kELirp pirippar nagach cholli
natpAdal thERRAdhavar.

Meaning:

Those who can't say good things about their friends to others and strengthen their friendship, will say unpleasant things about their friends behind their backs and get estranged from them.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'naNbanidam oru kuRai' by the same author)

Verse 188
Verse 186

186. Shenbagam's Moment of Shock

Shenbagam and her friend Jagathu would chat over phone at least twice every day. Each conversation would go on for twenty to thirty minutes.

Both of them have been making the best use of the 'unlimited talk time' offers made by mobile phone service providers. 

The conversation would invariably be about their mutual friends and acquaintances.

They would discuss the interesting happenings in the families of other people and evaluate and judge their actions, branding them as stupid moves, blunders, dishonest and cunning acts, humiliations suffered by them etc.

Sometimes, one of them would share information known to her with the other and at other times, they would discuss matters known to both.

Apart from conversing over the phone every day, once in a week, the two friends would meet in person in the evening in a temple. After worshiping the deity, they would sit at a quiet place inside the temple premises and chat for about an hour.

After going through the matters discussed over the phone during the week, they would share the latest updates, if any.

It can be said that speaking about other people's problems and exchanging slander enriched their friendship, more than any other thing they had in between them.

"Then?" asked Jagathu.

"Nothing new. Everything is just old story!" said Shenbagam, feeling bored.

"Does Janaki's husband know about her paying fifteen hundred rupees for a cheap sari from a street vendor, believing his misrepresentation of it as a silk sari?"

"What do men know about saris? Janaki's husband would have thought that his wife had bought a silk sari at a bargain price. Later on, if she shows some other silk sari to him and tells him that it was the one she bought at a bargain price, how is he going to find out?"

"Fortunately, she has no mother-in-law or sister-in-law living in the house. If any such person had been there, her bluff would have been called!"

"Now that you mentioned about calling of the bluff, I remembered another matter. You know Suguna's husband has been sitting at home for the past two months, without going for his job!"

"Yes, of course. Suguna told us that he had taken leave and been studying for some examination."

"No. I just came to know from another friend that she had been telling a lie. Her husband has been suspended by his company, because of some irregularity committed by him. Nobody knows whether he will be reinstated or not. Suguna has been covering up the truth, by claiming that he has been preparing for some examination!"

"How cleverly has she spun a tale! Can you and I have the skill to spin such tales?"

The conversation continued on these lines for some more time, during which, matters relating to a few more women were discussed.

Shenbagam was unable to get Jagathu's mobile number for a long time. She was repeatedly hearing the message from the telephone company stating, 'The subscriber is talking to someone else.'

Thinking that there could be some problem with Jagathu's mobile phone, Shenbagam called Jagathu's landline number.

It was Jagathu's daughter who answered the phone. She said, "Mummy is talking on her mobile phone. I will call her."

She then told her mother in a loud voice, "Mummy! There is a phone call for you" and went away to attend to her activities.

Shenbagam was able to hear Jagatu talking to someone over her mobile phone. Though Jagathu was a little away from the fixed line phone, Shenbagam was able to hear her words clearly. 

Shenbagam who, initially was listening to Jagathu's words passively without paying attention to them, became interested when she heard Jagathu mention her name. With Jagathu walking towards the fixed line phone even as she was talking, to attend to the call received on the fixed line, her voice was becoming louder and clearer for Shenbagam to hear. 

"Yes. I am talking about our friend Shenbagam. She had kept cash concealed at various places, carefully hiding it from her husband. When the government suddenly announced demonetization of currency notes of five hundred and thousand rupees denomination, she took out the concealed cash from various places. Can you believe it? It amounted to twenty thousand rupees... There was no way she could have got them exchanged without her husband's knowledge. So, she had to confess the truth to her husband and get the money deposited in his bank... Wouldn't he have been enraged? He got furious, when Shenbagam told him about the demonetized notes in her possession and shouted at her, saying, 'On several occasions, I had struggled without having even one thousand rupees cash with me. But, you have stashed so much money and did not even offer to help me during the times I was in dire need of cash. What kind of a wife are you?' She told me about her husband's angry outburst and cried, telling me how much she felt hurt by his words. But,the story does not end here. Just two days back, she discovered that she had kept demonetized currency notes of five thousand rupees in an empty container in the kitchen. She was shocked... How could she disclose this to her husband? The deadline for exchanging the demonetized notes is already over. If she were to tell her husband about this new discovery, he would tear her to pieces. I wonder how she could be so stupid and careless. We have all been thinking that she is smart. But, she has been such a stupid woman. Pathetic, isn't it? Ok. I have got a call on the fixed line. I have to take it. I will talk to you later. Bye...Hello, who is this?"

Shenbagam disconnected the call, without saying anything. 

Thirukkural
Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 19
Refraining From Backbiting

Verse 186 (In Tamil)

piRan pazhi kURuvAn than pazhi uLLum
thiRan therindhu kURappadum.

Meaning:

One who smears another behind his back, opens himself up

to similar smear, with his faults being slandered.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'seNbagamE, seNbagamE' by the same author)

Verse 187
Verse 185