185. The Investor

When Sekar was looking for a suitable investor to invest in his new business, Sankaralingam's name was recommended to him.

Before meeting Sankaralingam and seeking his investment in his new venture, Sekar consulted his friend Raghu.

"What do you know about Sankaralingam?" asked Raghu.

"If he finds a business to have good profit potential, he will join that business as a partner. He will observe how the business is being run. But, he won't interfere in the day to day running of the business. He is a philanthropist. He has donated money to several good causes. He has provided venture capital to a few people who had a good project, but no money to invest" said Sekar. 

"The catch seems to be that a person with such excellent credentials should agree to invest in your business!" quipped Raghu.

"Your sarcasm is fine. As you know, I don't take any decision, without consulting you. You are a sharp observer and a person with good instinct. I want you to come with me, when I am meeting Sankaralingam" said Sekhar. 

"Will he give an interview to a stranger like you?"

"Don't worry about it. The person who recommended Sankaralingam to me has talked to him about me and got me an appointment with him."

"Then let us visit him, have a cup of coffee at his house and come back. Will he offer coffee to us?" said Raghu.

"It doesn't matter if he doesn't give us coffee. I will be satisfied if he gives us the money!"

"What a broad-minded person are you!"

The two friends went to meet Sankaralingam.

Sankaralingam appeared to be a simple person. He listened to the details given by Sekhar, received the copy of the project report given by him and told him that he would discuss the matter with his business consultant and give his decision in a week's time.

When Sekhar tried to take leave of him, he said, "Are you in a hurry? Why don't you sit and chat with me for a while?"

"We are not in a hurry, sir. We didn't want to waste your time" said Sekhar.

"Time has been created only for getting wasted" said Sankaralingam.

He then chatted with them on a few topics like politics, films. spirituality etc. He even touched upon some personal matters relating to a couple of celebrities.

It appeared to Sekhar that Sankaralingam had already decided to invest in his business.

"How do you know Jagadeesan?" asked Sankaralingam. Jagadeesan was the person who referred them to Sankaralingam.

"I met him in an event. While we were conversing, I told him about my project. He then told me about you. I expressed an interest to meet you and present my proposal. He then spoke to you and got me an appointment. Otherwise, I don't have much acquaintance with him."

It then occurred to Sekar that Sankaralingam might not be interested in helping him, after knowing that he was not very close to Jagadeeesan. Perhaps, he shouldn't have told Sankaralingam that he had only a casual acquaintance with Jagadeesan. But, it was too late and he couldn't do anything about it.  

"I asked you about your acquaintance with Jagadeesan, because I wanted to know whether I could tell you some uncomfortable facts about Jagadeesan. He is close to me alright. Outwardly, he is a gentleman, but he is addicted to drinking. He can't do without consuming liquor, even for a day. Unless liquor gets inside his body, his eyelids won't close, during the night. He is married and has children, but has an affair with another woman. One day, he even introduced her to me, saying, 'She is my number two!'"

 Sekhar remained silent.

"I shared these things with you, only because you told me that your acquaintance with Jagadeesan was only recent and not intimate. Don't tell him that I told you these things about him" said Sankaralingam, as if he was pleading with them to keep his revelations secret.

"No way, sir!" Sekhar assured him.

While returning from Sankaralingam's house, Sekhar remarked, "He is a simple and a genial person. If he agrees to invest in my business, I will consider myself blessed."

Raghu was silent.

"What are you thinking, Raghu?" asked Sekhar.

"I am thinking how trustworthy he would be!" said Raghu.

"Why do you have this doubt? Doesn't he strike you as an honest person?"

"He is projecting himself as a man of principles and morality. But, I doubt whether he is really a righteous person."

"My question is why you have this doubt!"

"He says slanderous things about other people, that too without any relevance or provocation. He speaks ill of Jagadeesan, who referred you to him, even while claiming that Jagadeesan is close to him!  I have a doubt whether a person, who slanders other people behind their back, will care to follow a path of righteousness."

"I don't think so. It is human nature to say uncomplimentary things about other people. This may be a harmless entertainment for them. We shouldn't judge a person, based on his saying bad things about others, if he has no harmful intent in doing so" said Sekhat.

"Okay. Let us see whether he agrees to invest in your project. We can then decide about accepting his investment" said Raghu, not wiling to argue his point further.

After ten days, Sekhar rang up to Raghu and told him, "Sankaralingam has agreed to invest in my project."

"Congratulations" said Raghu.

"But, I have decided not to accept his investment."

"Why? Is it because the doubts raised by me?"

"As you are aware, when you expressed your doubts, I was not inclined to accept your view. But, something happened to make me rethink my position. Two days back, I happened to meet a person, in whose business Sankaralingam had invested. This person is specialized in designing and fabricating modular kitchens for modern homes. He had approached Sankaralingam for investment. Sankaralingam invested in his project and the project was launched. Right from the beginning, it was this person who was doing all the tasks from setting up the factory to canvassing orders and designing, fabricating, delivering and installing the kitchen equipment. As per the agreement, he was entitled to fifty percent of the profit. But, all the transactions and the bank accounts were controlled by Sankaralingam. Sankaralingam had falsified the accounts and cheated this person. Deprived of his share in the profit, by Sankaralingam's deception, this person could not carry on his business even for one year. So, he was forced to get himself relieved from the business. After learning about his experience, I decided not to have any business association with Sankaralingam" said Sekhar. 

"Congratulations. You have escaped from being caught in a trap laid by Sankaralingam."

"Your theory that a person, who backbites other people, is not wired to follow the path of righteousness has been proved right" said Sekhar.

"This is not my theory. This is Thiruvalluvar's theory" said Raghu, with a chuckle.

Thirukkural

Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 19
Refraining From Backbiting

Verse 185 (In Tamil)

aRam sollum nenjaththAn anmai puRam sollum
punmaiyAl kANappadum.

Meaning:

The hollowness of a person, who pays lip service to righteousness, will be exposed by his meanness of reviling another behind his back

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'udhavum karangaL' by the same author)

Verse 186 (Soon)
Verse 184

184. The CEO's Interview

Soon after CEO Rajamani entered the office, all the employees including senior executives and lower level employees went into his cabin in small groups and congratulated him.

The congratulatory messages were on his interview being telecast in a television channel on business and finance, the previous evening.

"Excellent, sir!"

"You projected our company's image well."

"You answered all the questions fielded by the interviewer, without referring to any notes or documents."

"The lady conducting the interview made a few attempts to corner you with some tricky questions. But, you thwarted her attempts with your forthright answers." 

Appreciative comments like these were showered on Rajamani, by all the employees, the wordings of the comments tailored to the position of each employee in the company.

Kannan didn't join his colleagues.

Sometime later, Kannan went into the CEO's campaign to discuss with him a matter relating to his work. At that time, the CEO was alone in his cabin. 

After discussing with the CEO the matter he had wanted to, Kannan stood up from his seat and said, "Sir! I saw your interview yesterday. It was good."

"Sit down, Mr. Kannan! I need your frank feedback about my interview" said Rajamani. 

Kannan sat down reluctantly and said, "It was quite impressive, sir."

"I know about you, Mr. Kannan! You won't say things just to please others. Give me your honest opinion."

"Sir! In my opinion, you could have done still better."

"In what way?"

"Don't mistake me, sir! It appeared to me that you didn't prepare yourself well for the interview. I know that you didn't have the time for it. But, you might have asked someone to prepare a dossier, containing important facts about our company's performance and activities. The lady who interviewed you had come prepared with information and data about our company and the industry. She posed quite a few incisive questions, based on facts and figures. I think that for most of the questions, your answers were of a general nature. It appeared to me that if you had had data with you, your replies could have been more specific and profound. Sorry, again" said Kannan, wondering whether he had gone too far, in giving a frank opinion about the CEO's interview.

"It's fine. Your feedback reflects my own assessment about my interview. As pointed out by you, not carrying the required information with me while attending the interview was a lapse on my part. I took the interview lightly and failed to anticipate the kinds of questions that would be thrown at me. Thank you for your feedback" said Rajamani, with a smile. 

When Kannan went to the lunchroom during the lunch break, some of his colleagues were sitting and having their lunch there.

"How was our CEO's interview yesterday?" asked one of them. 

"Well, didn't all of us go to his cabin and congratulate him on the interview?" remarked another.

"That was just a formality. But, how was his interview really?" persisted the one who raised the question.

"I think it was not good enough" said another person. 

"He had gone there without even having a paper on his hand for reference, as though he was addressing a political party meeting. That lady had come well prepared and suffocated our CEO, by hitting him hard with a spate of uncomfortable questions" remarked another.

"But, I think he had managed the situation, to some extent."

"I would say he tried to manage the situation, but didn't succeed. The viewers would have known that the CEO had no answers to the questions and that he just said something by way of answers."

"That lady went on asking questions, determined to floor him and our CEO kept on making attempts to wriggle himself out of the difficult questions. It was like a comedy show. Good entertainment on a business channel!"

"Overall, he made a mess. If our company had been a listed company, the share prices would have tumbled steeply today."

"Kannan, you have not said anything!" one of them provoked Kannan. 

"Did any of you say these things to the CEO, when you met him in his cabin, this morning?" Kannan asked them.

"How can we say things to his face?" 

'But, I have!' thought Kannan.

Thirukkural
Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 19
Refraining From Backbiting

Verse 184 (In Tamil)

kaNNinRu kaNNARach chollinum sollaRka
munninRu pin nOkkAch chol.

Meaning:

Telling a person about his faults to his face may be passable, but never utter an imprudent word behind the back, without considering the consequences.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'priyAvukkup puriyAdha vishayam' by the same author)

Verse 185
 Verse 183

723. A 'Major' Embarrassment

"The person who is going to deliver the special address in the anniversary function of our association today needs no introduction. All of you know about him" said the secretary of the association.

The speaker came and stood before the mike. With some difficulty, he forced a smile on his face and began to speak. 

Within a few seconds, he began to falter. He wiped his face with his handkerchief.

Again, he forced a smile and continued his speech. Within a few seconds, he again faltered. He completed his speech in two minutes.

"Since Major Shanmugam is not feeling well, he is unable to continue his speech. He will speak in our forum, on another occasion" announced the Secretary.

Dhanraj, one among the audience, told his friend Babu, sitting next to him, "The secretary is trying to do damage control. The fact is, the Major became nervous, the moment he came and stood before the mike. He tried to control his nervousness, but he couldn't."

"I can't believe this. Major Shanmugam fought valiantly in the Kargil war and performed several heroic feats, braving a formidable situation. The government has given him several rewards, in recognition of his acts of bravery. How can such a valiant person have stage fear?" wondered Babu. 

"That is the reality. Very few people have the courage to stand in front of an audience and deliver a speech" said Dhanraj. 

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 73
Knowing Your Audience

Verse 723 (in Tamil):
pagaiyagaththuch chAvAr eLiyar ariyar
avaiyagaththu anjAdhavar.

Meaning:

Simple people, ready to die at the warfront, abound;

those who fearlessly address an audience are a rare breed.

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

Verse 724 (Soon)
Verse 722

183. Who Was the Backbiter?

It was a small factory. Only twenty workers were employed there. 

Of them, five were employed on a temporary basis. For the past several months, the management had been dragging its feet on regularizing their service.

That day, during the lunch break, four workers were sitting under a tree, outside the factory and having their lunch. Among them was Mani, a temporary worker.

"The Manager had said that all the temporary workers would be made permanent by the end of this month" remarked Selvam.

"I don't believe that it will happen. The Manager is a scheming person. Even if the Proprietor agrees to regularize the services of the temporary workers, the manager will dissuade him from doing so" said Mani. 

"What can we do? This is a small factory. We don't even have a trade union. With no one to fight for us, what the management says will be the law" said Murugan.

"I consider Manager Saravanan to be the villain. He could as well have been named 'Ravanan*' rather than 'Saravanan.' If I am not made permanent by the end of this month, I will go to the Labour department and report about all the violations of laws taking place in our factory" said Mani.

After that, they were taking turns, talking about the unjust acts and 'atrocities' committed by Saravanan. 

It was only when they were leaving that place to return to the factory at the end of the lunch break, did they notice that two of the supervisors Shankar and Murthy walking away in quick paces from the other side of the tree, under which the workers were sitting and talking.

"These two had been standing right behind us at the other side of the tree, smoking cigarettes! They would have heard our conversation. Will they carry what we talked to the Manager?" asked Mani, with apprehension.

"We can't say. What can we do about it? Let us wait and see what happens" said Murugan, hiding his own fear. 

At the end of the month, four of the five temporary workers were made permanent. Mani was the one who was left out. 

"They have regularized the services of the other four, but left me in the lurch" bemoaned Mani.

"One of the two supervisors, who had listened to our conversation from the other side of the tree, should have carried to the Manager, our comments about him. Since we three are permanent workers, the Manager couldn't do anything to hurt us. But, he has taken revenge on you" said Murugan.

"Which of the two do you think would have done the backbiting? Would both of them have done it?"

"Shankar has been friendly with us. He is a jovial person. He would not have done it. My bet is on Murthy. Murthy is rude. He doesn't respect us. He will talk to us, only when he has to reprimand us for our mistakes. He should have been the one to carry our comments to the Manager" said Murugan. 

"I am not going to spare him!" swore Mani, in anger.

"Don't do anything in haste. If something happens to Murthy, the suspicion will fall on you first. I will engage an outsider to give Murthy a thrashing" said Murugan.

"Don't do any such thing. Let us leave the matter as it is" said Mani. 

"You are scared. Take leave for two days and go to your native place. I will give the 'treatment' to Murthy, during your absence. No one will suspect you" said Murugan. 

When Murthy was returning home on his scooter, after completing his shift at 10 pm, he was intercepted by two people, who beat him up with sticks and ran away.

Murthy sustained injuries and was admitted to an hospital, for treatment. It took him two months to get cured completely and return to work. The police couldn't find out who the people that beat him up were. 

The police suspected the involvement of the workers, but Murthy, soon after reaining consciousness, told the police categorically that the workers would not have been involved in the attack.

With the police not being able to identify any person with a motive to attack Murthy, no headway could be made in the investigation.

After a couple of months, Murugan told Mani, "I think we made a mistake."

"What do you mean?" asked Mani. 

"We assumed that it was Murthy, who had carried our talk to the Manager. But, the management has recently promoted Shankar as the Assistant Manager. Murthy being the senior, should have been promoted first. It appears that Manager Saravanan had recommended Shankar for promotion, to reward him for backbiting us."

"What can we do now?"

"Let us ask Murthy directly" said Murugan. 

When Murthy was alone in the factory during the night shift, Murugan and Mani approached him.

"Sir! We want to ask you something" said Murugan. 

"Go ahead" said Murthy. 

"A few months back, some of us were sitting under the tree outside our factory and talking about the issue of the management delaying the process of making the temporary workers permanent. We made some critical remarks about Manager Saravanan. Only later, we knew that you and Shankar had been standing at the other side of the tree. Both of you should have listened to our comments."

"What if we had?" 

"Did you tell the Manager about the conversation."

"I would never do such a thing. I follow the practice of minding my own business. In the factory, I have not spoken to you on any matter other than the work you are engaged in. Mani would have said something out of his anger and frustration about not being made permanent. Carrying his comments to the Manager would be an act of cruelty. Did you imagine that I would do such a thing?" said Murthy, upset by the question posed to him.

Mani felt like crying.

Murugan was silent for a few seconds, not knowing what to say.

He then asked Murthy, "If you had not told the Manager about our conversation, then Shankar should have! Did he?"

"I don't know about it" said Murthy. 

"You don't know, or you won't say!" asked Murugan.

Murthy didn't answer the question.

"Please tell us, sir. The backbiting has caused harm to me. The management made three of the four temporary workers permanent, but left me out. Mr. Shankar got the promotion, by scuttling my chances" said Mani, with anger and grief. 

"Look, Mani! If I knew the fact about Shankar or someone else telling the Manager about your conversation, I won't tell you that, the same way I didn't tell the Manager about your conversation. However, I expect that you will be made permanent next month. So, be cheerful" said Murthy, patting Mani on his back.

Regretting that he got a good person beaten up, by hiring a couple of hooligans to do the job, Murugan asked Murthy, "How are you feeling now, sir?"

"The wounds have healed, but I still feel the pain at some parts of my body, now and then. I still have no idea about who beat me up and why" said Murthy, grimacing in pain, as he bent his body.

*Ravanan is the name of a demon, the villain in the Hindu epic Ramayana. Saravanan is another name of the Hindu God Murugan, also known as Skanda or Subramanya.

Thirukkural

Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 19
Refraining From Backbiting

Verse 183 (In Tamil)

puRam kURip poyththu uyir vAzhdhalin sAdhal
aRam kURRum Akkath tharum.

Meaning:

Dying rather than living by backbiting will yield the benefits spoken of by moral scriptures.

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

Verse 184
Verse 182

182. What Priya Couldn't Understand

When Priya was doing her homework, Sarada, a neighbour came to see Priya's mother Valli.

Both were chatting about various topics. Priya was able to hear some words. Though she was focused on doing her home work, some of the things heard by her attracted her attention.

Initially, the two women were talking about matters relating to their own families. The conversation then turned to matters relating to other people, living in the neighbourhood. 

"I have never seen another supercilious woman like Thangam" said Valli. 

"I don't know much about her. But I have heard that she is somewhat arrogant" said Sarada.

"Not only arrogant, but also conceited. She hails from a poor family. His father has been earning his livelihood, by working as a low-paid accountant in a shop. Till recently, her husband had also been struggling, with his business not doing well. But, suddenly he had a stroke of luck and his business took off. He has become wealthy now. After that, this woman started behaving as if she was born rich."

"I hear that she visits you often" said Sarada.

"She does. She needs to boast about her new acquisitions and extravagant spending to someone!"

"Oh! That means, like me, she is also a friend of you!" said Sarada.

"I can't say she is a friend. My husband helped her husband a lot, when he had been struggling with financial problems. Thangam's husband is grateful to my husband. She has also been trying to show that she has not forgotten our help. But she has a circle of friends, who would keep flattering her. She would be in their midst most of the time. She is friendly with me, only to please her husband."

"I think her parents-in-law are living with her" asked Sarada, turning the conversation to another aspect of Thangam's life.

"Oh, it is a pity. She treats them like slaves. They have to eat whatever food she serves them and keep quiet. They have no say in their family affairs."

Priya found the conversation distracting. But there was no place in her house, where she could sit quietly, away from the talk. She also enjoyed the distraction, since it gave her some relief from the boredom of the homework. 

Sarada left after some time. 

After sometime, there was a knock on the door. Priya went to the door and opened it.

Thangam aunty!

'It was about her that mom was talking to Sarada aunty, a few minutes back.'

"Come in, aunty!" said Priya. 

Presently, Valli came from inside the house.

"Oh, Thangam! Welcome! Nowadays, you come to my house only rarely" said Valli and took Thangam inside.

Priya was distracted again, this time by the conversation between Valli and Thangam, making it difficult for her to concentrate on her homework. 

Since Thangam spoke in a low voice, Priya couldn't hear most of what she said. She could only hear her repeatedly addressing Valli as akkaa*, respectfully.

But, Priya was able to hear her mother's words clearly.

"Just now, I was speaking to Sarada about you. I was telling her, 'We can't find another humble person like Thangam. She brought luck to her husband. It was only after marrying her that there was a turnaround in the fortunes of his business. They are now one of the wealthiest families in the town. But, both the husband and wife are so humble, kind and helpful.'"

"We are like we always were in the past. What is remarkable about it?" replied Thangam. Priya had to guess some of the words, Thangam's voice being so low.

"Everyone in our town appreciates the way you take care of your parents-in-law. You look after them so nicely. You won't allow them to do any work. You take care to see that they are comfortable and happy.Your modesty is exemplary. Even women with a little education act with an air of superiority. But, in spite of having a college education, you are modest and humble, like a village girl" said Valli. 

Thangam left after a while. 

After Thangam had left, Priya asked her mother, "Mom! Just a few minutes back, while conversing with Sarada aunty, you spoke ill of Thangam aunty. But, while talking to Thangam aunty, you praised her!" 

"You can't say bad things about a person to the person's face. Courtesy requires that we say good things about a person, while conversing with that person" said Valli.

"Then, why should you speak ill of a person behind the person's back? You could have refrained from saying anything, whether good or bad about Thangam aunty to Sarada aunty. After all, you have been having a good relationship with Thangam aunty. In such a case, is it not wrong to speak badly about her to others?" asked Priya.

"You can't understand these things. Complete your home work" said Valli, with irritation in her voice. 

*akka - elder sister

Thirukkural
Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 19
Refraining From Backbiting

Verse 182 (In Tamil)

aRan azhI allavai seydhalin thIdhE
puRan azhI poyththu nagai.

Meaning:

To wear a deceitful smile in one’s presence but to slander him in his absence slaughtering his reputation, is more heinous than giving up all that is virtuous and doing unrighteous deeds.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'priyAvukkup puriyAdha vishayam' by the same author)

Verse 183
Verse 181

722. A Class for the Erudite

"You went to that coaching institute for an interview. What was the outcome?" Manavalan asked his friend Yogi. 

"They wanted me to take a class for their senior faculty members, who would be sitting in the class like students" said Yogi, showing his irritation.

"Why don't you do so?"

"I did. But those senior teachers, acting like dull students, asked me stupid questions, asked me to explain what I taught again, saying that they couldn't understand what I had taught and harassed me in other such ways. I gave up, feeling disgusted." 

"Oh!" said Manavalan and remained silent, as though thinking about what Yogi had said.

"Looking at the way you are thinking, I surmise that you want to try for that job!" said Yogi, mockingly.

"Yes. I want to make an attempt " said Manavalan.

"I won't like other people, especially my friends, to go through the ordeal I went through. But, if you want to get a taste of that embarrassing experience, God help you!" said Yogi. 

"Congratulations, Mr. Manavalan. Our team of senior faculty members has selected you for the job" said the Director of the coaching institute.

"Thank you, sir!" said Manavalan. 

"We expect our teachers to be well-versed in their subjects. That is why we ask people who apply for a teaching job at our institute to handle classes for the senior faculty members. The senior faculty members sitting in the class, being scholarly people, would pose incisive questions to the candidate who is teaching them. They would also check whether the candidate is able to explain the concepts in a way even students with below-the-average intelligence or leaning capacity can understand. The senior teachers would assume the role of a dull student and pose questions that a dull student would pose in a real classroom. We select only those candidates who are able to meet these challenges and perform to the satisfaction of the senior teachers, testing the candidate's knowledge and teaching ability. Only very few people are able to come out of this test successfully. There are many educated people in the world, but only very few of them are outstanding. You can take pride from the fact you belong to this tribe."

Manavalan felt proud and elated by the Director's words of appreciation.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 72
Divining the Mind

Verse 722 (in Tamil):
kaRRAruL kaRRAr enppaduvar kaRRAr mun
kaRRa selach cholluvAr.

Meaning:

Those who can demonstrate their learning before the learned will be regarded as the most learned among the learned.

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

Verse 723
Verse 721

721. Why Did Ramkumar Lie?

Selvaratnam met Ramkumar, in a function.

Selvaratnam was the Secretary of the 'Association of Finance Professionals,' which had finance professionals as its members.

Learning that Ramkumar was a senior executive in the Finance department of a big company and that some of his research essays in the field of Finance had been published in reputed journals on Economics and Finance, Selvaratnam asked him, "Why don't you deliver a talk in our association, on a topic relating to Finance?"

"The members of your association would be experts in the field. What can I talk to them about?" replied Ramkumar.

"You have practical experience in handling finance. You are a scholar, who has academic knowledge and written articles in professional journals. I am sure you will be able to share something useful with our members" said Selvaratnam, encouragingly.

Ramkumar reluctantly accepted the invitation to speak in Selvaratnam's Sssociation.

"I will fix up a date next week and inform you the date in about two days" said Selvaratnam.

"What is the topic you want me to speak on?" asked Ramkumar.

After reflecting for a minute or two, Selvaratnam said, "The government has recently made some changes in the laws relating to non-banking finance companies. Maybe, you can speak on that topic."

"Okay" said Ramkumar. He then added, "Can you send me a brief profile of your members? If I know about their background, I can tailor my speech accordingly."

"In fact, I recently prepared a profile of our members for some other purpose. I will send it to you by email" said Selvaratnam.

After two days, Selvaratnam called up Ramkumar and gave him the date fixed for his lecture.

"Can you postpone the talk by one week" asked Ramkumar.

"Why?"

"An important work has come up in my office. I will be fully engaged for the whole of next week. I will have no time to prepare for my talk."

"No problem. I have not yet communicated the date of the meeting to our members. We will have your lecture on 21st, instead of 14th."

"Yes. That will be fine" said Ramkumar.

"Mr. Ramkumar! Your speech was excellent. It was well appreciated by our members," Selvaratnam told Ramkumar over phone.

"Thank you. After my talk was over, some of your members met me and conveyed their appreciation to me. I should thank you for the opportunity."

"It was my pleasure. By the way, when I suggested a date, why did you want the date to postponed?"

"I told you the reason already" said Ramkumar, somewhat defensively, perplexed why Selvaratnam asked the question now.

"You said that you had some important things to attend to, in your office. But, I think that was not the reason. Last week, when I had been to a place near your office on some other work, I dropped in to your office. I was told that you were on leave for a few days. If you had important work in the office, you wouldn't have taken leave at that time!"

"When I went through the profile of your members sent by you, I noticed that your members were highly qualified professionals. There were Chartered Accountants, Cost Accountants and other types of Finance professionals. I thought that most of them would be aware of the changes in the laws relating to non-banking finance companies, the topic on which I was to speak. They would catch even a small mistake or factual error in my speech. Therefore, I decided that I should make my speech thorough, without giving any scope for anyone to find even a small error in the facts or information I would be presenting. So, I wanted to take more time and prepare the speech thoroughly" said Ramkumar, with a slight discomfort. 

"Without adopting the attitude 'Let me present things to the extent of what I know,' you had resolved to make your speech perfect, free from even a small mistake and spent a lot of time to prepare well for your talk. I think that you took leave only for preparing for the speech. I appreciate your sincerity and commitment" said Selvaratnam, with a heartfelt feeling of appreciation.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 73
Knowing Your Audience

Verse 721 (in Tamil):
vagai aRindhu vallavai vAy sOrAr sollin
thogai aRindha thUymaiyavar.

Meaning:

Those who are well versed in various kinds of speech,

will choose the right style for a forum, and won’t blunder out of fear.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'iLam pEcchchAlarukku oru aRivuRai' by the same author.) 

Verse 722
Verse 720