201. An Endorsement From the Leader

"You enrolled a young man by the name Saravanan into our party recently" said Muthu, the secretary of the local unit of the political party.

"Yes, I did" said Shanmugam.

"Where is he now?"

"I don't know. I have not seen him for the past two days. What did he do?"

"He didn't do anything! That is the problem. I gave him an assignment. He has not done the job."

"He is new to the party. Why did you assign the job to him? You could have given it to me" remarked Shanmugam.

"Don't you have any brains?" shot back Muthu.

Shocked by this unexpected assault, Shanmugam looked at Muthu, with the expression of a child suddenly slapped by its parent.

Shanmugam was aware that an ordinary party worker like him could not expect to be treated with dignity by petty leaders like Muthu. However, he was perplexed by the harsh rebuke of Muthu, when there was no provocation.

 "What happened, sir?"

"The task was to thrash a person and break a couple of his bones. Obviously, it should not be known that it was done by someone belonging to our party. How can I give such a job to you, whose association with our party is known to all. I gave the job to him, thinking that since he had joined our party only recently, he won't be identified by any eyewitness. Don't I know that I could give the job to you and feel confident that it would be done by you smoothly?"

"Being new to this kind of jobs, he might have become scared. I will bring him to you. You may brief him again on how to do the job" said Shanmugam.

"No need" said Muthu. "I don't think he could do the job. I will deal with the issue another way."

"While getting enrolled in our party, I had told him that whenever required, he should be prepared to use his muscle power. Being the first time, he might be taking some time to gather the courage to do the job. He will get used to it."

"No. leave him out of it. I have seen a lot of people in my political career. Some people will talk like a thug. If someone hits them, they may hit them back. But, if you ask them to thrash or kill someone, they will hesitate. There are only a few people like you, prepared to venture into any kind of violent job, ranging from intimidating a person through threats to killing someone in a gruesome way" said Muthu.

Shanmugam could not make out whether Muthu was admiring his courage or telling him that he won't shy way from committing any cruel act.

Thirukkural

Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 21
Dread of Evil Deeds

Verse 201 (In Tamil)

thI vinaiyAr anjAr vizhumiyAr anjuvar
thI vinai enum serukku.

Meaning:

Those who are used to committing evil deeds will not fear such deeds, but the virtuous will fear the wanton pride of cherished sin.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'thalaivanin kObham' by the same author)

Verse 202 (Soon)
Verse 200

735. The Scholar's decision

The King enthusiastically welcomed the renowned scholar Kapilar, who visited his court.

"Respected Kapilar! The visit of a renowned scholar like you to our court is a great honour to us" said the King.

"Not at all, Your Majesty! I have been visiting several countries. I have a mission of touring various countries, and learning about their people and heritage" said Kapilar.

"You are welcome to stay in our country as long as you want. You may visit any part of our country. I have directed my officials to facilitate your travel arrangements and provide accommodation to you at any place you want to stay. One palace official will always be with you, to take care of your needs" said the King.

After a few months, Kapilar visited the palace again, to meet the king.

"Welcome, sir! Hope your tour was comfortable and enjoyable. Please tell me about your impressions about our country. Which country do you propose to visit next?" asked the King.

"Your Majesty! After touring your country, I have developed a desire to live in your country. If you permit me, I will spend the rest of my life in this country" said Kapilar.

"That will be a blessing to me, sir! In fact, I wanted to request you to permanently settle in our country. But, since you told me that your mission was to visit different countries and study them, I was reluctant to request you to take up residence in our country.. I am delighted by your decision to settle down in our country."

"Your Majesty! Some people call me an erudite person. But, I consider my learning to be limited. Yet, I want to share what little I have learnt with people who have a quest for knowledge and motivate them to spread what they have learnt to other people. I need a serene place to reside and carry out my mission.

"In my native country, the King's kin were conspiring against him. The King was unaware of it, but the people knew about it and lived in the constant fear of an impending instability that would result from the conspirators deposing the King. So, I left my country and went in search of a peaceful place to settle down. 

"I migrated to a neighbouring country. Soon after my leaving my native country, the conspirators murdered the King and seized power. But, with the new King distrusting his co-conspirators and feeling insecure, instability still reigns supreme there.

"In the country I migrated to, the King was strong. But, there were many groups in the country and they were fighting among themselves. Because of this, an atmosphere of perpetual unrest prevailed there. Therefore, I moved out of that country too.

"I went to another country. In that country, crimes were rife. The King's attention was entirely occupied by chasing the culprits, catching them and punishing them. He had no time or energy to look at the needs of the people and fulfill them.

"Then I came to your country. Since I didn't know how things were in your country, I told you that I had intended to stay in your country, only for a few days. But, during my tour, I found that your country is the paragon of an ideal country. The King is strong and powerful. There is unity among the people. There are no group rivalries or factional fights. As a result of your good governance, crimes have been kept under control. After learning these facts during my tour, I decided to settle down in this country and carry out my mission of imparting knowledge to interested people."

"If I am elated by your decision to settle down in our country, I am overwhelmed with joy and pride by your decision to establish a centre of learning in our country. I will ensure that you are provided with all facilities required by you for carrying out your mission of imparting knowledge to people. By choosing to stay in our country, you have honoured me and our people" said King, feeling proud.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 74
The Country

Verse 735 (in Tamil):
pal kuzhuvum pAzh seyyum utpagaiyum vEndhalaikkum
kol kuRumbum illadha nAdu.

Meaning:

A country should be devoid of multiple factions, destructive dissent, and murderous criminals who torment the rulers. 

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

Verse 736 (Soon)
Verse 734

734. Five Ministers

After Dharmaprakash was elected the president of the country, he appointed ministers for his government. 

However, political observers were intrigued by his not appointing ministers for five important departments.

When the media persons asked him why he had not appointed ministers for the five important departments of Finance, Health, Agriculture, Defence and External Affairs, he just said, "Will do, shortly" with a smile.

During the next few days, several people, including senior leaders belonging to his party, met Dharmaprakash and had discussions with him. 

It was said that all of them met the President on being invited by him. The party seniors who were expecting a berth in the cabinet didn't get the invitation.

After ten days, Dharmaprakash announced names for the five remaining cabinet berths. Of the five, two belonged to his party. The other three were not members of his party, but were experts in specific fields.

The first meeting of the cabinet was held, presided over by President Dharmaprakash.

After greeting the ministers, Dharmaprakash said:

"We have made several promises in our election manifesto. It is important that we fulfill those promises. But, there are three tasks which take priority over fulfilling the election promises. We have not specifically mentioned these three tasks in our election manifesto. But, if we execute these three tasks, it will amount to our fulfilling all our election promises, because these three tasks are the basic things needed by our people."

Dharmaprakash paused for a while, looked at their faces and continued.

"Access to food and good health are the two basic needs of every human being. Eradicating starvation and diseases should be the primary objective of any government. But, achieving this goal is not easy. Only through proper planning and execution of schemes could this objective be fulfilled to a reasonable extent. We should do our best to fulfill these objectives within the tenure of four years, our government has. I delayed appointing ministers for a few departments, because I wanted to select people who had the expertise to deliver the results I am looking for. I invited some people who had both expertise and experience in the fields of Agriculture and food production and providing health services, talked to them about my intention to create sustainable goals in these areas, create and execute action plans to reach the goals by the end of my four year tenure. I asked them to think and come back to me with a clear plan, within a week. Out of several people invited by me, only a few came back to me with actionable plans. After listening to their plans, I selected one expert in each of these two fields and made them ministers of Agriculture and Health. Since we can execute any plan only by creating the financial resources needed and using them prudently, I appointed an Economist as the Finance Minister."

"Sir, you mentioned three tasks. You talked about providing food and health services to the people. What is the third task?" asked a senior minister.

"It is protecting our people from any onslaught by enemy countries. We need to ensure that we don't face any threat from our enemies. This needs a two-pronged approach. One, we should create friendly relationships with all the countries of the world, including our immediate neighbours, including those who may have a hostile attitude towards us. If we have any problem with our neighbours, we should have a mechanism to have talks with them, for resolving the issues amicably. If, however, our efforts fail and we are forced to enter into a war with any neighbouring country, we should canvass the support of other countries in the world. To achieve these objectives, we should have an external affairs minister with vast knowledge and diplomatic skills. If we are forced to fight a war, we should have a strong army and a large reserve of modern weapons. We need a strong Defence Minister to create and maintain such a set up."

Dharmaprakash paused again and said, "Though we have five competent ministers to focus attention on these three areas, all of us have the responsibility to execute these three tasks. That is why, I talked about this elaborately."

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 74
Divining the Mind

Verse 734 (in Tamil):
uRu pasiyum ovAp piNiyum seRu pagaiyum
sErAdhu iyalvadhu nAdu.

Meaning:

A country should be free from acute hunger, debilitating diseases and warring foes.

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

Verse 735
Verse 733

200. Between the Timelines

Budget preparation was an annual exercise carried out in that company.

At the end of February of every year, a meeting of all the departmental managers would be convened, in which the income and expenditure for the next year would be finalized.

The meeting was scheduled for three consecutive days.

The meeting was held in the conference call of the company's corporate office. The meeting was presided over by General Manager Prabhakar and all the departmental managers were present.

Shalini, the Personal Secretary of the General Manager was also present, for taking notes of the discussions. 

"All of us are men. Having a lady in the room provides a semblance of balance!" quipped one manager. Some people laughed, enjoying the witty remark.

Shalini was sitting expressionless.

For the next few minutes, the participants were talking about various matters like the agitations going on in various parts of the country, the political developments, the recent entry into politics of a popular star etc. 

It was only after Prabhakar said, "Gentlemen! let us begin the discussion" that the participants began to discuss the preparation of the annual budget. 

The exercise was completed at the end of the third day, as scheduled.

The next day, Shalini typed out a report, detailing the discussions held during the three days and kept it on the General Manager's desk.

After a while, Prabhakar summoned Shalini to his room. 

He pointed to a particular part of her report and told her, "I think we took some other decision on this matter."

"No, sir! I had taken notes of all the discussions. This report is as per my notes" said Shalini .

"Let me see your notes" said Prabhakar.

Shalini went out and returned with her notebook. She showed him the place where the particular point was noted by her.

Prabhakar read the notes and said appreciatively, "Ok. You are right. You have done a neat job of taking detailed notes of the discussions." 

When Prabhakar was about to close the notebook and return it to Shalini, he noticed something and asked her, "You seem to have marked the timeline at some places. What is it?"

"That is nothing, sir. Just for my reference" said Shalini, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"Why do you need timeline references? I am curious. Tell me about it" persisted Prabhakar.

"Don't mistake me, sir. I am ding a course on time management in the evening college. I had a lesson on Time and Motion Study. So, I just wanted to see how time was utilized in this meeting" said Shalini, in an apologetic tone, apprehending how the General Manager would view her action.

"Interesting. let me see this... I see some gaps here. For example, after 11.20 to 11.25, the next timeline is 11.55. Why have you not noted down the discussion between 11.25 and 11.55?" 

"There was no discussion during that period, sir!"

"Why? There was no break at that time. Did some people leave the room for a while and was the discussion stopped for a while?"

"No, sir. Everyone was in the room. But, they were talking about some other matter."

"Oh, I understand. You have noted the times whenever there was a discussion on the budget, leaving out the times, when the discussion wandered to some extraneous topics. Time management is a tool for managers, But you have used this tool on the managers!"

"Pardon me, sir. I did it for my own understanding of the concept I had learned in the classroom. Since you asked me to show the notebook, I showed it to you. Please don't mistake me, sir" pleaded Shalini. 

"No, Shalini! I appreciate it. I want you to do one more exercise. Please calculate the total time spent on budget discussion."

"I have already done it, sir. The total comes to five hours and thirty five minutes."

"My goodness! The meeting was held for a total duration of eighteen hours, spread over three days. But, only about six hours had been utilized for discussion on budget preparation. About twelve hours had been wasted. We had spent two third of the time in vain talk. If we calculate the cost of the executive time of all the managers wasted, it will amount to several thousand rupees. Such a huge loos to the company! How did I fail to realize this? Causing such a huge loss to the company is a kind of irregularity. It is a grave injustice to the company. The exercise done by you has been an eye-opener to me. In future, I will cut down the time for budget discussion and regulate the discussion. Thank you very much, Shalini" said Prabhakar.

Thirukkural
Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 20
Avoiding Vain Speech

Verse 200 (In Tamil)

solluga sollil payan udaiya sollaRka
sollil payan ilAch chol.

Meaning:

Speak such that what you speak is worthy; speak not,

if what you speak is not worthy.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'nEram nalla nEram' by the same author)

Verse 201
Verse 199

199. An Impromptu Speech

I attended the wedding of my relative, on behalf of my family.

Though the bride's family was not related to us closely, my father was particular that someone from my family should attend the wedding and he sent me, as his representative.

Guests coming from other places were provided accommodation in the rooms in the wedding hall.

Among the guests attending the wedding, only my uncle was well acquainted with me. He was staying in a room with his wife.

Five young men, including me, were accommodated in one room. Since we were not accompanied by any other person, we were grouped together.

All the five of us were all related to the bride, but we were not acquainted with each other. We introduced ourselves to each other and began to converse.

The marriage ceremony was scheduled for the next morning. 

After having our dinner, we five came to our room and began to chat. Though we had got acquainted with each other just a few hours back, we were conversing profusely on sundry topics, ranging from politics to films, including interesting gossip shared in the social media about film stars and other celebrities.

Among us, Mukundan kept aloof, without participating in the conversation. He was listening passively. I was not even sure whether he was listening to the conversation or he was thinking of something.

After a few minutes, he told us, "Excuse me. I will be sitting out for a while. It is stuffy inside the room" and went away. 

I observed that in addition to his mobile phone, he was also carrying a pocket notebook and a pen, with him.

After chatting for sometime, we went to bed. I didn't notice when  Mukundan came back to the room.

The next day, after the wedding ceremony had got over, the four of us sat in the room and chatted.

Mukundan smiled at us, sat in a corner of the room and kept himself busy, listening to his mobile phone.

My uncle came to our room to see me. After talking with me for a few minutes, he pointed Mukundan to me and asked me, "Why is he sitting alone?"

"I don't know. Maybe, the topics we chat on do not interest him!" I said, smiling.

My uncle went to where Mukundan was sitting, sat near him, spoke to him for sometime and left.

A music concert was arranged during the reception in the evening. We came to know that the singer had cancelled the concert, since he was indisposed. 

After the reception ceremony had commenced, my uncle went to the stage and said on the mike, "Since we couldn't have the music concert, we have arranged a speech program. Mr. Mukundan will speak on 'The wonders of marriage.'" 

After a pause, he added, "It is to be mentioned that Mr. Mukundan is unmarried."

The guests laughed at his joke, gently. 

Just as I was wondering whether the speaker Mukundan was the person staying in my room or it was another person with the same name, my roommate Mukundan went on the stage.

For the next one hour, Mukundan captivated the guests with his spell-binding speech. I was astonished that a person could speak so interestingly on a mundane topic like marriage life. The feast presented by him with a variety of dishes, comprising psychological factors, real life examples, stories and jokes was relished by all.

After Mukundan had completed his speech, there was a big ovation. Anyone listening to the ovation would know that it was an expression of genuine appreciation, not a ceremonial exercise.

I went on to the stage and congratulated Mukundan on his excellent speech.

Later, when my uncle was alone, I asked him, "Uncle! How did you discover that this stranger had such a talent?"

"You saw me talking to him, when he was sitting alone in his room. I asked him why he was sitting aloof, without joining you people in the chat. He just smiled, without saying anything. I looked at his pocket notebook and found that he had noted down a lot of things in it. I found that his jottings were on a variety of topics like spirituality, literature, social issues, humour etc. When I asked him about those jottings, he said that he followed the practice of noting down interesting and useful things he read and heard, in a pocket notebook. He also told me that he was not interested in idle conversation and that when he was alone, if he thought of something, he would record his thoughts in his mobile and would transcribe them in a notebook, after going home. Even by the afternoon, When I learnt that the music program was going to be cancelled, I asked Mukundan whether he could speak on a topic. Initially, he hesitated. Subsequently, he accepted my proposal. I think he delivered an excellent speech. What do you think?" said my uncle

"His speech was great. Mukubdan is great. And you, who discovered the talent in a stranger and motivated him to display it, are great too!" I said, with genuine admiration.

Thirukkural

Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 20
Avoiding Vain Speech

Verse 199 (In Tamil)

poruL thIrndha pochchAndhum sollAr
maruL thIrndha mAsaRu kAtchiyavar.

Meaning:

Those who are flawlessly wise, and have overcome all delusion,

will desist from speaking worthless words, even unconsciously.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'nalla Asiriyar' by the same author)

Verse 200
Verse 198

733. The King's Pride

"Your Majesty! Everyday, hundreds of people from Sangha country cross the borders and enter our country. Our soldiers have made the refugees stay in the tents erected near the borders The influx of people into our country everyday is causing concern" said the Minister.

"What do you suggest we do, Minister?" asked the King.

"'In Sangha country, the racists have been massacring the racial minorities. King Rajapadman, instead of taking strong action to stop the genocide, has been quietly watching the violence, giving an impression that the violence let loose by the racist elements has the tacit approval of the king. It is not surprising that the racial minorities, fearing for their life, have been taking refuge in our country. If you permit, we can move the refugees, kept in the camps near the border, to various regions inside our country and make them settle down there. We can arrange them to be fed in the poor feeding centres located nearby. To meet the cost of feeding the refugees, you may permit funds to be released from the palace treasury" said the Minister, reluctantly.

"Do as proposed by you. But, I think that there will be no need for it" said the King, with an enigmatic smile.

"Do you expect that the violence will be put to end in Sangha country and peace will be restored soon?" asked the Minister, perplexed.

"I don't expect normalcy to return to Sangha country, as long as Rajapadman remains the king. What I said is based on my assessment about the people of our country."

The minister was unable to decipher the meaning of the King's statement.

"Your Majesty! The need for us to relocate the refugees and feed them didn't arise. Our citizens have erected tents at several places near the border for the refugees to stay. They have also been providing food to them. Perhaps, this was anticipated by you!" said the Minister.

"Yes, Minister. The sobriquet 'A country that is hospitable to the immigrants' is not a hyperbole created by our poets to glorify our country. It was a title given to our country by grateful people who had migrated to our country in the past for various reasons like escaping from wars, repression, epidemics, famines, natural calamities etc. and become a part of our country's population" said the King, with pride.

"But, how long can our people support the refugees?"

"Our people are like milk, which would absorb any amount of water poured into it. However, we should reduce the burden of the people. We will supply food grains from the palace granary for feeding the refugees staying in tents."

"Yes, Your Majesty. But, I also have another worry."

"I know what your concern is, Minister. Is it not better to face a challenge when we are confronted with it, rather than worry about it in advance?" asked the King, with a smile.

"Your Majesty! Since our people's finances have been strained by their extending hospitality to the refugees, I was worried that our tax collections would be affected. But tax collections for this year have been robust. People have paid the taxes in time, as they have always done in the past. I find this amazing!" said the Minister.

"This comes as no surprise to me, Minister. My expectations, based on my assessment about our people's dedication, sacrificial spirit and the responsible attitude that the government could function well only if the citizens paid the taxes due in time, have not been belied. I am proud of the citizens of our country" said the King, brimming with pride. 

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 74
The Country

Verse 733 (in Tamil):
poRai orungu mEl varum kAl thAngi iRaivaRku
iRai orungu nErvadhu nAdu.

Meaning:

A country should bear any burden that may be forced on it (from adjoining countries) and its people should willingly pay the taxes to the government.

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

Verse 734
Verse 732

198. The Last Class

It was the last session of the Gurukula* education.

After studying for a few years, staying in the Guru's (teacher) house and successfully completing the tests conducted by the Guru, the disciples were ready to return home.

The Guru wanted to conduct one more session for his disciples, before their departure.

The disciples were curious to know what the teacher was going to teach them in the final session.

"I am not going to teach you anything new today" began the Guru. "I want each of you to describe a scene you have witnessed. Each should speak at least for five minutes."

After hesitating for a few minutes, wondering what they could speak about, one by one, the students described a scene witnessed by them.

After everyone had spoken, the Guru described a few scenes watched by him.

"One day, it was raining. I was sitting in my hermitage and looking outside. A sparrow carried a small cup in its beak, came to a spot, kept it there and flew away. After sometime, it came back to the spot with another sparrow. The two sparrows gripped the cup filled with rain water with their beaks and flew with some difficulty, taking care to see that the water didn't spill. They kept it in a hole on the trunk of a tree  

"A dog dug a small channel with its legs. The rain water from the road flowed to a few plants that were on the side of the road. I don't know whether the dog did it knowingly or unknowingly."

After narrating a few more incidents like this, the Guru said, "I am giving each of you a gift" and gave each of them a few palm leaves and a writing pen. He then bade them goodbye.

After Sravanan came home from the Gurukula, his father asked him about his experience in the Gurukula.

"I learnt a lot during my stay there. But, our Guru had a last session in which he discussed a few things that did not appear to have any value. I don't understand why he did so" said Sravan.

"An erudite person like your Guru would not have spoken about things that had no value. There would be a meaning behind everything he told you. His intention would have been to make you reflect on the things he discussed in the class. Take your time to think about what he said. If you are able to find the meaning, let me know" said Sravanan's father.

After two days, Sravanan told his father, "Father! As advised by you, I reflected on the things our Guru told us in the last class. I got some insights. Please let me know whether my understanding is correct."

"Tell me" said his father.

"During the period of our stay in the Gurukula, we were only listening to our teacher. Except for answering the questions posed by him, we didn't speak much. I think he asked us to describe a scene only for giving us an opportunity to express ourselves. Speaking for five minutes was a real challenge. However, after speaking, we felt a sense of pride and and satisfaction."

"You may be right. Continue" said Sravanan's father encouragingly.

"After making us describe a scene we had witnessed, the Guru narrated a few scenes witnessed by him. I think that the scenes described by him conveyed profound messages. When it rains, water flows on the street. But, after the rain stops, the water will get drained. The sparrow saved the rain water by making strenuous efforts. Perhaps the Guru wanted us to understand that to ensure that we didn't forget what we had learnt, we should store them in our mind by making efforts to recall our learning and impressing it in our mind. We should also make a note of important things. That is why he gave us palm leaves and a pen. Just as the dog dug a channel and made the rain water flow to the plants, we should also share our knowledge with others. There should be an inner meaning to the other stories narrated by him too. I am thinking about them" said Sravanan.

"Very good. I think that you have fulfilled your Guru's expectations to a great extent. I think there could be another message behind your Guru giving you blank palm leaves and a pen. It may be to convey you a message 'your education is not over.' There are always more things to learn. The purpose of giving you blank palm leaves is to tell you that you should note down new things you keep learning."

"So many messages are hidden in the class I initially thought had no value! Our Guru has tried to teach us many subtle things in the last class" sais Sravanan, with amazement.

* Gurukula - A system of education practiced in ancient India, in which the students resided in the Guru's house and learnt things. They were also expected to do the chores at the Guru's house.

Thirukkural
Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 20
Avoiding Vain Speech

Verse 198 (In Tamil)

arum payan Ayum aRivinAr sollAr
perum payan illAdha sol.

Meaning:

The wise who weigh the worth of anything they say or do, will refrain from words that have no grain in them.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'kadaisi vaguppu' by the same author)

Verse 199
Verse 196