629. A Lesson From Tulsi Leaves

"How true are Avvaiyar's* lines 'Poverty is cruel. Poverty during the younger age is still more cruel!'" I exclaimed.

"Is it so?" asked my friend Alagesan.

"What do you know about poverty? You are a person who can afford to use rose water for taking bath and milk to gargle your mouth!" I retorted. 

"But I take bath in cold water. If I have to gargle, I will use salt water. I eat rice and gravy like you do. My lunch box contains idli covered with a paste of chilli powder and oil, just as your lunch box does!" said Alagesan, laughing.

"You can talk lightly about life. Only if you had suffered from the pangs of poverty like I had, you would have realized the agony poverty would cause. As a boy, I have watched my father and mother fight over a few pennies. Can you believe it?"

"My parents also used to fight over several things."

"What did they fight about - whether to drive to the beach or to go to a movie in the car?" I asked sarcastically. 

Alagesan was not provoked by my outbursts. He laughed, as if he enjoyed my humour.

Though I often prided myself about having scored over Alagesan in the sparing contest, deep in my heart, I realized that I had been rhetorical, rather than reasonable.

Alagesan and I were classmates in our school. Alagesan hailed from a family for whom money would never be an issue. In contrast, our family had been struggling to meet both ends meet. 

For some reason, a strong bond of friendship had developed between Alagesan and me.

Even though I have always considered Alagesan my friend, I would, now and then vent out my grudge against him that sprouted out of my jealousy, resulting from my comparing the economic status of both of us. 

I should have discerned even at that time that though Alagesan, having been born in a wealthy family, was in a position to enjoy the good things of life, he was more interested in enjoying the company of friends like me than in enjoying the comforts he could get by spending money. But, the jealousy that was underlying in the deep layers of my mind had blinded me to his sense of detachment.

His magnanimity in not getting hurt by my snide remarks, combined with his geniality and the affection he had for me, had gradually pushed out my feelings of jealousy and made me reciprocate his geniality and friendliness.

They say that time is a great leveler. It acted as one in our lives.

After competing my studies, I landed a plum job, earned well and attained a fairly high financial status, in a few years.

The reverse happened to Alagesan. Even before Alagesan could complete his studies, his father suffered a heavy loss in his business. Within a short period, the wealthy family was reduced to a lower middle class family.

Alagesan could not get a good job. He was sticking on to a mediocre job he was able to get and was just surviving.

The friendship between Alagesan and me remained as strong as it was during our school days.

I felt a sense of pride and satisfaction in continuing to be a close friend of Alagesan, even after the steep fall in his economic status, by contrasting my jealousy towards him, when he was wealthy.

"Don't you feel frustrated by comparing your present position to the wealthy state you were in during your younger days?" I asked him. 

"I have no such feelings" said Alagesan. "I have always had the attitude of accepting what comes to me. You know that I go to the temple every day. In the temple, they will offer Tulsi leaves as prasadam**. Some days, the Tulsi leaves will be fresh and green. When I munch the leaves, I will experience a stimulating taste. But, some other days, the Tulsi leaves would be dry. They would taste bitter. But, I would always accept the Tulsi leaves as God's offering, munch the leaves and eat them, not minding the bitter taste. I have been adopting a similar attitude to the experiences that happen to me in my life. My mother had taught me this lesson in my childhood. I think that that lesson is deeply ingrained in my mind. That may be the reason why I have been able to accept misfortunes with equanimity."

Reflecting that I had been jealous of a person with such a noble attitude, I felt ashamed.

* Avvaiyar - A female Tamil poet

** prasadam - a food item offered to the idol in Hindu temples, then distributed to the devotees as a divine offering.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 63
Unfazed in the Face of Trouble

Verse 629 (in Tamil):
inbaththuL inbam vizhaiyAdhAn thunbaththuL
thunbam uRudhal ilan.

Meaning:

He who does not yearn for pleasure in joyous times, will not

be distressed in times of sorrow.

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

Verse 630 (Soon)
Verse 628

628. When the House Was Taken away

When Paranthaman was studying in the college, his friends used to call him a monk.

"You don't smoke or drink. That is fine. But won't you even come for a movie?" his friend Annamalai asked him.

"Only last week we saw a movie" replied Paranthaman.

"We have been thinking that it has been a week since we watched a movie. But you say only a week has passed since we went to a movie! Will you get married or will you remain a celebate?" taunted another friend.

Paranthaman did get married.

In the early days of marriage, Paranthaman's wife Sarasu was a little concerned that her husband was acting like a monk. 

But, as time passed, Sarasu realized that her husband was not a monk but a person who observed restraint in enjoying life's pleasures and that he was a man who didn't harbour desires for luxuries.

However, Paranthaman fulfilled her wants and desires. Sarasu was happy.

"This house is your ancestral property. But, they are taking it away from you. Are you not agitated about this atrocious decision?" Sarasu asked Paranthaman.

"My father got this property as an ancestral property. But my father's uncle had filed a suit in the court claiming that the title to the property should have legally been passed on to him, since my father's father was adopted by another person. After many years of litigation, the judgement has come in favour of my father's uncle. There is nothing we can do about it" said Paranthaman. 

"Where can we go now? Can we afford to take a house of this size for rent? How are we going to find the money for our children's education, after spending a substantial portion of your salary towards the house rent?" asked Sarasu, feeling depressed.

"We enjoyed the ownership of this house all these years. Now that it has gone out of our hands, we need to leave this house. Paying rent and meeting other expenses from my salary is going to be a challenge. But we have to accept the reality and live our life, doing what we can" said Paranthaman, in an unperturbed tone.

'You will be able to accept this setback calmly, but I won't' thought Sarasu. 

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 63
Unfazed in the Face of Trouble

Verse 628 (in Tamil):
inbam vizhaiyAn idumbai iyalbenbAn
thunbam uRudhal ilan.

Meaning:

He who doesn't yearn for pleasures and accepts adversities as normal happenings will never be distressed.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'kai vittup pOna vIdu' by the same author.) 

Verse 629
Verse 627

627. What my Father Learnt From My Mother

My mother has not been well. She has been bed-written for the past two years, lying in the hospital bed for some days intermittently and in a bed at our home, during the other days.

My has been sitting near my mother most of the time. Both would be conversing for a long time. I wondered what they talked about for such lengths of time.

When I am at home with my wife Charu, we won't have matters to talk about for more than a few minutes. Even during those few minutes, we would be talking about problems like some home appliance needing repairs, the air-conditioner not giving enough cooling, issues relating to our children's school education etc.

We would feel gratified that we didn't have problems needing discussion for more than a few minutes.

"How is your health?" I asked my mother.

My mother nodded her head, trying to give me a positive signal, but her nod only signaled her physical weakness.

"As always" said my father. "Sometimes, she is calm. Some other times, she is suffering from pain."

I signaled to my father to follow me. We both came out of the room and seated ourselves in the living room.

"Dad! At a time mom is suffering from pain, you have been sitting near her and talking to her. Will it not give her more strain?" I asked my father.

"My sitting near her and talking to her makes her happy. In fact, it gives her some relief!" replied my father.

"It is amazing to me how mom has been conversing with you cheerfully, while she is under so much pain!"

"Your mother has always been that way. I am a person who would be perturbed even by a small obstacle or even an inconvenience. It was your mother who would speak to me in an encouraging way and uplift my spirits. If someone in our family fell sick, I would start worrying. But, your mother would tell me, 'the human body is bound to suffer some illness now and then. Don't appliances like TV and Mixer malfunction? Sometimes, they can be fixed with some minor repairing and some other times, they would need an intense repairing. Some times, they could not be repaired at all and have to be discarded' and laugh. 

"Whenever I encountered problems in my job or in the family or faced financial problems, she would counsel me in a similar way. 'When you commute to your office every day in your scooter, are you able to ride non-stop? Are you not stopped at different places by traffic signals? Sometimes, the tyre gets punctured or the vehicle breaks down. Don't you leave the vehicle there, go by bus or autorickshaw, get the scooter repaired and then resume using it? We should accept things that normally happen to us in life.' This is the kind of advice she would give me.

"In the beginning, I was irritated by her words. I would hit back saying, 'it is easy for you to sit at home and advise me. Only the person who faces a problem will understand the pain!'

"But, over the years, I began to realize the truth of her words and changed my attitude gradually. After that, I found that facing and overcoming problems was easier. If your mother is able to maintain her cheerful disposition in spite of the torment she has been suffering because of the health issues, it is due to her attitude that being challenged by problems is a normal thing in our lives."

My mother has spoken to me many times the way she had, to my father. But, I didn't ponder over her words. Only after hearing my father say how my mother's advice had helped him, I began to understand the importance of the life lessons my mother tried to inculcate in me.  

"I have to learn a lot from mom, dad. Hereafter, I will also sit near mother for sometime every day and listen to her words of wisdom" I told my father.

"Start doing it immediately. I think you are not left with much time" said my father.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 63
Unfazed in the Face of Trouble

Verse 627 (in Tamil):
ilakkam udambu idumbaikku enRu kalakkaththaik
kaiyARAk koLLAdhAm mEL.

Meaning:

Knowing that the human body is ever a target for afflictions,

the wise will not be distressed by distress.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'ammAvin udal nilai' by the same author.) 

Verse 628
Verse 626

626. Kanthimathy's Concerns

When Vairavan married  Kanthimathi, he was employed as an office assistant in a small firm on a modest salary.

Soon after the marriage, Kanthimathi realized that while the two of them could live comfortably on Vairavan's salary, they won't be able to make the ends meet, if their family grew, after the birth of a child. 

This caused concern to Kanthimathi. But, Vairavan didn't seem to be concerned with such thoughts.

When Kanthimathi shared her concerns with Vairavan, he said nonchalantly, "We are two now. My income is sufficient to meet the needs of the two of us. Why should we think of the problems that we may face after our family grows and worry about them now?"

By the time children were born to them, Vairavan's salary had gone up. So, the family didn't face any financial problems, as apprehended by Kanthimathi.

Vairavan earned a good name with his proprietor by his sincerity, dedication and hard work. As a result of this, Vairavan's position in the firm and his salary both kept going up.

By the time Vairavan's son and daughter joined college, Vairavan's economic status had gone up considerably, to the extent of the friends of his son and daughter in their colleges calling them 'children of wealthy parents.'

Even as Vairavan's income was going up, the expenses also kept increasing. Vairavan was liberal in spending money in buying high end home appliances for the household, a motorcycle for his son, a scooter for his daughter etc.

"You have been spending your entire earnings on necessities as well as luxuries. Don't we need to save some money for our future needs?" Kanthimathi asked Vairavan. 

But, Vairavan didn't bother to apply his mind to the concerns raised by his wife.

Both their children had completed their studies and landed good jobs. Vairavan performed the marriage of both. He spent money lavishly for the weddings.

"I pleaded with you repeatedly to save some money for our future. But you didn't pay heed to my words" said Kanthimathi, in an accusing tone.

"What has happened now? Are we not doing well?" asked Vairavan.

"Are we doing well? You earned a lot of money. But, you didn't buy a home for us. You spent a lot of money on our son and daughter. Now, they live very far from us. They are not even bothered to find out how we have been doing. They have no concern for our needs. They don't send us any money. Both of them have been thinking only about their families. You are now retired. You don't receive any pension. We live on the interest we receive on the provident fund received by you, on your retirement. We are living in a rented accommodation. The house rent and other expenses keep going up. But the interest income we have been getting on our bank deposit is coming down, due to the bank's lowering interest on deposits continuously. In this scenario, I don't know how long we will be able to manage to survive!" burst out Kanthimathi.

"When we had a good income, we lived a comfortable life. When our income gets dwindled, we have to reduce our standard of our living befitting the level affordable by us. That is what we have been doing. Why should we bother about the problems we may face in the future?" said Vairavan, calmly.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 63
Unfazed in the Face of Trouble

Verse 626 (in Tamil):
aRREm enRu allal padubavO peRREm enRu
Ombudhal thERRAdhavar.

Meaning:

Those who, in times of wealth, don’t stingily cling to their wealth, will not be distressed by poverty.

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

Verse 627
Verse 625

625. 'Sick' Sitaraman

Gurumurthy's blood pressure having gone up, he was admitted to a private hospital on the advice of his physician.

The doctors in the hospital told him that he should remain in the hospital for a few days and get treated for bringing his blood pressure to the normal level.

Since Gurumurthy was not able to get a separate room, he was accommodated in a room with two beds.

Gurumurthy introduced himself to Sitaraman, the patient lying in the other bed and began to converse with him.

"What is your problem?" asked Gurumurthy.

"The problem I now have is accumulation of mucus in my chest" said Sitaraman.

"Why do you say now? Did you have some other problem earlier?"

Sitaraman smiled wryly.

"I keep facing some health issue almost on a continuous basis. So, I had been getting admitted to the hospital for treatment, every now and then."

Even before Sitaraman could complete the sentence, he began to cough. The cough lasted for several seconds.

"I am sorry. I have provoked your coughing, by engaging you in a conversation" said Gurumurthy, feeling guilty.

"No, no. It is not your fault. I can't be muting myself always, for the sake of preventing the cough from surfacing. If I were to do so, I won't have a life at all" said Sitaraman.

"Do you have this problem since long?"

"I have this problem from the time I was born. My parents were not well-to-do people. They got me treated at the government hospital in our place. I would get better after taking the medicine, but the problem would relapse. My parents were not tired of taking me to the hospital repeatedly. I was afflicted by various problems like cough, severe cold, fever etc, one taking over from other, like the runner of a relay race, passing the baton to another. Despite repeated treatments, the problems kept coming up again and again. The same story continues till now."

"Life would have been very difficult for you."

"Yes. Initially, my parents were not sure whether it was wise to send me to school. However, they did get me admitted to a school. In the school, I was seated a little away from other students, lest other students should contract the ailment from me. I had to miss school several days in a year, due to my ill health. But I worked hard and studied well.

"When I moved to the high school, the head master of the school took special interest in me and encouraged me in many ways. When I didn't have the minimum attendance required to qualify me for taking the SSLC examination, he gave me attendance for additional days and made me take the examination.

"Since I had secured high scores in the SSLC examination, I got a scholarship for my college studies. In the college, some students nicknamed me 'Sick Sitaraman.' Perhaps, they had the satisfaction of creating a rhyming phrase, apparently showing their proficiency in English! When I was studying in the college, my father passed away. Despite the financial problems faced by my family after my father's demise, I somehow managed to complete my college education and acquire a B.Com degree.

"Then began my employment phase. Since I had to take leave quite often due to my health problems, I could not continue in a job for a long time. I would lose one job and take up another. After losing my job three times, I joined a small firm as the Accountant. The proprietor of the firm empathized with me and supported me. He gave me paid leave for the days I couldn't attend office, due to my illness.

"Those days, only the wealthy people could afford to have a telephone in their homes. You may not believe this. My proprietor got me a phone connection at my house and facilitated my working from my home by talking to my subordinates over phone and directing them to do the tasks required to be done. I think I am the first person in the world to have worked for an office by sitting at home, long before the concept of 'work from home' came into vogue!"

Sitaraman laughed.

Gurumurthy looked at him with the apprehension that his laughter could provoke the cough again.  

"How many people are there in your family?" asked Gurumurthy, reluctantly.

"I understand your question. You want to ask me whether I got married. I had decided that I won't get married, given my health condition. My mother was also reluctant to seek an alliance for me, after telling the parents of the prospective brides about my health condition. But, a girl belonging to a family known to us came forward to marry me. When she told me 'A person like you needs a companion,' I was in tears."

Sitaraman's voice was choked with emotion. 

"What a noble heart she has! Is it not something you should feel happy about" said Gurumurthy, in an attempt to cheer Sitaraman and bring him out of his emotion, out of concern that becoming emotional would make him cough again.

"Yes, of course. But, alas! She is no more. She left me, after giving birth to a son. I used to think that she left after giving me a son, realizing that I needed someone to take care of me. My mother had left me even before my wife died. You can't imagine how much I struggled to bring up my son, with me being alone and sick!"

"What is your son doing?"

"He is well placed in a big company. He earns handsomely. From my childhood, I had been getting treatment only in government hospitals. But, after my son took up a job, I enjoy the luxury of getting treated in private hospitals" said Sitaraman and laughed.

"I am amazed to listen to your story. I am a person who gets upset even by small inconveniences. But you maintain a cheerful disposition, even after undergoing so many sufferings" said Gurumurthy, with genuine admiration.

"Whenever I face a problem in my life, I will think about the good fortunes I have had in my life and rejoice. The love and affection showered on me by my parents, my ability to do well in my studies despite my chronic ailments, my high school headmaster who encouraged and helped me, my proprietor who went to extraordinary lengths to help me perform my job, by devising ways to overcome my shortcomings, the fortune that shined on me in the form of my wife, my son who has so much concern and affection for me...When I have been blessed with so many good things in my life, why should I grieve over my sufferings?" said "Sick Sitaraman' with a smile that reflected his cheerful mind.

"No setback will affect you, sir. You will live long with good health and happiness. Meeting you in this hospital room is a blessing for me" said Gurumurthy, feeling overwhelmed.

Gurumurthy's son who stepped into the room told him, "Dad! A single bed room has fallen vacant. You can move over there."

"No. I am happy to be in this room, with my friend here!" said Gurumurthy, looking at Sitaraman, with a friendly smile.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 63
Unfazed in the Face of Trouble

Verse 625 (in Tamil):
adukki varinum azhivu ilAn uRRa
idukkaN idukkaN padum.

Meaning:

if one remains unfazed even under an onslaught of adversities, 

his torments will be tormented

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

Verse 626
Verse 624

1140. What Ails Kumudhini?

People tell me that Kumudhini, living in the house opposite of mine, has gone mad. But I don't think so

Kumidhini is not a person close to me. Living in opposite houses, we two would see each other now and then. During those times, we would just exchange a smile by way of acknowledging that we knew each other.

The reason for some people coming to the conclusion that Kumudhini has gone mad is that there have beem some peculiar changes in her behaviour, since the past few days.

They say that while walking on the street, she is talking to herself and laughing out loud.

While remaining in her house, she would sometimes lock herself into a room. People outside the room would hear her talking to someone. Sometimes, she would talk angrily and some other times, she would beg. Sometimes, there would be footsteps of her running inside the room.

Once, her mother heard her saying, "Catch me if you can!" in a loud voice and laughing loudly. This was followed by the sound of her running inside the room.

Perturbed by this, her mother knocked at the door of the room. The noises stopped immediately. After a couple of minutes, Kumudhini opened the room and asked her mother calmly, "Why did you call me, mom?" as if nothing had happened.

Her mother asked her, "What was the noise? Whom were you chasing within the room?"

Kumudhini, visibly surprised by her mother's question, replied, "How can I chase anyone within the room? There is no one else in the room!"

Kumudhini's mother reported this incident to several people and lamented about the strange behaviour of her daughter. 

After hearing this, people began to look at Kumidhini in a strange way and laugh, as if mocking at her.

But, I don't laugh like others do. I know what ails Kumudhini.

Kumudhini is afflicted by a disease called 'love.' People afflicted by this disease, will initially try to conceal it from others. But the disease will reveal itself in many ways and show the person as mad, to the outside world, leading to people laughing at the afflicted person.

If the 'love' comes to the knowledge of the girl's parents and if they approve of it, then the disease will be cured.

That was what happened to me some time back. At that time, Kumidhini was one among those who mocked at me. 

Now, when Kumudhini sees that while others are laughing at her, I am not, Kumudhini acknowledges my empathy through her look. I can read the message, 'Earlier, when you were afflicted by the disease of love, I was among those who laughed at you. Only when I experience what you have experienced in the past, do I realize how stupid I had been in laughing at you!' conveyed to me by her gaze.

Thirukkural
Section 3

Love

Chapter 114
Shedding Shyness

Verse 1140 (in Tamil):
yAm kaNNin kANa naguba aRivillAr
yAm patta thAm padA ARu.

Meaning:

Ignorant folks sneer at me, when they see me. Ah, they haven’t been through what I have undergone.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'kumudhinikku vandha nOy' by the same author.)

Verse 1141 (Soon)
Verse 1139

624. TV Service Centre

Nandagopal was working as a Television service technician in the repairs and service section of a reputed home appliances showroom.

Finding that repairing television sets was not a profitable activity, the showroom decided to discontinue the service and repairs activity. 

As a consequence of the dealer's decision, Nandagopal and two other technicians working with him, Anbu and Satish, suddenly found themselves out of a job.

Losing his job was a big blow to Nandagopal. Getting a job in a good company like the one he had been working in was difficult. He could get a job in a small firm engaged in service and repairs of electronic equipment. But, the pay would be less and the tenure of the job would also be uncertain.

Nandagopal discussed the problem with Satish and Anbu.

"Why don't the three of us together start an electronics service centre?" asked Nandagopal.

"Are you joking? Do we have the capital needed to start such a business? We can't even afford to hire a place" said Satish.

"We can use a room in my house for the activity. It has a window facing the street. If we keep a board outside the window, people walking on the street will be able to see the board. Though I reside in a rented house, I will be able to get the consent of my landlord for running a TV service centre at my house" said Nandagopal.

"What about the investment needed for buying tools and equipment?" asked Anbu.

"The showroom we worked for won't need the tools and equipment it has, since it has discontinued the repairing service. We can request the showroom to sell them to us , at a low price. If the showroom tries to sell them to others, it will be able to sell only at the scrap rate. The showroom manager is a reasonable person. We can convince him to sell us the tools and equipment at a price better than what the scrap dealers will offer. The showroom has also a fairly large quantity of spares in stock, which it won't be able to dispose of. If we offer to buy the entire stock over a period, buying in small quantities at a time, the manager will agree. We can also request the manager to furnish the contact details of the people who have bought the electronic appliances from the showroom. We can contact those buyers and request them to contact us for any service requirement."

"I don't think it will work out for me. I will go for a job" said Satish.

After thinking for a while, Anbu said, "I won't be able to invest any money. I will join with you in your venture. Depending on the revenue earned in the business, you can pay me whatever you think is appropriate. But, if I get a good job offer, I will leave. I will also leave, if I don't get sufficient income from the business."

Two moths passed since Nandagopal started his service centre, along with Anbu.

They didn't get much business in the first month. But, there was a considerable improvement in the second month.

Nandagopal was confident that in the next couple of months, they would be able to earn a substantial revenue.

But, they received an unexpected jolt in the form of the lockdown on account of the COVID epidemic.

"It is over. We cannot recover from this blow" said Anbu, feeling dejected.

"Let us see!" said Nandagopal.

"What is there for us to see? What is the basis for your optimism?" asked Anbu, showing his irritation.

"Anbu! Look at the situation this way. Now, there is a complete lockdown. People will be confined to their homes. They will watch TV more. Therefore, there will be a greater need for TV service. Some people who have kept defective TV sets unrepaired will be motivated to get the TV sets repaired. During the lockdown, all big shops and service centres will be closed. So, there will be more opportunities for small service units like ours" said Nandagopal.

Anbu looked at his friend with surprise and admiration. 

As predicted by Nadagopal, they received a number of calls for servicing TV sets. 

The two of them carried the essential tools and small equipment in a suitcase, went to the homes and repaired the TV sets on the spot.

After a few weeks, they ran out of some spare parts.

Nandagopal rang up to the manager of the showroom and requested him to supply the spare parts needed by them.

The manager not only declined Nandagopal's request, citing the lockdown restrictions but also vented out his frustration.

"Well. I could have sold all the spare parts to someone. I accepted your offer to buy the spare parts from us over a period, purely out of a desire to help you. Now, the spare parts are still lying with us. Because of the lockdown, we are unable to sell the spares either to you or to others. We are stuck with the stock. I don't know when the lockdown will be over. The resale value of the stocks would have fallen considerably by the time the lockdown is lifted. Our proprietor is going to blame me for the loss" he lamented.

Nandagopal and Anbu spent the next two days, feeling tense and helpless. People who had asked them to repair their TV sets called them up and expressed their concern about the delay.

"Sir, because of the lockdown, we are unable to get the spare parts. Please give us two more days" Nandagopal, pleaded. 

"Just when I felt relieved that things have become to go smooth after some rough ride, new problems are cropping up" said Anbu.

Nandagopal called up the manager of the showroom again.

"Sir! Please have trust in us and give us the keys of the showroom. We will collect the keys from your house, open the showroom, take the spare parts needed by us and return the keys to you within an hour. We will also make the payment immediately. I assure you that we will buy all the spare parts within the next six months. You will not incur any loss" said Nandagopal.

After hesitating for a moment, the Manager said, "Okay. You can come to my house and collect the keys from me."

Six months passed since the lockdown had been imposed.

"Not bad. We have managed to run our business for six months, during the lockdown. I hope that we will be able to carry on" said Anbu.

When Anbu was carrying a TV set from a customer's house to the service centre, for getting it repaired, he was intercepted by a policeman.

"From where did you steal the TV?" asked the policeman.

"I didn't steal it. I am taking it to our service centre for repairing it, sir" said Anbu.

"It is still worse. Keeping your service centre open during the lockdown is an offense. Come with me to the station." said the policeman.

After receiving a call from Anbu, Nandagopal went to the police station..

He explained to the policeman how they had been operating.

"Sir, usually, we visit the customer's home and carry out the repair there. Only this time, it became necessary for us to bring the TV set to our service centre. When I say service centre, I am referring to my house. We do the service inside the house, keeping the outer door closed."

"Your partner was caught on the road, when he was carrying the TV set. Now, you have joined him on your own. I think both of you are going to be sentenced to six months' imprisonment, for violating the lockdown rules. Let the inspector come" said the policeman.

Presently, the inspector came to the station.

After listening to the constable's complaint and Nadagopal's explanation, the inspector said, "The lockdown rules have to be followed. Hereafter, don't roam about the streets, carrying TV sets."

He let them off, after warning them orally.

After they stepped out of the police station, Nandagopal told Anbu, "Usually, you will be upset, even if a small problem surfaces. But today, you are so calm!"

"I have been observing the happenings for the past several months. We encountered one obstacle after another. But you have remained unperturbed. The obstacles have become scared of you and run away. Hereafter, I am not going to be perturbed, either."

Even before Anbu had completed saying this, a police constable came running towards them from inside the police station. "Guys! The inspector is calling you."

"Just after my saying that obstacles have begun to run away from you, another obstacle seems to be showing up. Go and see what it is. I will wait for you here" said Anbu, with a sigh.

Nandagopal, came out of the station and joined Anbu, after a couple of minutes,.

He told Anbu, "The inspector has a TV setvin his hose that needs repairing. He couldn't find anyone to repair it. He wants us to go to his house and repair it. He also told me that if anyone else in the police department required repairing of their TV sets, he would ask them to approach us."

Seeing the worrying expression on Anbu's face, Nandagopal added, "He said that he would pay us our charges!"

Nandagopal then laughed aloud. 

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 63
Unfazed in the Face of Trouble

Verse 624 (in Tamil):
maduththa vAy ellAm pagadu annAn uRRa
idukkaN idarppAdu udaiththu

Meaning:

If one chugs along like a bull that keeps pulling the cart even when it is stuck in a mire, troubles facing him will be distressed.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'ingE TV rippEr seyyappadum' by the same author.) 

Verse 625
Verse 623