186. Shenbagam's Moment of Shock

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Then?" asked Jagathu.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Shenbagam disconnected the call, without saying anything. 

Thirukkural
Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 19
Refraining From Backbiting

Verse 186 (In Tamil)

piRan pazhi kURuvAn than pazhi uLLum
thiRan therindhu kURappadum.

Meaning:

One who smears another behind his back, opens himself up

to similar smear, with his faults being slandered.

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

Verse 187 (Soon)
Verse 185
 

726. The Help Needed By the Scholar

"As you are all aware, the research paper of Scientist Rajan has been published in the international Science journal 'The Legacy of Newton.' Mr. Rajan will now talk to us on his research topic" announced Dr. Nambi, who was presiding over the meeting.

Rajan, who was sitting on the dais, stood up and whispered something into Nambi's ears.

Nambi came to the mike again and said, "There is a small change in the program. Since Mr. Rajan has not been feeling well, his assistant, Chellappa, a scientist himself, will read out Mr. Rajan's research paper.

Chellappa, who was sitting among the audience, stood up and came to the dais. Rajan handed over the papers held in his hand to Chellappa and began to get down from the dais.

"Why are you getting down, Rajan? You can sit on the dais!" said Nambi, trying to stop Rajan from getting down.

"It is okay, sir" said Rajan and got down.

"I am thankful to you for your help, Chellappa" Rajan told Chellappa, when the latter came to Rajan's cabin in the office, the next day.

"You have done such an excellent research work. You have also prepared the presentation very well, in a way intelligible even to a person without a deep knowledge of Science. It would have been better, if you had read your presentation" said Chellappa.

"Chellappa! You know about my weakness. I cannot stand before an audience and speak. I tried to do this a few times, but ended up getting embarrassed in the process. So, I have decided never to attempt to speak before an audience, hereafter. I have revealed my weakness only to you. Thank you for keeping it secret" said Rajan.

"You could have sat on the dais. Why did you get down?"

"There were many scholars and professors among the audience. If any of them were to find fault with some part of my presentation and turn their gazes at me, how could I, sitting on the dais, stand their gazes?" said Rajan.

'He is scared to look at the faces of scholars and speak. What is the use of all his erudition?' thought Chellappa. Having always looked at Rajan with deep respect and administration, Chellappa, for once, felt sympathetic about Rajan.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 72
Divining the Mind

Verse 726 (in Tamil):
vaLodu en van kaNNar allArkku nUlodu en
nuN avai anjubavarkku.

Meaning:

What use is the sword to cowards? Of what use are books to those, who are afraid to speak before a learned audience?

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

Verse 727 (Soon)
Verse 725

725. A Good Presentation Hijacked By Questions

"Thank God, the seminar got over" said Sarguru, with relief, wiping his face with his handkerchief. 

After Sarguru had got down from the stage, some people from the audience shook hands with him and said, "Your presentation was good."

But, Sarguru knew that they had said so, only to make him feel good.

After most of the the audience had dispersed, Sarguru's friend Kulasekaran came to him and said, "Your presentation was good. But, some from the audience made you look confused, by asking you tricky and irrelevant questions and spoiled the good impression you had made earlier."

"I took a lot of efforts to prepare my speech. I took care to ensure that there was no inadvertent error. But, some people harassed me, by asking irrelevant questions. I didn't know how to answer some of them. In the end, an impression was created that my presentation was not good enough. I feel disappointed that my efforts have become wasteful" said Sarguru, expressing his dismay.

An elderly person, who was listening to the conversation from a distance, came near Sarguru and asked him, "If you don't mind, can I tell you something?"

"Definitely, sir!" said Sarguru.

"Let us sit somewhere" he said and led them to a corner of the hall.

The three of them sat down.

"I am an ordinary person. I am not a professional speaker or a consultant. From my experience of attending a large number of seminars, meetings and debates and observing the happenings there, I have learnt something and I am sharing it with you. Your presentation was excellent. There are some people who attend seminars like this, with the sole intention of flooring the speakers with stupid and irrelevant questions, disguising them as clever questions. Some such people tried to confuse you, by asking you many tricky questions. You answered most of the questions well. But, some people asked you a few logical questions and cornered you. Without answering them logically, you tried to explain your viewpoint. It created an impression that you were unable to answer those questions satisfactorily. I am sure even you were not satisfied by the answers given by you" said the old man.

"Yes" said Sarguru, surprised that the old man had discerned the thoughts in his mind, while answering those questions.

"We have read about spiritual leaders like Sankara and Ramanuja defeating their opponents in debates on religion and philosophy. They were able to defeat their opponents in debates, not only by explaining  their concepts in details, but also by using the power of logic. In fact, in our country, there had been a tradition of including logic as one of the subjects in the curriculum of religion and philosophy. Therefore, I suggest that in order to excel in your presentations on your subject of specialization, you learn to adopt a logical approach too. If you keenly observe how experienced speakers use logic to silence the people asking tricky questions, by giving them appropriate replies, you will be able to develop that skill. You are a person with a profound knowledge. My best wishes to you."

The old man shook hands with Sarguru and took leave of him.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 73
Knowing Your Audience

Verse 725 (in Tamil):
ARRin aLavu aRindhu kaRka avai anjA
mARRam koduththal poruttu.

Meaning:

In order to fearlessly reply to questions before an unfamiliar audience, a speaker should learn logic and the rules of grammar.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'mudhiyavar kURiya aRivurai' by the same author.) 

Verse 726
Verse 724

724. The Professor's Defiance

Karunakaran, Head of the Department (HOD) summoned Professor Marudhamuthu to his cabin,

"Mr. Marudhamuthu! You have got the opportunity to speak in a national seminar, at this young age. Your breakthrough research has facilitated this. Though the seminar is being held in our college, professors from various other colleges will be attending the seminar. There will be some, who taking advantage of their learning acquired through their education and long experience, will pose tricky questions to you and try to confuse you and make you look stupid, in the presence of the educated audience. To prevent this from happening, I am going to announce, even at the beginning of the seminar that the questions have to be posed only after the speaker completes his presentation and that no questions should be asked during the course of the speech. Still, a few people may ask you questions, while you are speaking. If anyone does so, tell them politely that you will answer the questions at the end. Once you complete your speech, I will end the seminar, saying that there is no time for taking up questions" said Karunakaran.

Marudhamuthu nodded his head, in agreement. 

"In spite of my having told you clearly not to entertain any question during the course of your speech, you allowed people to ask questions. You even invited a few of the people who asked questions to the stage and asked them to explain the points they were trying to make" Karunakaran remarked in a tone of disapproval. 

"Sir! The questions asked by the professors helped me explain my point better. By listening to learned professors, when they came togain deeper understanding of some concepts" said Marudhamuthu.

"I was concerned that you were making yourself vulnerable, by going against my advice. But, I agree with your reasons for doing so. I observed that after your presentation was over, the audience was happy about the presentation. You have created a good impression about you in the minds of everyone. Congratulations" said Karunakaran, smiling.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 72
Divining the Mind

Verse 724 (in Tamil):
kaRRAruL kaRRA selach chollith thAm kaRRa
mikkAruL mikka koLal.

Meaning:

One should agreeably set forth their learning before the learned and acquire more (knowledge) from those who are more learned than one.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'sonnabadi En seyyavillai?' by the same author.) 

Verse 725
Verse 723

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
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
Verse 722