"Did you go to the Collector's office and inquire? What
did they say?" I asked him
"I have gone there many times. I have spent as much as
a month's salary by way of conveyance expenses alone. Everyone points to each other. When I enquired at the relevant desk,
they directed me to the Tahsildar. When I approached the Tahsildar, he pointed the
finger at the Revenue Inspector. The Revenue Inspector is never available in the office. No one knows when he will come and when he will leave."
"Have you met the Collector?"
"Can a commoner like me meet the Collector?" asked Srinivas.
I said, "The office of the collector has been created only to help
common people like us. I will come with you tomorrow. Let's meet the Collector."
"If we meet the collector and present my problem to him, won’t the other officers get annoyed and become alienated?"
asked Srinivas, worriedly.
I assured him, "Don't worry. If you go to the top official, your problem will be solved."
The next day when we went to the District Collector's office, there was a huge crowd waiting to see the collector.
Visiting hours were said to be
between 3 and 4 p.m. But by the time the Collector, who had gone out, reached the
office, it was 4.30 pm.
A staff member told the people who were waiting "You can't see the collector today. Go home and come tomorrow."
Most of the people who were waiting began to leave the office, feeling disappointed and helpless. However, about ten of us continued to wait, still hoping to get a chance to meet the Collector.
At about five o'clock, the collector rang the bell and called
the peon. I also entered the room following the peon. The Collector looked tired and bored.
"What?" he asked, looking at me.
"Sir! About a hundred people were waiting to see you. Most of them have gone back after being informed that they can't see you today. Only ten of us are still waiting. You should give us an audience!" I
said politely.
The peon turned to me and said in a loud and angry voice, "No way. Who gave you the permission to barge in like this? Get out!"
The Collector interrupted the peon, saying, "Hold on!"
and told me, "Sir, just give me five minutes. I will call you one by one. Please wait for a
while."
As promised by the Collector, after a few minutes, we were asked to go
into the collector’s cabin one by one and present our grievances. When it was
our turn, I told the collector about the pending application of Srinivas.
The Collector summoned the clerk concerned and inquired.
"Why haven't you processed his application yet?" he asked the clerk with annoyance.
The clerk murmured some excuse. But the Collector was not impressed.
"This application should be processed immediately and placed before me for orders by
tomorrow!" the Collector told the clerk, in a strict tone.
He then turned to his personal assistant and told him, "Make a note of this. Remind me about this tomorrow."
He then told Srinivas, "Don't worry. If you have given all the details
correctly, your pension will be sanctioned within a week."
We thanked the collector and left.
As promised by the Collector, an order sanctioning pension was received by Srinivas in about a week's time.
"How did you make this happen, my friend?" Srinivas asked me, in pleasant disbelief.
I said, "Sir, if a problem is not solved, it can be got solved by approaching the highest authority."
Section I - The Path of Virtue
manakkavalai mARRalarithu.
