Immediately after Bharat entered his cabin and took his seat, the telephone rang. It was his assistant Vandana."Sir, the Industries Secretary from Delhi has called you thrice. He may call you again. Oh, a call is coming. Could be him" said Vandana.
Presently, she transferred the call to him after confirming to him that it was the Industries Secretary who was on the call.
The Industries Secretary told Bharat that the Government of India was setting up a committee to advise the Prime Minister on matters relating to industries and asked Bharat whether he was willing to serve as a member of the committee. He said that it would require Bharat to visit Delhi once every month to participate in the deliberations of the committee. Of course, the Government would meet the expenses for his air travel and stay at Delhi, he added.
Bharat said with excitement, "Sir! This is a privilege. I am an obscure industrialist. My getting such an an honour..."
The Secretary interjected, as if signaling that he was not interested in listening to Bharat's expression of gratitude and other sentiments.
"It is the Prime Minister's desire that rather than stuffing the committee with well known industrialists, silent achievers like you should be brought in as members."
The Secretary had inconspicuously commended his achievements!
"Sir, this is a great honour, recognition, opportunity all combined" said Bharat, struggling for words.
"You have still not given me a direct answer to my question. Are you willing to serve as a member of the committee?" asked the Secretary,
"Yes, sir. I am willing."
The Secretary abruptly cut off the connection as if he was waiting for this unambiguous response.
"He asked for my consent but he didn't convey his decision!" thought Bharat. His concern was addressed within a few minutes through an email from the Secretary confirming Bharat's nomination as a member of the committee.
As Bharat was reading the email, he received a call on his mobile phone. It was his wife Thenmozhi.
It did not occur to Bharat that he should share the good news with his wife. He answered the phone wondering what issue she was going to raise to annoy him.
"I asked you to make arrangements for your mother to stay in an old age home. What have you done about it?" asked Thenmozhi, bluntly.
"See, Thenmozhi. You raised this topic when I was leaving for the office. I kept quiet since I didn't want to enter into argument with you and get my mood spoiled so early in the day. It has hardly been an hour since you browsed the topic. Why do you call me at the office and ask me about it?"
"We have money. We can put her in a high class old age home with all facilities!"
"We have money. We can take care of her by engaging a nurse for the whole day. And that's what we are doing."
"I don't like the scenario of a nurse being present in our home throughout the day. It creates a feeling of being in an hospital. I am unable to stand it!"
"If you can't stand it, you can look for an old age home for yourself. After all, you have also crossed forty years!" snapped Bharat and and cut off the conversation.
When he looked at his mobile phone, he found that he had received a few missed calls during the time he was talking to Thenmozhi. Even before he could check who the callers were, his mobile phone rang. A friend of him congratulated Bharat on his nomination to the government committee. The news seemed to have spread fast. The calls he had received earlier could also have been on this subject.
In the next couple of hours, he received greetings messages from several people.
At 1 o' clock, Bharat's secretary Vandana came to his cabin. "Sir, you need to take food in time. So, for the next half an hour, I won't be transferring any call to you. Please hand over your mobile phone to me. I will return it to you after you finish your lunch" she said with authority derived from concern for her employer.
She then took hold of his mobile and turned to leave the cabin. Then she turned back and said, "Congratulations, sir! Since you were busy, I couldn't greet you earlier."
"How do you know? Oh, you have access to my email. Do the other staff members know about this?" asked Bharat.
"Not yet, sir. If you permit me, I will share the news with others."
"You may!" said Bharat.
At that juncture, Bharat remembered that he had not shared the news with his wife.
'But, what if I share it? She would just say, 'oh' and then start talking about her grievances' he thought, immediately.
Thirukkural
Section 1
The Path of Virtue
Chapter 6
The Worth of A Wife
Verse 52 (In Tamil)
manaimAtchi illAL kaN illAyin vAzhkkai
enai mAtchihthAyinum il.
Meaning:
If the wife doesn't possess the virtues needed for a married life, whatever possessions the family may have will have no value.
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