90. Change of Plans!

Raju had to go to Bangalore on a matter relating to his business. He had to meet a customer and have a discussion with him, in person. The discussion would take only a couple of hours.

Raju thought of taking his wife Girija along and showing her some places of interest in Bangalore, since she had never visited Bangalore earlier. Girija enthusiastically accepted his proposal.

Raju's friend Gopal, residing in Bangalore, had been asking Raju to come and stay with him for a few days, with his wife. When Raju suggested that they could stay at Gopal's house, Girija hesitated a little.

"It will be okay for you to stay with your friend. But, I have not met your friend's wife, till now. So, she is a stranger to me. How can I be comfortable about staying at your friend's house?"

"I attended Gopal's marriage, but I have not met his wife subsequently. So, I am also a stranger to her. We are going to get acquainted with her and become friendly!"

"I still feel uncomfortable."

"Girija! We are going to land their house, keep our baggage there and then go out for site-seeing. We will come back at night, sleep there and again leave the house, early next morning. So, we are not going to inconvenience them in any way. If we stay at some other place, my friend will feel unhappy" said Raju.

Girija half-heartedly accepted Raju's suggestion 

After arriving at Gopal's house, Raju and Girija rested for a while, refreshed themselves, had their breakfast and got ready to leave for site-seeing.

When they were about to leave, Girija told Raju, "Let us take our baggage. After visiting a few places, we can go to my cousin Indira's house."

"Why? You can stay here. Raju said that you would be staying her for two or three days!" asked Gopal, surprised by Girija's words.

Before Raju could reply, Girija said, "It is true that our plan is to be in Bangalore for two days. But I have told my cousin Indira that I would come to her house this evening. We two have been very intimate, since our childhood days."

"That's fine. But, why do you have to take your baggage, while going for site-seeing? You can come back here in the evening, have your dinner here, and then leave for your cousin's house" said Gopal.

"To come back here, we have to commute a long distance. Indira's residence is near Lal Bagh. We will go to her house, keep the baggage there and then go to Lal Bagh and other places" said Girija.

Gopal looked at Raju and Raju looked at Girija, feeling perplexed.

Girija asked Raju, "This is our plan, isn't it? Didn't you tell your friend about our plan, clearly?" in an accusing tone.

Raju told Gopal, apologetically, "Gopal! We changed our plan, just before leaving. I thought I would tell you after coming here. I am sorry for the communication gap!"

After they came out of Gopal's house, Raju asked Girija, "You had told me that your cousin Indira was in Nagpur? Has she moved to Bangalore? You didn't tell me about this. I didn't want to ask you in front of Gopal."

"She is in Nagur, alright!" 

"Then? Where are we going to stay?"

"Look for a good hotel. We will stay there."

"Why? Did you find the accommodation in Gopal's house inconvenient? I think it was good. And they took good care of us, during the couple of hours we stayed there."

"They did take good care of us. I am not complaining. But, when we stepped into your friend's house, I noticed an unhappy expression on the face of your friend's wife. Though she welcomed us and greeted us, it appeared to me that she considered our staying with them an inconvenience."

"No. You have been imagining things. I think she was very kind and hospitable. She made good breakfast for us."

"She was hospitable. I am not finding fault with her. But she might have had some inconvenience in our staying at their house. I think that feeling might have unconsciously reflected on her face."

"Is it not possible that this is your imagination?"

"It is not. The expression I noticed on her face was unmistakable! If we had stayed with them for three days as per our original plan, she would have taken good care of us. But, after noticing the sign of dissatisfaction on her face, I didn't feel like staying there. That is why I had to invent the story of my cousin Indira living in Bangalore and my desire to stay with her!" said Girija.

Thirukkural

Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 9
Hospitality

Verse 90 (In Tamil)

mOppak kuzhaiyum anichcham mugam thirindhu
nOkkak kuzhaiyum virundhu.

Meaning:

The flower, anicham, shrivels when it is smelt. A guest will wilt,

if the host’s face betrays the slightest twitch.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'periyammA peN' by the same author)

Verse 91 (Soon)
Verse 89