A few months after Gopu joined the firm, Damodaran told Gopu, "I find that you have been moving closely with Sanjay. He is not a good person. Keep away from him."
"How do you say Sanjay is not a good person?" countered Gopu.
"I don't want to elaborate. He would try to be friendly with every one. But if someone gets close to him, he will take advantage of that person."
"Taking advantage means? Will he ask for a loan?" asked Gou, with a dismissive laugh.
"This is not a laughing matter, Gopu. I am saying this only for your own good. If he borrows money from you and doesn't repay it, you will suffer only a monetary loss. But the harm he could cause to you will be much more serious. I have heard this from people who suffered on account of having been close to him. The very first time I met him, I had a bad impression about him. So, I have been keeping a distance from him. But I have been observing him. He will talk as if he has influence with some senior executives of our firm. Believing his words, some people in our office fear him. Taking advantage of this fear, he has created an impression that he is a powerful person in this office. Some people like me know him for what he is and keep away from him. It will be good for you, if you also keep away from him" said Damodaran.
Chandran didn't say anything. He smiled inwardly recalling what Sanjay had told him about Damodaran. 'Damodaran's words show that what Sanjay said about Damodaran is true!' he told himself.
Damodaran noticed that even after he had warned Gopu about Sanjay, Gopu was moving closely with Sanjay. But he didn't talk to Gopu on this subject, again.
After a few weeks, Gopu came to Damodaran and told him, "Damodaran! I want to share something with you."
That evening, after leaving the office, both of them went to a restaurant. They took their seats in a secluded place.
"Damodaran! At the outset, I want to seek your pardon, for not trusting your words. When you warned me about Sanjay, I ignored it. I have realized his true colours only now" said Gopi.
"What happened" asked Damodaran.
"Yesterday, after the office had got over, Sanjay suggested that we go for a movie. He said that on the way we would visit his sister, who was indisposed. When we went to her house, she appeared to be normal. She went inside to make coffee for us. Sanjay tried to call someone on his mobile phone and went out saying that he didn't get the signal inside the house. After he had gone out, that lady came out and tried to hug me. I extricated myself from her grip and ran outside. I saw Sanjay standing at the doorstep with the phone, ready to take a photo or video of us being together. Then only I realized that that woman was not his sister at all and that he had planned to trap me into getting into a compromising position with her, take a photo or video and use it to blackmail me. Fortunately, I got away" said Gopu.
"Incidents like this have happened to some of our staff members. Not wanting to to narrate them to you in detail, I hinted to you about his character and warned you. But you didn't believe me at that time" said Damodaran, in an accusing tone.
"I was too gullible. Sanjay had told me earlier that you would say such things about him. So, when I heard you speaking badly of him, I thought he was right."
"Did you not think why I should speak to you badly about him?" asked Damodaran, angrily.
"Damodaran! You should forgive me again. Sanjay told me a story that during your initial days in this office, you spoke inappropriately to a lady staff, that that lady was about to report the incident to the Managing Director and that Sanjay intervened and stopped her from reporting the incident, by asking you to apologize to her. He said that you were angry with him because he had made you apologize to that lady. During my initial days in the office, I didn't know either about you or about Sanjay. So I believed his story. I feel ashamed about how gullible I had been. I can't explain to you how embarrassed I am, when I am explaining myself to you now" said Gopu.
"The scoundrel! He had turned the incident on its head. It was Sanjay who spoke to that lady inappropriately and it was me who saved him, by persuading the lady to accept his apology and forgive him. The only mistake I had made was saving him from disgrace and dismissal from the job, at that time!" said Damodaran.
Section 2
Shunning the Company of Mean People
suRRamAch chUzhndhu vidum.
Verse 450
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