452. My Son!

Some of my friends, my classmates in my school, had organized a get-together of people who studied in the same class, to commemorate the completion of 50 years of our completing the final year in our school.

It was during that get-together that I met Jagadeesan, who was close to me when we were studying in the school, after a long gap.

Jagadeesan told me that he had retired after a successful career and that all his three sons had well settled in life. He was particularly proud of his third son.

"My first two sons studied Engineering and got good jobs. There is nothing unusual about it. But my third son did his Bachelor's degree in Commerce. I advised him to study to become a Chartered Accountant. But he was not interested in that idea. He went for a mediocre job in a company. But within two or three years, he became very close to the Managing Director of the company. In five years, he was made the General Manager of a new company, started by the group. After working there for a few years, he quit his job and started his own business. He has taken a loan from the bank and been running his business successfully. I am proud of him" said Jagadeesan, with an overwhelming feeling of pride.

"It is a commendable achievement, indeed" I said, in genuine appreciation.

"You say you have been practicing as a lawyer. When are you planning to retire?" Jagadeesan asked me.

"When I don't get any more cases, that will be my time of retirement" I said, laughing.

We exchanged our contact details, before taking leave of each other.

After that, we conversed with each other over phone occasionally.

After a long gap, I got a call from Jagadeesan. I could sense his tension the very moment I head his voice.

"The police have arrested my son. I need your help in getting him out on bail. You should also handle the case" he said.

"Don't feel perturbed. Tell me which son of yours was arrested and on what charges."

"It is my third son. They say that he took the loan from the bank, by submitting fake documents to the bank."

"Oh! Don't mistake me. You should speak the truth to the lawyer. Only then, as a lawyer, I can do the right thing. Do you think that your son would have submitted fake documents?"

"He has admitted to me that he did so. But you should save him somehow. How proud I was about him! He has done such a horrible thing!" lamented Jagadeesan.

"Ok. I will ascertain the details of the case and then see what can be done. I want to ask you one thing. I think your son would have ventured into such an act, influenced by someone. Do you have an idea from whom your son would have derived such an influence."

"It was due to the company he had been keeping."

"Can you be more specific?"

"His previous employer was an unscrupulous person. My son who was close to him would have got the idea to defraud the bank, by observing his fraudulent schemes from close quarters."

"Who was his previous employer?"

"M.N.O.P."

"M.N.O.Pande! The man who had borrowed millions of rupees from the banks and run away from the country!" I asked, shocked.

"Yes. He was the one. My son should have got such ideas, because of his having been closely associated with M.N.O.P" said Jagadeesan, feeling disgusted.

 Thirukkural

Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 46
Shunning the Company of Mean People

Verse 452 (in Tamil):

nilaththu iyalbAl nIr thirinthaRRu Agum mAndharkku
inaththu iyalbadhu Agum aRivu.

Meaning:

Water will assume the quality of the soil it is present in. People will acquire the thinking of the group they are associated with.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'en magan' by the same author.)

Verse 453(Soon)
Verse 451