490. A Long Wait For Revenge

A meeting of the Visaka committee of the company had been convened to inquire into complaint of sexual assault, given against Shivasankar, a senior manager of the company, by his personal secretary Kalpana.

"What is this thing called Visaka committee?" Sivasankar asked his colleague Sankameswaran.

"As per an order of the Supreme Court, all organizations are required to constitute a committee called Visaka committee, to enquire into allegations of sexual misconduct against any of their employees. There is aserious allegation against you. But you don't seem to be concerned at all! Is it due to the moral courage, resulting from your not being guilty, or...?" asked Sankameswaran.

"I have not committed any wrong. In my annual appraisal report about Kalpana, I had recorded that her performance was not satisfactory. Because of this, she didn't get her promotion. Angered by this, she has filed this complaint against me, by way of seeking a revenge."

"I believe you. But what if the members of the committee believe Kalpana? Be cautious."

"First of all, Kalpana has no evidence" said Sivasankar. Then, correcting himself, he said, "how can there be any evidence, when I didn't commit any wrong? Secondly, Manjula, the Chairperson of the Visaka committee, had worked under me for ten years. Only recently, she got a promotion and became a manager. She learned the work from me. She is very faithful to me. So, I am sure that the committee won't act against me."

But, belying Shivasankar's expectations, the Visaka committee determined that Shivasankar was guilty of sexually assaulting Kalpana and recommended his dismissal from the company.

After learning about the committee's verdict, Shivasankar met Manjula.

"Why did you do this to me, Manjula? Don't you know about me?" asked Sivasankar.

"Shiva! You know what I know about you, don't you?" said Majula, with a mischievous smile.

Shivasankar noticed that she addressed him 'Shiva,' deviating from her practice of addressing him 'sir' all these years.

"It is true that during the early years of your working under me, I once had sex with you, by forcing myself on you, ignoring your protests. But, I did it succumbing to a momentary weakness. I promised you that such an incident won't happen again and I have kept my promise. You have also put that incident behind you and been cordial with me all these years."

"I have not forgotten what you did to me. I was only biding for my time. I wanted to complain to the management about you, but a friend of mine dissuaded me from doing so, saying that you were related to the then General Manager. She cited the incidents of a couple of people losing their jobs, as a consequence of their complaining against you. So, I decided to wait. Since I was working under you, I had to pretend to be cordial with you. But I was careful to ensure that you won't make any sexual advances towards me, one more time. The General Manager who was protecting you had retired a few months back. The new General Manager is known for his integrity and no-nonsense approach, but I couldn't complain to him about an incident that happened ten years back. So, I had to keep waiting. When Kalpana cried to me narrating your amorous behaviour towards her, I asked her to record your amorous talk in her mobile and then file a complaint. She did accordingly. Since there was strong evidence against you, everyone in the committee could easily conclude that you were guilty. When you violated me ten years back, I had to suffer silently. It is a kind of poetic justice that I, a victim of your assault, came to occupy the position of a judge, as the chairperson of the Visaka Committee and pronounce a judgement against you" said Manjula.

When Sivasankar reluctantly looked at Manjula's face, he sensed in her eyes, the pain suffered by her ten years back.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 49
Knowing One's Strength

Verse 490 (in Tamil):

Kokkokka kUmbum paruvaththu maRRadhan
kuththokka sIrththa idaththu.

Meaning:

Be like a heron: still, when the time is not ripe, and spear the prey when it is near.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'pAliyal pugAr' by the same author.)

Verse 491
Verse 489