“This is the culture of our office. What difference
will it make, if only you and I are honest?” asked Senthil.
“It may not make any difference. But doesn’t doing our
work honestly make us feel good?” replied Balaji.
“Yes, but look at the situation. On the one hand, the
public puts pressure on us, trying to bribe us and demanding that we act in their favour
and on the other, our higher officials are unhappy with us, considering us as
obstacles in their path to make money by misusing their powers. And our
colleagues consider us foolish and mock at us!”
“Well, at least you have me and I have you for comforting
each other!”
“Today, a new officer is taking charge. Let us see how he
is going to be!” said Senthil.
When Thanikachalam, the new officer, assumed charge, he
called all the employees to his cabin.
“Listen carefully. I am very strict when it comes to
work. I will not tolerate even a small irregularity. Keep this in mind and be
sincere and honest in your work.” He began this way and gave a short speech
stressing the importance of honesty, service-mindedness, and dedication in
one’s duty.
When the two returned to their desks, Senthil told Balaji,
“At last! An honest officer has come. At least for us, working under
him will be a satisfying experience, I think.”
“You can’t judge him just by what he says. Let us see how
he actually behaves” said Balaji, smiling.
“It appears that having seen so many corrupt officers,
you find it hard to believe that any officer can be honest!” said
Senthil.
Balaji just smiled without replying.
A few days later, when they were speaking in private,
Senthil whispered to Balaji, “Your skepticism has proved to be right. Mr.
Thanikachalam is not an honest person, as I believed him to be."
“How did you come to this conlcusion?” asked Balaji.
“A businessman named Manickam had made an application for
approval of his plan. I told him that his plan won't be approved since it was not in conformity to the rules. He told me, ‘Just send the file to your officer, I will handle it.’ I
told him, ‘This officer is an honest man; he won’t agree to this.’ He threw a
derisive smile at me.
“I sent the file with my note that approval could not be given as per the rules. A week had passed. The file didn’t come back. This morning, Manickam called me and said, laughing, ‘I have taken care of your officer. He has given me the approval I asked for.’ Later, the file was sent back to me by the officer, overruling my objection and giving approval, justifying his decision with some dubious reasoning!”
Balaji smiled without saying anything.
“How did you suspect him right from the beginning? Did
you already know about him?” asked Senthil.
“No. I didn’t know him. But I believe that we should judge a person not by what he says, but by what he does. Many dishonest people loudly proclaim themselves to be honest—rather too loudly! “The morning Mr. Thanikachalam joined our office, I saw him at the temple. At that time, I didn’t know who he was. A small crowd was waiting in line before the temple was opened. He went and stood in the middle of the line. When people at the back objected, he said he had been standing in the line earlier, but went back to fetch his purse from his scooter parked outside. I knew that it was a lie. The line was short and I had been standing in the line for quite some time. He had not been in the line earlier. I wondered why he should lie for te sake of jumping ahead in a line that was quite small. When he went inside the sanctum sanctorum, he shoved aside even some elderly devotees to take his place in the front. Later, when I saw him in our office, I remembered how he had behaved in the temple. Judging him by his conduct at the temple, I thought he was not likely to be an honest man. And the way he kept insisting that he was very honest only made my suspicion stronger!” said Balaji.
Section 2
Assess Before Accepting
karumamE kattaLaik kal
Verse 504
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