529. Getting Back with the brother

When Sudhakar returned home from the office, his wife Meena greeted him with the news, "There is a letter for you from your elder brother."

"I have been expecting a Money Order from him, but he has sent me a letter! Is he lamenting that due to poor harvest, he won't be able to send me any money?" asked Sudhakar, taking the letter from his wife's hand.

"You had a good education. You are living in a town, working on a job, with a fairly good salary. Unlike you, your brother had no education. He lives in the village and looks after the lands belonging to your family. He sends you a share of the income from the lands. This is an additional income for us. Instead of being satisfied with this, why do you keep finding fault with him?" asked Meena.

"We don't know how much is the yield from the lands. I have to accept my brother's statement about the yield. He gives an account of the income and expenses, takes his share and sends me a sum of money towards my share. I suspect that he may be cheating me. If I ask for any clarification on the accounts sent by him, he asks me whether I don't trust him and says he is hurt by my questioning him. I have no faith in him."

"People visiting our town from your village make it a point to meet you, say things about your brother and sow the seeds of suspicion in your mind. Whenever we visited your village, your brother and his wife treated us with kindness and affection. But, due to the suspicion you had developed on your brother, you skipped visiting your village for the las couple of years!"

As Meena was talking, Sudhakar read his brother's letter and told her, "He says since the yield from agriculture keeps coming down year after year, hereafter farming won't be a profitable activity. He plans to sell the lands and wants me to come to the village to finalize the sale."

"It could be a good idea. We can deposit the sale proceeds of the lands in the bank and keep the money as a reserve for our future needs. You won't have to suspect your brother any more! We will all be going to your village, won't we?"

"There is no need for you and the children to visit the village. After all, I don't want any relationship with my brother. I will go to the village and together with my brother, will finalize the sale and execute the sale deed. I will take my share of the sale proceeds and come back. After selling the lands, there will be no need for me to have any relationship with my brother" said Sudhakar.

After Sudhakar had returned from the village, he told Meena, "The lands have been sold. I have received my share of the sale proceeds. People in the village told me that given the market conditions in that region, we got a good price for our lands. Hereafter, I will have no truck with my brother. Goodbye to my village and goodbye to my brother!"

After several months, Sudhakar received a letter from his brother, inviting Sudhakar and his family for his daughter's marriage. A printed invitation was attached to the letter.

After reading the letter, Sudhakar told Meena, "Let all of us go to the village for the wedding. We will stay with my brother for a week. I will apply for leave from my office" said Sudhakar, enthusiastically.

"After getting your lands sold, you said that you won't have any truck with your brother!" asked Meena, in surprise.

"It was because of the lands commonly owned by us that my relationship with my brother became strained. Now that the lands have been sold, I have no issues with my brother. Even if he had cheated me in the past, I could disregard the past and have a good relationship with him!" said Sudhakar.

Thirukkural

Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 53

Cherishing One's Kith and Kin

Verse 529 (in Tamil):

thamarAgith than thuRandhAr suRRam amarAmaik
kAraNam inRi varum.

Meaning:

Well-wishers who had broken with you before, will return if the cause for resentment is rectified.

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

Verse 530
Verse 528