537. Tuesdays and Wednesdays

"Ask Mr. Muthuswamy to come to my cabin" Raghavan, Proprietor of Raghav Enterprises told the peon.

When Muthuswamy stepped into his cabin, Raghavan asked him to sit down and asked him, "You met Marimuthu, the builder, last week, When did he ask you to come again?"

"He asked me to come on Wednesday" said Muthuswamy. Immediately realizing that it was Wednesday, "Today" he added in a subdued tone.

"Did you go and meet him today?"

"No, sir. I will go now" said Muthuswamy, getting up from his seat.

"Sit down" said Raghav. "Marimuthu will be available only during the mornings. Why didn't you go in the morning? Did you forget?"

Muthuswamy, silently nodded his head, feeling embarrassed about his lapse.

Raghavan was silent for a few seconds. Then, he asked Muthuswamy, "What do you think is the reason behind my being a successful businessman today?"

Perplexed by this question, Muthuswamy said, "Your dedication and hard work."

"Perhaps. But I always consider one person to be behind my success."

"Who? Your father?"

Raghavan smiled and said, "It could be customary or even fashionable to say so. Many a successful person will attribute his success to his parents, perhaps with the expectation that such a declaration will raise his esteem in the minds of people, by creating an impression in their minds that he has great respect for and gratitude towards his parents. Of course, parents have an important role in the growth of all of us. It goes without saying that the contribution of parents is an important factor behind the success of any person. But often, a particular person would have impacted the life of a person in a significant way and contributed to his success directly or indirectly. I was referring to such a person. His name is Dhandapani. In my younger days, when I was struggling to get a job, I went to see him, using the reference of a person known to me."

"So, he was the one who gave you your first job?"

"No. He didn't give me a job. That is why I have to mention him. When I met him for the first time, he got the details about me and asked me to meet him the next Tuesday, just as Marimuthu asked you to meet him the next Wednesday.

"But, I didn't go on Tuesday, because I completely forgot about it. I remembered it just before I went to bed Tuesday night. I went to him the next morning. He asked me, 'I asked you to come on Tuesday. When did Wednesday become Tuesday?' I apologized to him admitting that I forgot about the appointment. He sent me away saying, 'I am sorry. I don't condone forgetfulness.'

"If I had met him on Tuesday as asked by him, he might have given me a job and my life would have been different. I felt very sorry about losing that opportunity due to my negligence and forgetfulness. Only I know the intensity of the agony I felt at that time, a period when getting a job was so difficult for me. From that day, That experience has remained fresh in my memory. The lesson I learnt from that experience was that I should never omit to do what I have to, due to indifference or forgetfulness. I consider Mr. Dhandapani a guide, for having taught me this valuable lesson.

"I am sharing my experience with you, for a reason. This is a small office. Most of the people who work here are young. You are the only person endowed with the advantage of age and experience. If I were to share my experience with the young people working in our office and advise them to make use of the lesson I have learnt, they would listen to me out of respect for my position, but may not take my advice seriously. But if you, a person who has been working with them closely, advise them, they would be inclined to think about your advice. Please cultivate in the minds of our employees the habit of doing things at the right time, without giving room for indifference, negligence or forgetfulness. If they adopt this habit, it will help them in their life more than their improved performance may help the firm. Based on my own experience, I can say with confidence that they would reap rich benefits in their lives, by adopting this approach. 

Thirukkural

Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 54

Avoiding Forgetfulness and Complacency

Verse 537 (in Tamil):

ariya enRu AgAdha illai pochchAvAk
karuviyAl pORRich cheyin.

Meaning:

The impossible doesn’t exist, when you do the task

diligently, with an alert, incomplacent mind.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'sevvAyum budhanum' by the same author.)

Verse 538 (Soon)
Verse 536