"I have already sent a notice to you through my lawyer. What is the need for you to meet me?" asked Sabhapathy, in a stern voice.
He then looked at Kannan and asked Guruswamy, "Who is this person?" in a cautious tone.
"He is Kannan. He has recently joined me as a partner" said Sabhapathy.
Kannan greeted Sabhapathy. Ignoring the greeting, Sabhapathy told Guruswamy, "You have taken him as partner recently. Did you come here to tell me that you are going to pay the amount due to me, using the capital brought in by him? I am so happy. When will I get my payment?"
"He has not invested any capital. He has joined me as a working partner. He is highly experienced. He has a lot of ideas. We are going to implement some of his ideas and improve our business" said Guruswamy.
"Glad to hear that. Does he have some ideas for the repayment of the loan taken by you from me?" asked Sbhapathy, mockingly.
Ignoring his jibe, Guruswamy said, "I have been having business dealings with you, for the past several years."
"Not business dealings. You have been doing a business and I have been giving you loans for your business. That is all."
"I meant to point out that I have borrowed money from you several times and promptly repaid them with interest."
"Not promptly. You never repaid any of the loans in time."
"I have paid penal interest for the period of delay."
"You were bound to. It was as per the terms of the loan agreement. You are talking to me, as if you have done some favour to me."
"I wanted to convey that dealings between you and me have been going on for many years, without any hitch or problem. Your money had always been safe with me. Only this time, there has been some delay. And, you have sent me a lawyer's notice, for attaching my house given to you as security for the loan. Please don't proceed with any legal action. I will settle your dues fully in two months' time" pleaded Guruswamy.
"Our lawyer has told me that if I file a case now, I will be able to get an attachment order from the court in two months' time. I will give you one week's time. You should repay the amount due to me with interest till that date, within this time. Otherwise, I will file a case in the court. I have nothing more to discuss with you. You may leave now" said Sabhapathy.
After coming out of Sabhapathy's house, Kannan told Guruswamy, "If, instead of talking to this man, you had spoken standing in front of a tree, the tree would have moved a little!"
"I noticed that you were just looking at his face. But you didn't utter a word. Why?" asked Guruswamy.
"He did not consider my presence at all. So, what could I have talked to him? You have repaid all the loans taken by you in the past. You have mortgaged your house as security for the loan. But, he refused to give you even two months' time. He could have said, 'Okay. I will wait for two months. If you don't repay the loan before the end of two months, I will file a case in the court.'" said Kannan.
"He has seen my track record and he knows I won't default. I thought he would show me some mercy."
"He is not capable of doing it!" said Kannan.
"Why do you say so?" asked Guruswamy, surprised.
"Because, he has no quality called compassion. You mentioned about my looking at his face for long. I was looking at his eyes. There was no trace of compassion in them. I realized that there would be no point in talking to him. That is why I kept quiet. Don't worry. We will make some arrangement to raise money and repay his loan within a week, the time given by him" said Kannan, reassuringly.
iyaindhu kaNNOdAdhavar.
Verse 575
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