705. Why Did Thilakan intervene?

"We are grateful to you, sir, for giving us the order. Ours is a small firm. We consider getting an order from a large organization like yours an honour" said Pavitran.

Pavitran's business partner Thilakan, sitting next to him, nodded his head, in agreement. 

"Whether a firm is small or big is immaterial. You are making a product we need. So, we are buying that product from you. That's all" said Paranthaman, the Managing Director of the company.

When Pavitran sought to take leave of Paranthaman and got up from his seat, Paranthaman said, "If you are not in a hurry, I will get you tender coconut water to drink. You can have it and then leave. As you might have seen, we have a large extent of land and we have planted coconut trees in the land adjoining our factory."

He then called his peon and asked him to get coconut water for the visitors. 

Till the time the coconut water arrived, Paranthaman and Pavitran were talking about the industrial climate, in a general way.

Thilakan, being reserved in nature, was just listening to the conversation, without participating in it.

During the conversation, Pavitran made critical obsevations about some of the policies of the state government, policies he flagged as being adverse to the growth of industries in the state.

"The attitude of this government is unhelpful. It doesn't understand the problems of people running the industries. The government appears to be focused on creating problems for the industries rather than on helping the industries to thrive" said Pavitran.

Thilakan, who was keeping quiet all along, jumped into the conversation, saying, "It may not be fair to say so. It is true that we have faced some problems now and then. But, we cannot overlook the fact that the government has taken several steps to help the industries." 

He then turned to Paranthaman and asked him with a smile," Don't you agree, sir?"

Paranthaman smiled and nodded his head in agreement. 

When Pavitran and Thilakan were returning to their office, after their meeting with Paranthaman, Pavitran asked Thilakan, "You are the one who has always been criticizing the government. But, when I said something critical of the government's policies, you jumped in and refuted my statement, by speaking in support of the government. When you were speaking, you pressed my foot with yours. Taking the cue, I refrained from talking further on the subject. What made you change your opinion about the government suddenly?" asked Pavitran.

"I noticed that when you started criticizing the government, Paranthaman's face expression changed. I discerned that he didn't like your speaking against the government. As you know, many people have political leanings. Paranthaman may be a supporter of the ruling party. That could have been the reason for his disliking your criticism of the government. We have just established a warm relationship with him and he has been graceful, giving us an order, though the stature of our firm is nowhere near that of his company. I didn't want that relationship to be weakened by his resentment of your views about the government. That is why I pitched in saying something good about the government. Considering the way he reacted to my remarks, by spontaneously smiling and nodding his head, I can say that he was pleased" said Thilakan.

"I have missed perceiving Paranthaman's reaction, which you have so keenly observed. I have been blind. It is good that you, in spite of your reserved nature, stepped in at the right time and saved the situation for us" said Pavitran, holding Thilakan's hand, gesturing his appreciation and gratefulness.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 71
Divining the Mind

Verse 705 (in Tamil):
kuRippin kuRippu uNarAvAyin uRuppipinuL

enna payaththadhO kaN

Meaning:

If one can’t observe and interpret body language, what purpose do eyes serve amongst the organs?

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'thilaganin kuRukkIdu' by the same author.) 

Verse 705 (Soon)
Verse 704

704. The Add-ons Man!

"Sir! I would like to ask you something. I hope you won't mistake me!" Kesavan said, reluctantly.

"Ask, by all means!" said Branch Manager Kannan, with an encouraging smile.

"Madhavn and I have the same educational qualification. We joined this company at nearly the same time. Both of us have been holding identical positions in this company. We are drawing the same amount of salary."

"You have omitted some more similarities!"

"What are they, sir?"

"Both of you have two eyes, two hands , two legs, one nose and one mouth!"

"Sir!"

"I was just kidding. Continue."

"Both of us are reporting to you. But you tell Madhavan more things than you tell me."

Kannan threw a sharp glaze at Kesavan, as if he was looking into Kesavan's eyes.

"Pardon me, sir, if you consider my observation impertinent. You treat us with kindness and dignity. You speak to us in an informal way. You have told us that we can ask you anything, without any inibition. That was why I took the liberty of asking you this. I am sorry, once again" said Kesavan, feeling apprehensive that he had offended the Branch Manager.

"I didn't say your question was impertinent or inappropriate. I am just thinking how to answer your question. But, tell me how you say that I tell Madhavan things that I don't tell you."

"You give both of us similar tasks. But, I find that Madhavan, while executing a task, does a few additional things, like add-ons! Apparently, you should have given him instructions for doing such additional things. I feel bad that my execution of the task looks poor, when compared to that of a similar task by Madhavan. I have naturally felt that if you gave me too such additional instructions, I would do things in a better way."

Kannan didn't answer Kesavan. He rang the bell, called the peon and asked him to send Madhavan to his cabin.

When Madhavan came into his cabin, Kannan asked him, "Madhavan! You have sent me the file relating to last year's audit. I didn't ask for that file."

"Sir, you told me that the auditors would be coming in a day or two and asked me to keep the records ready. I thought that you would like to check whether we have rectified the deficiencies pointed out in last year's audit. That's why I sent to you last year's audit file. If you don't need it..." said Madhavan, wondering whether what he had done was inappropriate.

"Yes, I need that file. I wanted to know how you had sent me the file, even without my asking for it. Good job. You may leave" said Kannan, with a smile.  

After Madhavan had left, Kannan turned to Kesavan and said, "Did you see? I don't tell Madhavan anything more than what I tell you, relating to any task. But, he tries to understand my mind, thinks about what I would expect relating to the particular task and executes the task accordingly. I am not finding fault with your way of working. You are doing your work diligently. But, if you can put your mind into the objective of my giving you the task, think what additional things would serve my objective better and execute the job by providing for such additional things, you will be able to perform still better. This approach will help you excel in other areas of your life too" said Kannan. 

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 71
Divining the Mind

Verse 704 (in Tamil):
kuRiththadhu kURAmaik koLvarOdu Enai
uRuppOr anaiyarAl vERu.

Meaning:

Those who can sense thoughts without being told, are distinct; their resemblance to others is only in their human forms.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'ennaip pOl oruvan' by the same author.) 

Verse 705
Verse 703

703. God's Special Gift

"I don't understand why our MD* has been taking Varadu with him, while attending a meeting of the Chamber of Commerce, like someone taking a pet animal with him!" commented Santhan, somewhat irritably.

"Are you jealous that the MD has not been taking you along?" asked Sarala, sitting next to him in the office.

"The MD has not been taking even the Manager with him, while attending an important meeting. How can I expect him to take me along?" said Santhan.

"If the MD takes the Manager with him, who will control you people? Even when the Manager is in the office, you two have been chatting in the office. If he is not in the office, this won't be like an office at all!" quipped Kumaraswamy, a senior employee, who was listening to the conversation.

"The old man has been deluding himself that he is the only person in the office, working sincerely. The output we deliver, even after spending some time chatting, is much more than the output he delivers by immersing himself in work!" Santhan whispered to Sarala, with a smile.  

Varadarajan was sitting at a corner of the room in which the meeting of the Chamber of Commerce was being held.

Though there was some resentment among several members about Nallasivam's bringing his assistant to the meetings of the Chamber of Commerce, they could not object to it, since the rules permitted the presence of an assistant to a member in the meetings. 

A few minutes after returning to his office, after the meeting of the Chamber of Commerce got over, Nallasivam summoned Varadarajan to his cabin. 

"The two of them just returned to the office from the meeting. Why is the MD calling Varadu to his cabin?" Santhan asked Sarala, in a whispering tone.

"Perhaps, the MD wants to discuss the deliberations of the meeting with the 'senior executive' Varadu!" said Sarala, mockingly. 

"Tell me, Varadu" asked Nallasivam.

Varadarajan said, "Whenever, you signaled me, I observed the people pointed by you to me. The points made by Mr. Sambandham were not to the liking of many people. The suggestions given by Mr. Kathiresan, on the other hand, were well received by most of the people. However, M/s Sundaresan and And Shanmugam were not impressed. Then..."

After listening to the observations made by Varadarajan, with interest and amazement, Nallasivam said, "How do you do this, Varadu? I was sitting near these people, but I could not discern their feelings. But, observing from a distance, you have been able to read so much from their face expressions and gestures. Every time, I hear your observations, I am amazed."

"Sir! I just tell you what I perceived from the face expressions and gestures of people. Only you will know to what extent my perceptions are correct" said Varadarajan, feeling slightly embarrassed by his superior's words of appreciation. 

"Your observations have been confirmed to be accurate, every single time. The skill of reading the minds of people from their face expressions is a special gift given to you by God. By the way, did people in our office ask you why I had been taking you with me to the meetings?"

"Yes, they did. I told them that you were taking me with you, to remind you of the pills you have to take at regular intervals" said Varadarajan.

"Good" said Nallasivam, appreciatively.

*MD - Managing Director

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 71
Divining the Mind

Verse 703 (in Tamil):
kuRippin kuRippu uNarvArai uRuppinuL

yAdhu koduththum koLal.

Meaning:

A person, who, when signaled by his superior, can read others’ minds by observing them, should be retained as an aid, by giving him any amount of resources, for his services.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'varadhuvukku angE enna vElai' by the same author.) 

Verse 704
Verse 702

702. The Financier

Ramani and Guru went to meet Financier Shanmugam, for seeking his investment in the business venture they proposed to launch.

After listening to their business proposal, Shanmugam told them, "Your business plan appears to be good. I think I will be able to invest in your venture. But, I will confirm my investment, only after your project is approved by my business venture evaluation team, after a detailed study. In general, I will be able to evaluate the viability of a project, by having a look at the details. Til now, my judgement made after a quick study of the project details, has been endorsed by my team, after a detailed appraisal. But, I still follow the system. We need a system for anything, don't we?"  

"Fine, sir!" said Ramani.

"I will tell you what my terms are" said Sanmugam and outlined the terms of his investment. 

"Ok, sir!" said Ramani. 

Ramani and Guru got up to leave.

"You have not given me your project report. My team can decide, only after going through the project report" said Shanmugam. 

"We need to give some finishing touches to the report. We want the report to be perfect, when it is given to your team for evaluation. We will finalize the report and then hand it over to you" said Guru. 

After coming out of Shanmugam's house, Ramani asked Guru, "Have we not finalized the project report? You said that we need to give some finishing touches to the project. What are they?"

"Our project report is perfect. It doesn't need any finishing touches. I said so, only to avoid giving the report to Shanmugam. I think it is better that we don't take any investment from this gentleman" said Guru.

"Why? Did you find any of his terms unacceptable?"

"The terms mentioned by him are the standard terms that will be stipulated by any investor. I have no problem with them. But, I suspect that his intentions are not good. He seems to be having an ulterior motive in investing in our venture."

"What is that motive?"

After Guru mentioned his apprehension, Ramani asked him, "On what basis are you saying this?" 

"It is the impression I got by listening to him and observing him. I suggest that we contact a few people financed by him already and get their feedback" said Guru. 

"Perhaps, we can" said Ramani, somewhat reluctantly.

"Ramani! I am your working partner. You are the one who is investing the capital. I hope you don't consider my suggestion presumptuous" said Guru, in an apologetic tone.

"Not at all, Guru. I asked you to be my working partner, because I value your advice. I am happy that you shared your misgivings with me. As suggested by you, we will contact a few people financed by Shanmugam and ask them about their experience" said Ramani, patting Guru on his back. 

After a few days, Ramani called Guru over the phone and told him, "Guru! Your misgivings have been proved to be right. I made some enquiries about Shanmugam in the business circles known to me. I also contacted some of the people financed by Shanmugam and talked to them. This is what I found. In the past, Shanmugam made attempts to take over the firms financed by him, soon after they had begun to earn profit. He successfully took over some firms. Some other firms have been resisting his takeover attempts, but their energy and resources are getting drained in the process. How did you discern Shanmugam's motive, by listening to him for a few minutes?"

"We were breeding a cat in our house. When it looked at a prey, there would be a glow in its eyes, reflecting its excitement, anticipation and delight. I saw such an expression in Shanmugam's eyes. Thank God, my suspicions turned out to be right. If they had been wrong, you would have missed a good investment opportunity!" said Guru, feeling relieved. 

"They say God alone knows what lies in the minds of people. It is remarkable that you are able to peep into the mind of another person and dig out the thoughts hidden at the bottom of his mind. This is a divine skill. Taking you as my partner was the smartest decision I took in my life" said Ramani, with excitement and pride.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 71
Divining the Mind

Verse 702 (in Tamil):
aiyapppadAdhu agaththadhu uNarvAnai
dheyvaththOdu oppak koLal.

Meaning:

One who is able to ascertain without a doubt what is within the mind of another person is to be considered God. 

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'mudhalIdu vENdAm' by the same author.) 

Verse 703
Verse 701

701. The Stenographer's Impressions

Senior Executives of Vijay Engineering had assembled in the conference room at the company's head office, for a meeting with the senior executives of Pradeep Enterprises.

Krish, the stenographer of Vijayan, the Managing Director of Vijay Engineering, was also present in the meeting, sitting in a rear row, ready to take notes of the discussions. 

The meeting was organized by Vijay Engineering, with the aim of roping in Pradeep Enterprises as a customer of Vijay Engineering, by making a presentation to the senior executives of the latter, about the high quality of the products and services offered by Vijay Engineering. 

Before the meeting was to begin, Vijayan told Pradeep, the Managing Director of Pradeep Enterprises , "Sir! If you have no objection, my stenographer Krish will take notes of the discussion."

Pradeep nodded his head in agreement. 

After the meeting had been over and the senior executives of Pradip Enterprises had left, Vijayan called the senior executives of his company, who took part in the meeting, to his cabin. Krish was seated in Vijayan's room at the back. 

They discussed the deliberations of the meeting they had had with the senior executives of Pradeep Enterprises.

Referring to a specific proposal discussed in the meeting, Dhanapal, the Marketing Manager said enthusiastically, "Sir! I think they liked this proposal."

Vijayan looked at Krish, sitting behind every one. Krish nodded his head sideways, conveying his disagreement with Dhanapal's claim. 

"Mr. Dhanapal, I think you are wrong. They didn't like this proposal" said Vijayan. 

"How do you say so, sir?" asked Dhanapal, in a polite tone.

"This is what Krish's notes show. Am I right, Krish?" asked Vijayan, looking at Krish. 

Everyone turned back to look at Krish's face.

Krish nodded his head, confirming Vijayan's statement. 

"No, sir. I remember well. When we mentioned this proposal, they didn't say anything against it. Krish might have made wrong notes, by mistake" said Dhanapal, standing his ground. 

"It is true that they didn't say anything against the proposal. But, it doesn't mean that they liked it. They might have refrained from saying anything negative, by way of courtesy."

"In that case, how could Krish have made notes that they didn't like it?"

"Mr. Dhanapal, Krish didn't just take shorthand notes of the points discussed. He also made notes of what he had discerned from the face expressions and gestures of our guests, during the times various points were discussed" said Vijayan, smiling. 

The executives looked at Vijayan, with a perplexed expression.

"When we listen to people, we pay attention only to their words. We often don't pay attention to their face expressions and gestures. Even when a person is silent, we can understand what is in his mind, by studying his face expression. But, this requires a skill and persistent efforts to sharpen the skill. During the past two months, when Krish has been my stenographer, I realized that he had the gift of understanding what is in a person's mind, by studying the person's face expressions and gestures. Whenever some visitor came to my cabin and talked to me, Krish would observe that person. After the person left, Krish would tell me what he had read from that person's face expression.requires I have found that his reading has always been right. That was the reason I asked him to be present, during this important meeting" said Vijayan. 

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 71
Divining the Mind

Verse 701 (in Tamil):
kURAmai nOkkak kuRippu aRivAn egnAnRum
mARA nIr vaiyakku aNi.

Meaning:

He who reads the mind of the other person just by observing him, even with no words spoken by the other person, is ever an adornment to the world, which is endowed with unchanging oceans.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'surukkezhuththALarin kuRippugaL' by the same author.) 

Verse 702
Verse 700

700. How Did This Happen?

When Sundaram, the Manager of the firm, went to the cabin of Proprietor Vedamuthu, responding to his summons, Vedamuthu was furious.

Vedamuthu, who had been following the practice of first offering a seat to Sundaram, whenever he entered his cabin, didn't ask him to sit. The moment Sundaram stepped into his cabin, Vedamuthu started taking to him, venting his anger.

"Mr. Sundaram, I have entrusted the running of my firm to you. How can you be so irresponsible?"

"What did I do, sir?" asked Sundaram, perturbed by the Proprietor's words. 

"Ram Enterprises have been paying our bills, with a lot of delay. They arbitrarily deducted some amount from some of the bills, claiming that the quality of our product was not good. So, I took a decision to stop supplying our product to them and apprised you of my decision. But, you have supplied the product to them, defying my instruction!" 

"Sir! When Ram Enterprises made a request for supplying our product to them, I declined their request, stating the reason. But, I when I came to the office this morning, I found that the product was supplied to them yesterday, when I was on leave. I thought of bringing this to your notice, soon after your coming to the office. But, before I could do so, you called me" said Sundaram.

Vedamuthu thought for a while, called the peon and told him, "Ask Kumar to come to my cabin."

After a few minutes, Kumar entered Vedamuthu's cabin, seated himself on a chair and asked Vedamuthu, "You wanted to see me, uncle!" 

"Get up from your seat, first. Don't you see that the Manager is standing? How can you take your seat, before my asking you to?" flared Vedamuthu.

He then looked at Sundaram and said, "Please have your seat. In my perturbed state of mind, I forgot to ask you to sit. I am sorry" he added, apologetically.  

"It is fine, sir!" said Sundaram and took his seat.

Kumar got up from his seat, startled by Vedamuthu's display of anger and asked him, "What has happened, uncle?"

"Stop calling me 'uncle.' This is my office. You are an employee here. Sundaram is your boss. Other employees are your colleagues. I have heard that you have been trying to command every one in the office, as if you had the authority to do so, taking advantage of the fact that you are related to me. I wanted to call you and reprimand you, in private. But, before I could do so, you did something worse. You misused your authority and committed an irregularity" said Vedamuthu, his tone indicating that his anger had still not subsided. 

"No, uncle...I mean, no, sir! I didn't intend to..."

"The Manager has given clear instructions to all the staff that we should not make any supply to Ram Enterprises. He gave that instruction, in compliance with the decision taken by me. But, yesterday, when the Manager was on leave, goods have been delivered to Ram Enterprises. Was it done as per your instructions?"

"They begged me over phone that their position was precarious and that they desperately needed the product. That's why I agreed to their request." 

"Who gave you the authority to decide to supply the goods to Ram Enterprises? The other employees would have told you that the Manager had instructed that we should not supply our product to them!"

Kumar nodded his head, silently. 

"You have taken this decision, knowing that it was in violation of the instructions given by the Manager. Considering that you are my relative, the other employees did not want to disobey you and carried out your instruction. If you want to continue to work here, you should understand your responsibilities and know your limits. You should be aware that you are like any other employee working here in the same rank as you. If you cannot accept this and conduct yourself appropriatey, you are free to look for some other job" said Vedamuthu.

"Please forgive me, sir! I will not act this way again" said Kumar, in a feeble voice. 

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 70
Getting Close to the Ruler

Verse 700 (in Tamil):
pazhaiyam enak karudhip paNballa seyym
kezhu thagaimai kEdu tharum.

Meaning:

Taking advantage of proximity to the ruler and acting out of character will bring ruin.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'idhu eppadi nadandhadhu?' by the same author.) 

Verse 701
Verse 699

699. 'The Boy From Our Village'

"When I went to meet the minister in connection with our application for approval, I was pleasantly surprised to find Manickam in the minister's office. You know, what! He is the personal secretary of the minister!" said Murugappan, with excitement.

"Manickam? You mean...?" asked his brother Ganesan.

"Yes. The boy from our village, son of Kathiresan!"

"Oh! I heard that he cleared the IAS examination and became a government official. That boy! What did he say?"

"He told me that he would go through our application and then talk to the minister. When I made enquiries about him in the office, people said that he was a confidant of the minister. It seems that the minister had him posted as his personal secretary, by making a request to the Chief Minister."

"Given that Manickam is so close to the minister, the minister will definitely listen to him. Our job will be got done easily" said Ganesan, his tone indicating that he shared the excitement of his brother. 

"What do you mean, Manickam?" asked Murugappan, stunned.

"Yes, uncle. I went through your application. As per the rules, we cannot give approval for your proposal" said Manickam. 

"The application has traveled up from the lowest level, passing through many levels of government, with officials at every level recommending it. You should be aware how much trouble we would have taken to get the application moved from one level to the next higher level, carrying a favourable recommendation" said Murugappan, winking his eyes, to convey a cryptic message to Manickam.

"The minister won't give approval for any proposal that is not in conformity with the rules" said Manickam, tersely. 

"Manickam! I have heard people saying that the minister would act as per your recommendation. You hail from our village. Won't you help us?" pleaded Murugappan.

"I am sorry, uncle. The minister had me posted as his personal secretary out of his confidence in my integrity. He strongly believes that everything should be done, strictly in accordance with the rules. I won't be able to help you, since your application does not conform to the rules" said Manickam.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 70
Getting Close to the Ruler

Verse 699 (in Tamil):
koLap pattEm enRu eNNik koLLAdha seyyAr
thuLakkaRRa kAtchiyavar.

Meaning:

The clear-visioned do nothing base, deeming that they have the monarch's grace. 

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'namma Urp paiyan' by the same author.) 

Verse 700
Verse 698

698. An Unceremonial Exit

"Karikalan has sacked me from his cabinet. What wrong did I commit?" Kathiravan furiously asked Nalankilli, the president of the party.

"Dropping a minister from his cabinet is the prerogative of the Chief Minister" said Nalankilli, tersely.

"Of course, it is. But, I was a senior minister. I am senior to Karikalan in the party. I am elder to him in age. Considering these factors, should he not have talked to me about any issue he might have had with me, before announcing the decision in public."

"Your being a senior leader is the issue!" quipped Nalankilli.

"What do you mean, Nalankilli?"

Before Nalankilli could answer Kathiravan, Nalankilli's telephone rang."

"It is the Chief Minister" said Nalankilli, looking at the name displayed on the phone's screen. He then answered the call. "Please tell me, sir!"

After listening to the words from the other end, Nalankilli said, "Yes, sir. We will do as you say. Please leave the matter to me. I will take care of it."

After the call had ended, Nalankilli asked Kathiravan, "Did you hear me, when I spoke to the Chief Minister?"

"I couldn't make out what you two were talking about" said Kathiravan. 

"My question was not about what I spoke to the Chief Minister, but about how I spoke to him. You would have observed how I used to talk to him before he became the Chief Minister. I would address him by his first name. In his early days in the party, I had even addressed him as I would an errand boy. After all, I was much senior to him in the party. It was not inappropriate for me to have taken liberty with him, considering that I was occupying a higher position in the party hierarchy and that I was older than him by several years. Now that he has become the Chief Minister, I have to address him with the respect due to his office. Won't you agree?"

"What are you driving at?" asked Kathiravan, having begun to understand the point made by Nalankilli. 

"You are a senior leader in the party alright. But, when you had been a member of Karikalan's cabinet, you were addressing him in a disrespectful way, as you had been doing earlier. During your conversations with other people in the party, you referred to the Chief Minister in a casual way, without showing the respect due to the position held  by him. Just now, when you were complaining to me about the Chief Minister's dropping you from the cabinet, you referred to him by his name and spoke about him in a casual way. People in power will resent others taking liberty with them and displaying their closeness to them in the presence of other people. That was the reason the Chief Minister dropped you from his cabinet. Since you are an experienced and valuable person, you may get an opportunity to be included in the cabinet again, after some time. At that time, please act appropriately, in maintaining your relationship with the powers that be" said Nalankilli. 

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 70
Getting Close to the Ruler

Verse 698 (in Tamil):
iLaiyar inamuRaiyar enRu igazhAr ninRa
oLiyOdu ozhugp padum.

Meaning:

A Minister should behave in accordance with the authority in the person of a King and not belittle him considering that he is junior to or younger than the Minister or that he is a relative.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'padhavi nIkkam' by the same author.) 

Verse 699
Verse 697

697. 'House Arrest'

"Minister! I am happy to hear from you and the Chief of Guards that crimes have been brought down, as a result of people committing crime having been caught and convicted. Do you have any special information about those lodged in prisons?" asked King Pamabadran.

"No, Your Majesty. As per your directions, the prisoners are given healthy food. Their health is periodically checked by the physicians. If a prisoner dies in the prison due to old age or sickness, his relatives are informed and his body is cremated as per his family tradition at government expense. Under your governance, everything is being done properly" said the Minister.

After a brief pause, the King asked, "Has any person been kept under house arrest?"

"Your Majesty! There is no system of keeping anyone under house arrest in our country. This has been the status from the time of your late father" said the Minister.

After coming out of the King's chamber, the Chief of Guards asked the Minister, "Sir! When the King asked whether any person had been kept under house arrest, you answered in the negative!"

"Yes, I did. Why, have you kept anyone under house arrest?" asked the Minister, looking at the Chief of Guards, with an innocuous smile. 

"Sir! There is Amudhavalli..."

"We have not kept Amudhavalli under house arrest. As per the directions given to us by the late Thungabadran, father of the present King, we have made arrangements for Amudhavalli to stay in her house safely and live there comfortably, without stepping out of the house. That's all!"

"Sir! As you know, she was the concubine of the late king..."

"My dear friend! The late king had made this arrangement with the objective of keeping his relationship with Amudhavalli hidden from his family members. The arrangement was made to prevent Amudhavalli coming into contact with anyone or anyone from outside her house contacting her. Just as security guards are present in your house and my house to give protection to our family members, security guards have been posted in Amudhavalli's house for her protection. It was the late King's diktat that this arrangement should continue during the lifetime of Amudhavalli and that this fact should not be known to anyone other than the two of us. Bear this in mind!"

"But, from the King's question posed to us, it appears that he has  come to know of this arrangement!"

"I don't know whether the King asked this question after coming to know of the fact or out of a blind suspicion. But this matter is not something he needs to know about. This information is not useful to him anyway. That is why, I gave him an evasive answer, even after he specifically asked us whether any person was kept under house arrest. We have not kept anyone under house arrest. We have given protection to some people. That's all" said the Minister, with a chuckle.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 70
Getting Close to the Ruler

Verse 697 (in Tamil):
vEtpana solli vinaiyila ejnjnAnRum
kEtpinum sollA vidal.

Meaning:

Ministers should tell the king things he is interested in, but should not talk about useless things, even if he asks about them.

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

Verse 698
Verse 696

696. Getting the King's Approval

"Our country has been gripped by a severe famine. People are struggling to get food. You may have to bring this to the notice of our King and arrange for help to be extended to the starving people" the Treasurer told the Minister.

"That is what I have been thinking about. The only way to give immediate relief to the people is to release food grains from the government granary and distribute them to the people free of cost. As you know, our King is against offering anything free to the people. I have been thinking how to convince the King to agree to offer food grains to people free of cost" said the Minister. 

"The situation will improve, only if the monsoon sets in. But, there are no signs of the rains arriving" said the Treasurer, with concern.

The Minister's face brightened instantly. "I have an idea" he told the Treasurer. 

"You have arranged for mass feeding in many parts of the country. The King has announced that the mass feeding would continue till the monsoon set in. How did you get the King to agree to your proposal?" asked the Treasurer, with amazement. 

"Our king has no inclination towards philanthropy. Since you are my friend, I am telling you this. But, he has abiding faith in Astrology and Religion. He will not accept a suggestion based on a humanitarian approach. But, he will readily accept any suggestion based on Astrology or Religion. So, I asked a reputed astrologer to tell the King that our country had been going through an astrologically unfavourable phase and that if the King organized mass feeding throughout the country, it would result in early occurrence of the monsoon, leading to the bad phase coming to an end" said the Minister.

"How did the astrologer agree to convey a false message to the King?"

"He agreed to my suggestion after I convinced him that his action would save the country from a catastrophe. What he said was not false either. When people are fed, does it not mean that the effects of famine are being overcome to a great extent? The King readily agreed to the suggestion given by the astrologer.

"I told the King that it won't be enough if the government alone provided food grains and money for the mass feeding. I explained to him that only if the wealthy people, the merchants and the landlords also participated in this program by contributing money and grains, the mass feeding could be carried out for a few months, till the time the monsoon arrived. He accepted my suggestion and called upon the wealthy people to contribute money and grains. Because of this, a lot of people including those who are only moderately rich are contributing their mite to the mass feeding program. I have the satisfaction of having facilitated the starving people getting at least one square meal a day, till the time conditions become normal. I got this idea, after listening to you saying that things would improve only with the onset of the monsoon. I should thank you for this idea!"

The Minister looked at the Treasurer with a feeling of warmth and smiled.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 70
Getting Close to the Ruler

Verse 696 (in Tamil):
kuRippu aRindhu kAlam karudhi veRuppila
vENduba vEtpach cholal.

Meaning:

The minister should gauge the mood of the ruler, await the ripe time, avoid what he abhors and speak what is essential, in a way it charms him.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'arasarin sammadham' by the same author.) 

Verse 697
Verse 695

695. The Suitable Candidate

"One of my personal assistants is retiring. I have to post another person in his place. I have heard that both of your personal assistants are very efficient. Will you spare one of them to me?" Chief Minister Selvan asked his cabinet colleague Anbumozhi, smiling at him.

"There are many efficient candidates suitable for the position, in the secretariat. Why do you want to steal one of my assistants?" replied Anbumozhi. 

Having worked together in the party since their younger days, the two men were intimate and friendly. Though Anbumozhi served under Selvan, the two talked like friends, when they were alone.

Having observed the leadership qualities of Selvan from close quarters, since his early days in the party, Anbumozhi readily accepted Selvan as the leader. On his part, Selvan gave Anbumozhi the respect and the recognition due to him, both in the party and in the government.

"Everyone says that your two assistants are the best of the lot. They also say that it was your training that has moulded them into perfection!"

"If that is the case, is it fair on your part to deprive me of an assistant trained by me?" 

"You can appoint someone new and train him to be the best, just as you had trained the two men with you now."

"Ok. I will spare one, as desired by you. I suggest that you take Murugan."

"Of your two assistants, I hear that Babu is more efficient than Murugan. I can understand your desire to keep the better of the two with you. I accept your offer. I will take Murugan" said Selvam. 

"I am not offering Murugan to you because I want to keep the better of the two. You being the Chief Minister, I believe that Murugan is more suitable than Babu to be your assistant" said Anbumozhi. 

"Why do you say so?"

"I will show you. I will go to my cabin now and call you over phone, and keep the call open. Please listen to the conversations that will take place in my room. I will then come back to your cabin and explain" said Anbumozhi and left the Chief Minister's cabin. 

Anbumozhi returned to the Chief Minister's cabin after a few minutes. 

"What do you think, Chief Minister? Do you understand why I said that Murugan was better suited than Babu to be your personal assistant?" he asked Selvan, smiling. 

"I understand, Anbumozhi! After getting back to your cabin, you called Murugan. He knew that you had returned after meeting me. But he didn't ask you anything about your meeting with me. He listened to your instructions and left. You then called Babu. The moment he stepped into your room, he asked you, 'Sir, did you discuss something important with the Chief Minister?" You said, 'No.' He then listened to your instructions. Before leaving your cabin, he again asked you, 'Sir! Did the Chief Minister give you any information about some new developments?' I realized that he was curious to know what transpired in your meeting with me. I understand that you didn't recommend Babu, because you felt that his inquisitive nature made him unsuitable to function under me, considering that as the Chief Minister, I will be handling many sensitive matters" said Selvan.

"Yes. If I spoke to someone in private, Babu would be curious to know what we had discussed. Most of the time, he could not even contain his curiosity and ask me about what was discussed. But, Murugan won't do so. He had never asked me to tell him about anything that I discussed with anyone in private. He knows that I will tell him about things he needs to know and wait for me to tell him what I choose to" said Anbumozhi.

"You have been thoughtful in suggesting Murugan. I appreciate your decision. A person like Babu, who has too much curiosity, may even listen at the doors!" said the Chief Minister. 

"Possible. But I believe that so far he has not done such a thing. Perhaps, I have to be more cautious. But, you are lucky. You are getting a good assistant, Murugan. Congratulations!" said Anbumozhi, laughing.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 70
Getting Close to the Ruler

Verse 695 (in Tamil):
epporuLum OrAr thodarAr maRRu aporuLai
vittakkAl kEtka maRai.

Meaning:

When the king is engaged in secret counsel (with others), ministers should neither overhear anything, nor pry into it with inquisitive questions, but (wait to) listen, when it is divulged (by the king himself.)

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'amaichcharin udhaviyALar' by the same author.) 

Verse 696
Verse 694

694. What Had Gone Wrong?

"Conducting a consecration ritual for the temple is a laudable thing. I am always happy to render my help for such causes."

Murthy was elated by Kasi's words. 'It appears that our objective will be achieved easier than I had anticipated" he thought.

He turned to Ramaswamy, sitting beside him. Ramaswamy was also beaming. 

'The other seven members of the 'temple consecration committee' seated behind him would all have been excited by Kasi's response,' Murthy thought, with satisfaction.

The people of the town, after having decided to conduct a consecration ritual for the temple, constituted a committee with nine members and entrusted it with the task of mobilizing the funds, by seeking donations.

The committee members decided to first visit Kasi, a prominent and wealthy person in the town, known for his philanthropic nature. The encouraging words spoken by him, immediately after hearing the proposal, naturally enthused the members.

After briefly apprising Kasi of the plan, Murthy looked at Ramaswamy. On receiving his signal, he told Kasi, "Sir! We will take leave." 

He then took out a notebook from his bag, showed it to Kasi and said, "Sir! We bought a new notebook, got it placed before the idol of the Lord in the temple and brought it with us. Please write your name as the first donor and the amount you will be donating."

Kasi did not extend his hand to receive the notebook from Murthy. He told him, "I will enter my name later. I am not particular that my name should be on the top. Collect donations from other people. I will give my contribution after some time." 

"No, sir. We want your name to be on the top. You can pay the money later. Please write your name and..."

Kasi interrupted Murthy, by waving his hand. "I don't know how good the harvest is going to be this year. I have to consider such factors before making a commitment. You may come to me later."

He stood up and went inside, signaling that they should leave.

A perplexed Murthy got up from his seat. Others followed suit and all of them walked out of Kasi's house.

After coming out of Kasi's house, Murthy told Ramaswamy, "He was so enthusiastic at the beginning. I don't understand why he changed his mind within minutes."

Ramaswamy told the other members, "You may go home now. We will meet at Murthy's house at 5 o' clock in the evening and discuss our further course of action."

After the others had left, Ramaswamy told Murthy, "Let us talk while we walk."

After walking a few steps, Ramaswamy told Murthy, "We two were sitting in the first row. The other seven were sitting behind us in two rows. You couldn't have noticed what some of them were doing."

"I thought they were sitting idle" said Murthy.

"If they had been sitting idle, things would have gone well. Kasi would have given us a substantial sum as his contribution!"

"What do you mean?"

"Subbu and Mani, sitting in the third row, were chatting with each other and giggling. Guna and Karunakaran sitting in the second row looked back at them, with concern. I thought of asking Subbu and Mani to be silent. But, realizing that doing so would have made it glaring, I kept quiet. Since you were engaged in conversing with Kasi, you didn't notice it. But Kasi noticed it."

"Oh! As you had said, I didn't notice it. But, was it such a grave offense making Kasi feel annoyed?" asked Murthy.

"We should be very careful in the presence of the elderly, the powerful, the rich and the elite. These people are highly sensitive. They expect others to be polite, humble and calm in their presence. Kasi should have felt offended by the two men in our group chatting and giggling and considered heir behaviour disrespectful. That was why he retracted from his decision to give us a donation. You and I should meet him after a couple of days and apologize to him about the behaviour of the two members of our group. I hope that he would be pacified, if we do so. While talking to our group members this evening, let us exhort them to behave appropriately, while meeting other people. We will pull up Subbu and Mani privately and make them realize how their inappropriate behaviour has hurt our mission" said Ramaswamy.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 70
Getting Close to the Ruler

Verse 694 (in Tamil):
sevich chollum sErndha nagaiyum aviththu ozhugal
AnRa periyAr agaththu.

Meaning:

Whisper not in others’ ears nor giggle with them

in the presence of dignified elders.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'mUrththikkup puriyavillai' by the same author.) 

Verse 695
Verse 693

693. Bhupathy's Confidence

It took three days for the cabinet minister Bhupathy to realize that the Chief Minister, who would call him to his cabin and talk to him at least once a day had not called him for the past three days.

'How did I fail to notice this?' Bhupathy cursed himself. 'Perhaps, immersed in my work, I failed to realize this."

Bhupathy called up the personal secretary of the Chief Minister and asked him to fix up an appointment with the Chief Minister.

"Sir! The Chief Minister is very busy. He has instructed me not to give any appointment to anyone" said the secretary.

"He would have said so in a general way. Tell him that I want to meet him. He will definitely give me an appointment,"

After a short pause, the secretary said, "I am sorry, sir. The Chief Minister particularly told me not to give you any appointment."

That evening, Bhupathy went to the party office, where he met the party president.

"I find that the Chief Minister doesn't want to see me. Is there any issue?" Bhupathy asked the party president. 

"The Chief Minister had received a complaint about your department. He summoned the secretary of the department and asked for a clarification about the issue raised in the complaint. The secretary told him that you had taken a decision, overruling his recommendation. The decision taken by you has created a bad name to the government. That is the reason the Chief Minister is unhappy with you" said the party chief.

"Oh! It should be about my relaxing some terms in the contract for the construction of a bridge. I did so for expediting the construction, by removing some impediments. But the construction had been completed and the bridge opened for the use of people. The outcome has been good, after all" said Bhupathy.

"Well, I don't know with what intention you relaxed the terms of the contract. But, there has been a complaint that relaxing the norms enabled the contractor to circumvent some provisions of the contract relating to the safety of construction. There is a perception among the people that quality could have been compromised in the construction of the bridge."

"This is a bogey raised by the opposition parties!"

"When you decided to act against the recommendation of the secretary of the department, you should have apprised the Chief Minister of the situation and taken his concurrence for your line of action. Won't your failure to have informed the Chief Minister of your plan of action, despite your being close to him, give rise to suspicions about your intentions?"

"If I talk to the Chief Minister in person, he will understand my position."

"You know about our Chief Minister. If anything happens to shake the confidence he has on somebody, it will be very difficult for that person to regain his confidence."

"I plan to meet him at his residence this evening. I will explain things to him and convince him" said Bhupathy, confidently.

The party president checked a message he had just received on his mobile phone and told Bhupathy, "I think there will be no need for that. The Chief Minister has just dropped you from his cabinet. This news should be on all the television channels now."

He then switched  on the television set that was in the room, using a remote control, to facilitate Bhupathy to watch the news.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 70
Getting Close to the Ruler

Verse 693 (in Tamil):
pORRin ariyavai pORRal kaduththa pin
thERRudhal yArkkum aridhu.

Meaning:

If people close to the ruler want to safeguard themselves, they should avoid (the commission of) serious errors, for if the ruler's suspicion is once roused, no one can remove it.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'enna thavaRu seydhu vittEn' by the same author.) 

Verse 694
Verse 692

692. The Unlikely Successor

Chief Minister Adimoolam surprised every one, by issuing a statement that he was going to retire from active politics. He said that he would be resigning as the Chief Minister and that after sometime, he would also step down from the position of the president of his party. He concluded his statement with the announcement that the high power committee of his party would decide who would succeed him as the Chief Minister.

That the high power committee of his party with twenty members had-picked by Adimoolam was just a mirror that would reflect his wishes was known to all.

The media speculated on who would succeed Adimoolam as the Chief Minister. The names of quite a few senior leaders of the party were floated.

But, quite unexpectedly, the high power committee of the party chose Poovarasan, a junior minister in Adimoolam's cabinet, who became a minister for the first time only two years back, as Adimoolam's successor for the Chief Minister's post. 

"When there are many seniors like us, how could our leader pick up a rookie like Poovarasan?" lamented a senior minister.

"What can we do? Adimoolam is the supreme leader of the party. He does things as per his wishes. No one has the courage even to make a suggestion that will not be in congruity with his wishes. After some time, he is going to step down from the position of the party president. Let us hope one of us, the seniors, get that position!" said another senior leader.

"You made it, Poovarasan! How did our leader choose you, overlooking the aspirations and expectations of many senior leaders?" asked Arul, a friend of Poovarasan in the party. 

"I have been with the party for the past twenty years. I had been a district secretary. When I had the chance to observe our leader from close quarters, I realized that he was highly possessive. He is also a suspicious person. He has always been nurturing a suspicion that other leaders in the party might be making attempts to undermine his leadership and conspiring to overthrow him at the appropriate moment. He wanted to be in power perpetually. He decided to resign only after the doctors advised him that given his state of health, he should be under rest. Even several years back, I understood that if I had to secure our leader's confidence, I should not aspire for power. He had offered to make me a minister a couple of times. I politely declined his offer twice, saying that I had no desire to be a minister. If he had sensed that I desired to be a minister, he would have begun to suspect that I could, at some time, conspire to unseat him and grab his position. Only after he offered me the post for the third time and insisted that I should accept the position, I accepted it reluctantly. Now, because of the confidence he has in me, he has made me the Chief Minister" said Poovarasan.  

"He is going to give up his leadership of the party also after some time. What will you do, if the new president of the party tries to unseat you and make some other person the Chief Minister?" asked Arul. 

"You don't seem to have understood what I said. When I told the leader that I had no aspiration for power, I was not pretending! After knowing our leader's mind, I made up my mind that I won't aspire for any position in the party or in the government and that I would remain faithful to our leader. In fact, I have conditioned my mind to firmly stick to that attitude. So, I won't feel disappointed or sorry, if the office of the Chief Minister is taken away from me, sometime in the future!" said Poovarasan.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 70
Getting Close to the Ruler

Verse 692 (in Tamil):
mannar vizhaiba vizhaiyAmai mannaRal
manniya Akkam tharum.

Meaning:

Not aspiring for the things desired by the king will give lasting riches through the (grace of the) king.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'pudhiya mudhal amaichchar' by the same author.) 

Verse 693
Verse 691