600. Trees Grown By the Father.

"You are twenty five years old. But you have still not got yourself a job!" said Thilakam.

"I have been trying" said her son Natarajan.

"I doubt it. I am not not well-educated. Still, I look for job advertisements in the newspapers and suggest the suitable ones to you. But, you apply only for a few of the opportunities I bring to your notice."

"Only I can decide what kind of a job will suit me. I can't apply for all the jobs advertised in the papers and picked by you as suitable to me."

"Why can't you seek the help of influential people known to us for getting a job through their contacts? I referred you to some people. But, you didn't approach them."

"I cannot meet everyone you want me to and beg for his charity" said Natarajan, showing his irritation. He added, "Are we struggling for survival? Are we not living comfortably?"

"We are surviving, alright. But, we can't continue like this, forever. After you get married and your family expands, won't you need a steady income to run your family? Your father died when you were a boy, leaving the responsibility of bringing you up, to me entirely. You will never understand how much I struggled single-handedly, to bring you up.. But, you have the habit of taking things easy. You didn't concentrate on your studies. I saved money for your college education, by being prudent in spending and cutting down many of my needs. But you were not interested in joining a college. You were happy to stop your studies at the school level. Now, you are not making any effort to take up employment. When I think of your future, I am worried. But you don't have even an iota of concern about your future" lashed out Thilakam, pouring out her feelings of anger and frustration.

Upset by his mother's words, Natarajan walked out of the house.

When Thilakam was engaged in nurturing the plants in the garden at her home, Sivakami, a neighbour came there.

"Did your son get a job?" Sivakami asked Thilakam.

"Not yet. He is still searching for a job" replied Thilakam.

Looking at the plants in the garden, Sivakami pointed to one tree and remarked, "This tree has grown up so tall!"

"All these plants were nurtured by my husband. Now they have grown into tall tress" said Thilakam, feeling both proud and nostalgic.

Seeing her son Natarajan step into the house, 'What is the difference between these plants and my son?' wondered Sivakami.

Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 60

Possessing Zeal

Verse 600 (in Tamil):

uram oruvarkku uLLa veRukkai ahdhu illAr
maram makkaLAdhalE vERu.

Meaning:

Abundant zeal is one's strength. People, devoid of this are trees in the form of human beings. 

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'appA vaLarththa marangaL' by the same author.) 

Verse 601
Verse 599