143. The Proprietor's Wife

"You are thirty. Why do you still remain a bachelor?"

"Ask him why he has not yet married? How do you know that he is a bachelor?"

"Shsh.. The boss may hear us!"

Ganapathy, referred to as 'boss,' did hear the conversation between his employees. 

Ganapathy was aware that the message implied in the conversation that one may be unmarried, but may not be a bachelor applied to him as well. Perhaps one of the employees realized this and hence asked his colleague to shut up, lest it should be heard by Ganapathy.

Over the last several years, many people had been asking Ganapathy why he had not married. Ganapahy had been just laughing off the question, or giving an evasive reply to the question .

About twenty five years back, when Ganapathy was a young man of twenty years, he joined a textile shop in Madurai as a sales assistant. Through sheer hard work, sincerity and dedication, he earned the confidence and affection of Paramasivam, the proprietor of the shop and went up fast in the ladder of hierarchy of the shop. 

In five years, Ganapathy rose to the position of he manager of the shop.

Ganapathy was overwhelmed by the respect and recognition he received from every one, by virtue of being in a position next only to the proprietor. Other employees both admired and envied his feat in reaching a high position within a short time.

Ganapathy virtually worshipped his proprietor, who elevated him to the high position. To Ganapathy, his proprietor Paramasivam was Lord Paramasivam* himself..

Paramasivam, who was fifteen years older than Ganapathy, had lost his wife, within a couple of months after getting married. After that, he didn't marry again and devoted himself entirely to his business.

At the age of forty five, Paramasivam married a young woman of twenty five years.

Ganapathy, who, had been visiting Paamasivam's house quite often, avoided visiting his house, after Paramasivam got married. On the few occasions he had to go to the proprietor's house, Ganapathy would stand outside the house, talk to Paramasivam and leave.

Usually, Paramasivam, would take the cash home, after closing the shop at 9 pm. 

One day, Paramasivam left the shop in the afternoon, as he had to go to a a nearby town on an urgent business matter. Before leaving, he told Ganapathy, "I will be returning only late at night. I won't come back to the shop. You can close the shop at 9, take the cash and hand it over to my wife."

Ganapathy went to the proprietor's house some time past 9 pm, taking the cash with him.

The proprietor's wife, who opened the door, said "Come in."

"I came here to hand over the cash. Please count and check it" said Ganapathy, handing over the cash bag to her, without stepping into the house.  

"Handing over the cash to me, standing outside the door of our house is not proper. Moreover, it is night. We have to be cautious" she said.

Ganapathy entered the house reluctantly. 

What happened after he stepped into the house was something he could never reconcile to. 

When Ganapathy left the house after about half an hour, the proprietor's wife told him, with a smile, "Visit me quite often,"

When Ganapathy saw his proprietor the next day at the shop, he found it difficult to look straight at his face.

'What a perfidious act have I committed, betraying the confidence of a person who elevated me, a helper in his shop, to the position of the manager! How can I face him every day?' he reflected, cursing himself for his indiscrete act.

He could not continue to work there for long.  

After a week, he sought and got leave of absence for a few days, for visiting an ailing relative at Trichy. 

He didn't have many possessions. He packed his belongings in a suitcase and left. He didn't tell his landlord that he was vacating his room. Since he had paid three months' advance rent to the landlord, there won't be any rent due from him. 

Having worked for ten years, Ganapathy had saved some money. 

He went to Trichy, and stayed in a small lodge for two days. He sent a letter by post to Paramasivam, stating that with his relative having passed away, he was required to stay with the relative's family and help them. He politely conveyed the message that he won't be able to come back to Madurai and continue in his job. He ended the letter conveying his gratefulness to the proprietor for giving him a good position and for reposing his trust in him. 

He then left Trichy.

Since there was a possibility of Paramasivam coming to Trichy, locating him and persuading him to come back, Ganapathy chose a small town near Cuddalore and started a textile shop in a small way, using his savings as investment.

Fifteen years had passed. His business had grown and his shop become one of the most prominent ones in that region. 

During these fifteen years, Ganapathy received many proposals for marriage from parents of prospective brides. But he politely declined them. them.

The very thought of marriage, brought along with it, the memory of his immoral union on that day, with the proprietor's wife. 

People known to him kept asking him, "How long are you going to stay alone?"

He had no answer to this question. 'Perhaps, for my entire life' he thought. 

*Paramasivam - one of the names of Siva, a Hindu God. 

Thirukkural

Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 14
Possession of Propriety 

Verse 143 (In Tamil)

viLindhArin vERu allar manRa theLindhAril
thImai purindhu ozhuguvAr.

Meaning:

One who had an immoral relationship with the wife of a person who trusted him is equivalent to a dead person. 

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'nadandhadhai ninaitthu' by the same author)

Verse 144 (Soon)
Verse 142