630. A Miserable Life

"I consider only Madhavan as my competitor. I am not concerned about others" said Vivek.

"Twenty of us have joined this company as management trainees in this batch. Why do you consider only Madhavan as your competitor?" asked Murthy, another trainee.

"A competitor is a rival. 'Rival' also means 'enemy.' Vivek seems to view Madhavan both as a rival and as an enemy" commented Madhu, another trainee.

"Why do you have such an antagonism towards Madhavan?" Mohan, another trainee asked Vivek.

Vivek, who was quietly listening to the observations of his co-trainees, did not respond. 

Born in a wealthy family, Vivek had the advantage of studying in educational institutions of repute and having access to facilities like tuition, coaching etc, which helped him complete his education with high scores.

Vivek was one of the twenty people selected as management trainees by the company through a vigorous selection process, from hundreds of people who had applied for the position, .

Vivek made no secret of his conviction that he was the best among the twenty candidates selected as management trainees. Several among the twenty people in the batch, swayed by Vivek's wealthy status and the impressive personality built up by him, with the help of the high level education and training he had and his self-confidence resulting from his feeling of superiority, acted as if they had accepted him the best in the group of twenty.  

For some reason, Vivek developed an antagonism towards Madhavan, one of his fellow trainees, from the time he had first met Madhavan. 

Madhavan hailed from a poor, socially backward family. He had his education in government schools. He excelled in his learning through sheer hard work. 

After completing his college education in a government college, Madhavan applied for the job of a management trainee in the company and got selected.

Since the training program was residential, the trainees had the opportunity to get acquainted with one another, when they were in the hostel every day, after the training sessions were over

After coming to know about Madhavan's background, Vivek looked down upon him. He even developed an antagonism towards Madhavan, after observing during the training that despite his disadvantageous background, Madhavan excelled in knowledge and skills. 

One day, after the dinner, the trainees sat together in the common room of the hostel for a chat. One by one, each of them shared their experiences about their childhood days and the interesting experiences they had had in their school and the college.

Madhavan was listening to the narrations with a smile .

When Madhavan's turn came, Vivek announced mockingly, "Now, Mr. Madhavan will share his experiences starting from his childhood."

Madhavan began to narrate his life's events,.

Madhavan talked about his life in a hut situated near a drainage canal which constantly released a stinking odour, in unhygienic surroundings, where he ha lived with his parents and four siblings. 

He spoke about the hunger and malnutrition suffered by his family and how he and his siblings were sent to school only because meal was served to the students free of cost in the school, about the chronic illness of his mother resulting in her getting hospitaized every now and then and about the insults and humiliations suffered by him in addition to the deprivations suffered by him.

He spoke about his misfortunes and sufferings with a smiling face, as if he was telling a story.

"How do you manage to be so cheerful while narrating your harrowing experiences?" asked Madhu, expressing his astonishment.

"I don't know. I was always been thinking that I was living a happy life in the company of my parents and siblings. During the times we were starving, with no food to eat, we suffered the pangs of hunger. But, when we had something to eat, we would rejoice. We would even celebrate that experience. My parents didn't feel depressed about being poor. They were always cheerful and were often talking about the good things we had in life. Maybe because I had been witnessing my parents being cheerful and happy even during trying times, I also learnt to be happy, by not focusing my mind on my problems" said Madhavan

Vivek got up from his seat, went near Madhavan and embraced him. "You are great" he said, with genuine admiration. 

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 63
Unfazed in the Face of Trouble

Verse 630 (in Tamil):
innAmai inbam enak koLin Agum than
onnAr vizhaiyum siRappu.

Meaning:

If one accepts adversities as pleasures,

his adversaries too will acclaim him.

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

Verse 631 (Soon)
Verse 629