657. Loan Recovery Officer

If someone were to ask Kumaran where he was working and Kumaran give an answer, that person would look at Kumaran with respect, hearing the name of the multi-national bank he was working for.

Usually, people won't ask him what position he was holding in that bank. If someone asked, he would say, Loan Recovery Officer.' They won't probe him further about the nature of his job.

Kumaran's parents were not alive. His father's brother took the initiative of finding him a suitable match.

When Kumaran's uncle took him to a prospective bride's house, Kumaran expressed his wish to talk to the girl, in private. With the girl's parents acceding to his request, Kumaran and the girl sat inside a room and conversed.

"Do you know about my job?" Kumaran asked the girl. 

"Loan Recovery Officer in a multi-national bank" said the girl, named Girija.

"That is my designation, alright. But, in reality, I am a Loan Recovery Thug!"

"What do you mean?"

"My job is to recover the dues from people who owe money to the bank in the form of credit card dues or loan installments. I would go to their homes, yell at them and speak disparagingly of them, in a way to make them feel humiliated and shamed in the presence of the neighbours, who are bound to hear me deliberately speaking in a loud voice, intending it to be heard by as many people in the neighbourhood, as possible. Sometimes, I would enter the house, lock it from inside and threaten the borrower. Of course, only the borrower and his family members would be able to hear my threats, since I couldn't have any witnesses hearing the threats issued by me. Sometimes, I may even slap or hit some people to terrorize them. I will even threaten the borrower with murder, if he won't clear the dues within a specified period. I would also forcibly seize two-wheelers, TVs and other appliances from the defaulters. This is how I function as a Loan Recovery Office" said Kumaran, feeling bitter.

"Once I saw someone threatening one of our neighbours. We all felt scared" said Girija.  

"In the beginning, I didn't feel bad about what I had been doing. But, nowadays, I feel disturbed about creating a fear in the minds of the borrowers and making them pay the dues, even by taking extreme measures like selling their precious assets. Though I am only doing my duty, I feel that the guilt gets attached to me. Some people would curse me saying, 'You heartless fellow! You think you are going to be happy, after doing these things to us?' Some would curse me saying, 'Take it from me. You will be ruined!' I know that a lot of people would have cursed me silently. One person committed suicide, after I had threatened him of dire consequences, since he was unable to pay his dues."

"Why are you telling me these?"

"I don't want to continue in this job. I am not highly educated. I don't have special skills or experience. So, if I quit this job, I won't be able to get a good job. I may only get a job with a modest salary. Will you still consent to marry me?" asked Kumaran.

"Of course, I will" said Girija. "It is better to have a job with a small salary and live in poverty than have a well-paying job that involves doing harm to others" said Girija.

"In that case, I will come to your house and seek your hand in marriage, after taking up another job" said Kumaran, feeling elated.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 66
Purity in Action

Verse 657 (in Tamil):
pazhi malaindhu eydhiya Akkaththin sAnROr
kazhi nalguuravE thalai.

Meaning:  

The extreme poverty of the virtuous is far superior to the wealth obtained by heaping up sinful deeds.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'kadan vasUl adhikAri' by the same author.) 

Verse 658 (Soon) 
Verse 656