691. The Minister's Proposal

"How are you, bard?" asked the voice from the other end of the phone.

Tamil scholar and poet Vedachalam was momentarily stunned, recognizing the voice on the phone.

"What a pleasant surprise, sir! If you had sent me a message through your personal secretary, I would have come and met you" said Vedachalam, his nervousness reflecting in his voice.

"It is fine. Instead of sending a message through my secretary, I am giving you the message myself! Meet me at my office at 4 pm today."

Minister Subbu ended his conversation abruptly. 

"You once told me that you had bought a house-site several years back. Are you still holding it?" asked Subbu. 

'He remembers my telling him about buying a house-site during a casual conversation long time back! But, why is he asking me about it?' wondered Vedachalam.

"Yes. I still have it" said Vedachalam. 

"What will be the present market price of the site?"

"I have not checked. I guess it may be in the range of 1 to 1.5 million rupees. But, why are you asking this question?"

"If someone offers to buy the site for 20 million rupees, will you sell it?" asked Subbu, with a mischievous smile.

"How is this possible, sir? Who will buy a site worth about 1.5 million rupees for 20 million rupees?" asked Vedachalam, perplexed.

"Don't worry about 'how' and 'who.' There is a buyer who offers you 20 million rupees for that site. What you have to do is to sell it to him for 20 million rupees and buy a mansion I have identified, for the same price. In fact, the market value of that mansion is 50 million rupees. But, the owner of that mansion is willing to sell it to you for twenty million rupees, in deference to my wishes!" said Subbu.

Vedachalam began to understand the scheme behind the minister's proposal. 

"What will happen after that?" asked Vedachalam.

"After that, you will lease the mansion to me for 3 million rupees. I will pay you 3 million rupees in cash, upfront. Afterwards, at the appropriate time chosen by me, you will transfer the ownership of the mansion to a person I specify."

"Is it not a good deal? We will get 3 million rupees in cash. You can transfer the house to the person specified by the minister at any time. What is the hitch in this?" asked Kamala, Vedachalam's wife.

"The minister is trying to use me as his benami*. If there is going to be any case against him about his accumulating assets disproportionate to his income, I will also be arraigned as an accessory. Many years back, I got his acquaintance accidentally, I thought that being close to a politician can be useful to me and maintained my acquaintance with him. Perhaps, unknown to myself, I had become too close to him. It has led to a situation of his asking me to be his benami" said Vedachalam, with exasperation.

"What did you tell him?"

"I told him that I didn't feel comfortable about the arrangement. I pleaded with him that I am a timid and fearful person and requested him to not involve me in this arrangement. Fortunately, he understood my reluctance and refrained from pressing me to accept his proposal. I hope he is not displeased with me. Hereafter, I should be careful about how I move with him. I will not make any contact with him. Of course, if he wants me to meet him, I will meet him, lest I should antagonize him. I have realized that in maintaining an acquaintance with powerful people, one should exercise the caution a person sitting next to a flame of fire, for getting the comfort of its warmth, will" said Vedachalam.

Kamala noticed that her husband had still not completely come out of his nervousness and anxiety.

*benami - An Indian word for proxy (now accepted by and entered in English dictionaries)

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 70
Getting Close to the Ruler

Verse 691 (in Tamil):
agalAdhu aNugAdhu thIk kAyvAr pOlga
igal vEndharch chErndhu ozhuguvAr.

Meaning:

A person who is acquainted with a ruler of unpredictable nature should, like a person who warms himself at the fire, be neither (too) distant, nor (too) close.

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

Verse 692 (Soon)
Verse 690