698. An Unceremonial Exit

"Karikalan has sacked me from his cabinet. What wrong did I commit?" Kathiravan furiously asked Nalankilli, the president of the party.

"Dropping a minister from his cabinet is the prerogative of the Chief Minister" said Nalankilli, tersely.

"Of course, it is. But, I was a senior minister. I am senior to Karikalan in the party. I am elder to him in age. Considering these factors, should he not have talked to me about any issue he might have had with me, before announcing the decision in public."

"Your being a senior leader is the issue!" quipped Nalankilli.

"What do you mean, Nalankilli?"

Before Nalankilli could answer Kathiravan, Nalankilli's telephone rang."

"It is the Chief Minister" said Nalankilli, looking at the name displayed on the phone's screen. He then answered the call. "Please tell me, sir!"

After listening to the words from the other end, Nalankilli said, "Yes, sir. We will do as you say. Please leave the matter to me. I will take care of it."

After the call had ended, Nalankilli asked Kathiravan, "Did you hear me, when I spoke to the Chief Minister?"

"I couldn't make out what you two were talking about" said Kathiravan. 

"My question was not about what I spoke to the Chief Minister, but about how I spoke to him. You would have observed how I used to talk to him before he became the Chief Minister. I would address him by his first name. In his early days in the party, I had even addressed him as I would an errand boy. After all, I was much senior to him in the party. It was not inappropriate for me to have taken liberty with him, considering that I was occupying a higher position in the party hierarchy and that I was older than him by several years. Now that he has become the Chief Minister, I have to address him with the respect due to his office. Won't you agree?"

"What are you driving at?" asked Kathiravan, having begun to understand the point made by Nalankilli. 

"You are a senior leader in the party alright. But, when you had been a member of Karikalan's cabinet, you were addressing him in a disrespectful way, as you had been doing earlier. During your conversations with other people in the party, you referred to the Chief Minister in a casual way, without showing the respect due to the position held  by him. Just now, when you were complaining to me about the Chief Minister's dropping you from the cabinet, you referred to him by his name and spoke about him in a casual way. People in power will resent others taking liberty with them and displaying their closeness to them in the presence of other people. That was the reason the Chief Minister dropped you from his cabinet. Since you are an experienced and valuable person, you may get an opportunity to be included in the cabinet again, after some time. At that time, please act appropriately, in maintaining your relationship with the powers that be" said Nalankilli. 

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 70
Getting Close to the Ruler

Verse 696 (in Tamil):
iLaiyar inamuRaiyar enRu igazhAr ninRa
oLiyOdu ozhugp padum.

Meaning:

A Minister should behave in accordance with the authority in the person of a King and not belittle him considering that he is junior to or younger than the Minister or that he is a relative.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'padhavi nIkkam' by the same author.) 

Verse 699 (Soon)
Verse 697