705. Why Did Thilakan intervene?

"We are grateful to you, sir, for giving us the order. Ours is a small firm. We consider getting an order from a large organization like yours an honour" said Pavitran.

Pavitran's business partner Thilakan, sitting next to him, nodded his head, in agreement. 

"Whether a firm is small or big is immaterial. You are making a product we need. So, we are buying that product from you. That's all" said Paranthaman, the Managing Director of the company.

When Pavitran sought to take leave of Paranthaman and got up from his seat, Paranthaman said, "If you are not in a hurry, I will get you tender coconut water to drink. You can have it and then leave. As you might have seen, we have a large extent of land and we have planted coconut trees in the land adjoining our factory."

He then called his peon and asked him to get coconut water for the visitors. 

Till the time the coconut water arrived, Paranthaman and Pavitran were talking about the industrial climate, in a general way.

Thilakan, being reserved in nature, was just listening to the conversation, without participating in it.

During the conversation, Pavitran made critical obsevations about some of the policies of the state government, policies he flagged as being adverse to the growth of industries in the state.

"The attitude of this government is unhelpful. It doesn't understand the problems of people running the industries. The government appears to be focused on creating problems for the industries rather than on helping the industries to thrive" said Pavitran.

Thilakan, who was keeping quiet all along, jumped into the conversation, saying, "It may not be fair to say so. It is true that we have faced some problems now and then. But, we cannot overlook the fact that the government has taken several steps to help the industries." 

He then turned to Paranthaman and asked him with a smile," Don't you agree, sir?"

Paranthaman smiled and nodded his head in agreement. 

When Pavitran and Thilakan were returning to their office, after their meeting with Paranthaman, Pavitran asked Thilakan, "You are the one who has always been criticizing the government. But, when I said something critical of the government's policies, you jumped in and refuted my statement, by speaking in support of the government. When you were speaking, you pressed my foot with yours. Taking the cue, I refrained from talking further on the subject. What made you change your opinion about the government suddenly?" asked Pavitran.

"I noticed that when you started criticizing the government, Paranthaman's face expression changed. I discerned that he didn't like your speaking against the government. As you know, many people have political leanings. Paranthaman may be a supporter of the ruling party. That could have been the reason for his disliking your criticism of the government. We have just established a warm relationship with him and he has been graceful, giving us an order, though the stature of our firm is nowhere near that of his company. I didn't want that relationship to be weakened by his resentment of your views about the government. That is why I pitched in saying something good about the government. Considering the way he reacted to my remarks, by spontaneously smiling and nodding his head, I can say that he was pleased" said Thilakan.

"I have missed perceiving Paranthaman's reaction, which you have so keenly observed. I have been blind. It is good that you, in spite of your reserved nature, stepped in at the right time and saved the situation for us" said Pavitran, holding Thilakan's hand, gesturing his appreciation and gratefulness.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 71
Divining the Mind

Verse 705 (in Tamil):
kuRippin kuRippu uNarAvAyin uRuppipinuL

enna payaththadhO kaN

Meaning:

If one can’t observe and interpret body language, what purpose do eyes serve amongst the organs?

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'thilaganin kuRukkIdu' by the same author.) 

Verse 705 (Soon)
Verse 704