33. Arun Gets a Job

When Arun was selected for a government job, his father advised him, "These days, getting a government job has become very difficult. It is great that you got a government job on the basis of your performance in the Service Commission examination. This is a blessing for a lower middle class family like ours. Take care to ensure that you act with propriety in performing your duties."  

Arun's mother pulled him aside and told him, "Arun! Your father has wasted his life by being adamant about being righteous and acting with integrity and morality. Don't follow in his foot steps. Be smart and make the best of the opportunity you have got!"

Arun joined duty at the office he was posted. He was allocated a seat. Natarajan, who occupied the seat next to him was a middle-aged person. He was friendly with Arun.

"Arun! Many government offices are cramped. They don't have enough space to accommodate all the employees. It will take a couple of years for a new employee to be allocated a permanent seat. Till that time, the new employee will have to scout for a vacant seat that may become available because of some employee being on leave. But we don't have that problem in our office. That way you are lucky" he told Arun.

For the first few days, Arun was not assigned any work. He didn't even know whom he should report to. 

After about ten days, one of the section officers summoned Arun to his cabin and told him that Arun would be working under him.

When the section officer was talking to Arun, Selvam, the peon came there bringing a file for the officer's scrutiny. The section officer told Selvam, "Selvam! Mr. Arun will be working in my section. Attend to his needs."
 
But even after this, Arun was not assigned any work.

The next afternoon, something intriguing happened. Selvam came to Arun carrying some currency notes in one hand and a sheet of paper in the other. He looked at the sheet, pulled out a few notes, counted them and gave them to Arun. 

"What is this?" asked Arun, perplexed.

"Didn't the section officer Raghu say the other day that you would be working in his section?" relied Selvam.

"So?"

"I have to distribute this to others" said Selvam showing the cash in his hand. "Ask Mr. Natarajan about this," he continued and then walked away.

Arun asked Natarajan, "What is this, sir?"

"Today is Friday, which is considered an auspicious day. They have performed puja*. Selvam is distributing the prasad** to all of us!" said Natarajan, smiling. He raised his hand and showed Arun the cash received by him.

"Puja?"

"Arun! You know that in our office, we offer some services to the public. As you must be aware, nothing will move in a government office unless the palms of the government employees are greased. Everyday, a couple of hundred people visit our office seeking our services. We have a system of pooling the amount collected from the public by the frontline employees and distributing it to everyone in this office in proportion to one's rank and role. Obviously, the executives will get a greater share. Since you have joined only recently, you will get only a small share. The sum collected during a week will be distributed Friday afternoon, This is what I meant by puja and distribution of prasad!" 

"How preposterous! We are taking bribes and distributing the bounty so blatantly!" exclaimed Arun.

"Well, this is the practice. After all, it is happening within our office!"

"But I have not even started working!"

"That is not an issue. You have been assigned to a section. Your section officer might have told Selvam to give you also a share!"

"Oh! When I was in the section officer's cabin, he told Selvam to attend to my needs. So this is what he meant!"

At that time, Selvam passed by them.

Arun called him out. "Mr. Selvam! Please come here."

An irritated Selvam came near him and said, "If you think that the sum you have received is small, talk to your section officer about it!"

"No. I don't want this money. Not just today, never!" said Arun and returned the cash to Selvam.

"Don't do anything in haste!" interjected Natarajan. "The public can't get anything done in this office without paying a bribe to the employees concerned. No one working here can avoid taking the bribe either. Employees who had been honest and principled while working in other places were forced to adapt themselves to the system followed here, after coming and working here. I am also one such person. You will not have any problem. You are not working at the front office. You won't come into contact with the public. You are not going to seek or receive any bribe. Some others are collecting money and giving you a share. Just accept it!" 

"No, sir. Wherever I am, I will do only what is righteous and morally upright. This is something I have learnt from my father" said Arun.

*puja - a ritual of worshipping God

**prasad - flowers, dishes etc. offered to God and hence considered sacred.

Thirukkural
Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 4
Stressing the Power of Virtue

Verse 33 (In Tamil)

ollum vagaiyAn aRavinai OvAdhE
sellumvAy ellAm seyal.

Meaning:

In whichever place you are, you should keep doing the morally upright deeds.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'kaikku ettiyadhu' by the same author)

Verse 34 

Verse 32

32. After the Leak

"Hey buddy, the question paper has been leaked!" said Satish excitedly, even as he was entering the room, hopping in joy.

"What do you mean?" asked Aravind.

"Yes. The paper has been leaked. Only fifty persons have got it, including me!"

"How did it happen? The government won't take it lightly!"

"The test is tomorrow. The news might not even have reached the government. Even if the government authorities come to know of this at this late stage, they can't do anything about it. They won't even admit it since it will be embarrassing to them. I have bought the question paper for one thousand rupees. You may share half the price by paying me five hundred rupees!"

"Hey, let us not go for it. We have been preparing well for the examination. We don't need this kind of a shortcut."

"If you don't want to pay for it, it is fine. I will show you the question paper anyway. Taking a xerox copy may be risky."

"Money is not the issue here. When I said we shouldn't go for any shortcut, I was speaking for you also. The paper that you have obtained may not even be authentic. What if we get a different question paper in the examination?"

"It won't happen. I am sure that we will get the same paper in the examination. It will suffice if we make ourselves thorough with the answers for the questions in this paper!"

"I am imploring you once again. Don't do this. We have prepared well. Let us just revise what we have studied. Don't rely on this dubious paper and don't trade the time we have for revision for preparing for this paper!"

But Satish was not in a mood to listen to Aravind.

"How did this happen?" asked a furious Director of the Government department.

"Sir, that will be known only if we conduct an investigation. The examination is scheduled for tomorrow. We can't do anything at this stage" said the senior official of the department.

"Why not? How much time will it take to prepare a new question paper?"

"Well, a new question paper can be got ready within an hour or two. But it has to be printed and sent to all the centres. This can't be done in a day."

"How many examination centres are there?"

"737 centres."

"Do all the centres have an internet connection and a printer?"
  
"Yes, they have. But..."

"Ask the Chief Examiner to get a new question paper ready within one hour. Send it to the examiners at all the centres by email, along with detailed instructions. Ask them to take the print-outs using the printer at the centre. They should print out as many copies as required. If there are issues like printer not working etc, they could, at their own responsibility, take print-outs at establishments offering printing services. Let them send us the invoices and I will approve them for payment. But no one should know that the print-outs are question papers for tomorrow's examination. If the examiners are using the services of any other employee, they should create an impression that these papers are for some other mock tests. After taking the print-outs, the examiners should put them in large envelopes, seal them and keep them in their custody. All these should be done by tonight. If the paper is leaked at any place, the examiner at that place will be held responsible. Don't tell anyone why we are doing this. Just tell them that we are testing out a new procedure. Tell them that if anyone has any question or problem, they can call me up any time, even if it is late night."

"Sir, will this work?" asked the official, in amazement.

"It will and it should! I cannot allow a few people to gain an advantage from the question paper leak" said the Director, strictly

"Ok, sir."

"One more thing. This is very important. Please mention that everyone should immediately confirm the receipt of the email. Ask the Chief Examiner to send messages to all the examiners asking them to check their emails and confirm receipt of the emails. If we don't receive confirmation from anyone within an hour, call them up and check. No one should give an excuse that they didn't see the email. Sorry. You will have to forego your sleep tonight. So will I!"

Satish, who went to the examination centre with a sense of excitement and supreme confidence, was in for a severe shock. 'I should have listened to Aravind and focused on revising what I had studied already. But I was carried away by a sense of complacency that resulted from my having got the leaked question paper!' he thought, feeling remorseful about choosing a dishonest approach. 

Thirukkural
Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 4
Stressing the Power of Virtue

Verse 32 (In Tamil)

aRaththinUngu Akkamum illai adhanai
maRaththalin Ungillai kEdu.

Meaning:

There is no possession more precious than righteousness. No harm will be more severe than the one that will be caused by deviating from righteousness.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'kaikku ettiyadhu' by the same author)

Verse 33 

Verse 31

31. A Reward for Integrity

Venugopal started his business with a tiny capital, but over time his business grew in leaps and bounds.

After thirty years, his group of companies came to be referred to as Venugopal group by the financial media at the national level.

Venugopal had a 'weakness.' He chose to be honest and transparent in his business dealings. He refused to bribe government officials for getting permissions and clearances relating to his business. He never bought or sold anything without proper invoicing. He made no attempt to evade taxes using loopholes in the tax laws.

Because of following this policy, Venugopal had to forego several promising business opportunities. But his approach of choosing business opportunities with high potential for business growth and high profits and starting with a small investment and achieving high growth by sticking to quality standards in the products and services offered by him made him succeed in his ventures.

After growing to a certain level, he was in a position to command services from government agencies for getting the approvals and licenses needed for his business, without greasing the palm of any government official.

Venugopal planned to set up a chemical industry with foreign collaboration. The European firm which agreed to provide the technology for his venture had a reputation at international level. 

Since the investment required for this project was quite high, Venugopal needed a partner to partly finance the venture. Gokul Varma. a big industrialist agreed to partner with him in this venture.

They needed to get approval from the government for the foreign collaboration. The minister who was empowered to grant the approval demanded a huge sum as bribe for granting the approval. 

Venugopal, in keeping with is policy, refused to give the bribe demanded by the minister.

Gokul Varma told Venugopal that he would pay the bribe. "You won't have to compromise your principles. I will pay the bribe from my own resources. I will recover this amount from my share of the profit after we start operating" he told Venugopal.

Venugopal didn't agree. "Whether the bribe is given by you or me, it is given for getting our project approved. How can I agree to this?" he said.

Because of Venugopal's uncompromising stand, the project had to be abandoned even at the initial stage.

After a few months, Gokul Varma implemented that project in another state in collaboration with the same foreign company. How he would have got the government approval for the project was no secret in the business circles.

This development was a big disappointment for Venugopal. It was a dream project for him. If he had succeeded in implementing it, his reputation would have gone up very high at the national level.

Venugopal was in his eightieth year. It was fifty years since he had started his first business venture. In the twenty years after his aborted business venture, he had been growing, crossing new milestones. But the pain of his failed venture was still lingering in his mind. Sometimes he would wonder whether his adamancy in sticking to his principles was a mistake.

Venugopal received a phone call from the Industries Secretary. The Secretary informed Venugopal that ten industrialists of India had been chosen to interact with the American President during his visit to India next month and that Venugopal was one among them.

Venugopal found it exciting that though there were many industrialists in the country who were taller than him in stature, he was among the chosen few.

The secretary also told him who the other nine industrialists were. Gokul Varma's name was not in the list.

Venugopal came to know later that Gokul Varma was under the lens of some investigating agencies for some irregularities committed by him.

Thirukkural
Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 4
Stressing the Power of Virtue

Verse 31 (In Tamil)
siRappu Inum selvamum Inum aRaththinUngu
Akkam evanO uyirkku.

Meaning:

It yields distinction, yields prosperity; what gain greater than virtue can a living man obtain?

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'nErmaikkuk kidaiththa parisu' by the same author)

Verse 32 

Verse 30

30. A Bride for Ganapathy

Some incidents witnessed by Ganapathy, when he was a boy, had a deep impact on his thinking.

The river flowing on the outskirts of his village would become dry during summer. During that period, Ganapathy would play on the riverbed, along with his friends. 

Sometimes, he and his friends would sit on the riverbed and chat.

Near one bank of the river, there was a large pit which contained water. The water in that pit had not dried up, because the river was deep at that place. Water snakes would dwell there. A few boys would catch those snakes, hold them tightly by their necks and then throw them far. Some others would hang them, using a noose made from the rope-like roots hanging from the banyan tree on the branch of the river. Others would enjoy the ordeal suffered by the snakes, by clapping their hands and laughing aloud.

Ganapathy was pained to see the torture the snakes were subjected to. At one point of time, he stopped going to the river bed, to avoid witnessing those gruesome scenes.

One day, he decided to abstain from eating meat. His parents tried to dissuade him from carrying out his decision, but he didn't relent. His mother taunted him asking, "Do you think that you are a Brahmin*?" 

Ganapthy said, "One doesn't have to be born a Brahmin, to abstain from eating meat. Killing living beings is not acceptable to me."

When it was time for Ganapathy to get married, his parents searched for a suitable bride for him. Ganapathy met one of the prospective brides, selected by his parents and spoke to her.

"I have one request for you. In our home, we should not use mousetraps, rat poison, mosquito coils, insect sprays and other such devices used for killing insects and other creatures. Will you agree to this?" asked Ganapathy.

"Are you suggesting that we should allow ourselves to be bitten by mosquitoes?" asked the girl, half in surprise and half in disbelief.

"If we keep our home and our environment clean, mosquitos won't be able to thrive at our home. We can sleep inside a mosquito net. For preventing mosquito bites, we can apply an ointment on our skin. If a mosquito bites us, we will be inclined to crush it with our palm against our body. I won't say we shouldn't do so. But should we go on an offensive hunting living creatures?"

The girl said, "I am sorry" and left.

Ganapathy had the same experience with a few other girls also.

Once, when Ganapathy discussed his idea with a Brahmin friend of him, the friend said, "Where did you get this idea? Our scriptures say that killing a creature that could harm us is justified. This is what I have heard from the elders in my community." 

It is another matter that neither he, nor the elders from whom he had heard this concept, would have been able to specify where such a thing was mentioned in the scriptures!

Ganapathy said, "It is one thing to kill a being, in self-defence, but going all out to kill living beings appears abominable to me."

"I hear that there is an opening in the United Nations Organization, in the mosquito eradication division. I suggest you apply for this job. If you get that job, you will be forced to work towards killing mosquitoes. If you go around the world a couple of years, killing mosquitoes, perhaps, you will have a change of heart!" said the friend, sarcastically.

Frustrated by the results, Ganapathy's parents have stopped looking for a bride for him. If you come across a girl, who would accept the condition set by Ganapathy for marriage, please get in touch with him!

*South Indian Brahmins are vegetarians by tradition.

Thirukkural
Section 1: The Path of Virtue

Chapter 3
The Greatness of the Ascetics

Verse 30 (In Tamil)
andhaNar enbOr aRavOr maRRu evvuyirkkum
sendhaNmai pUNdozugalAn

Meaning:

A Brahmin (a virtuous person) is one, who pursues the path of morality. He showers love on all creatures.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'uyirgaLidaththu anbu vENdum' by the same author)

Verse 31 

Verse 29

29. When the Virtuous Is Provoked...

After serving for thirty five years in a government department, Kuppuswamy retired from his job. 

In the office Kuppuswamy worked, there was a practice of organizing a grand send-off at the time of an employee's retirement. 

The organizers would collect money from the other employees for meeting the expenses for the function, and for buying a valuable gift to the retiring employee. They would ask the retiring person to choose a gift within a price range, buy and present it to him or her.

The gifts presented in the past included air-conditioners, LED TVs, Laptop Computers, Mobile Phones etc.

Since most of the employees working there were earning extra income by way of bribes for providing services to the public, they didn't grudge contributing liberally towards the expenses for the send-off function.

But, Kuppuswamy was cast in a different mould. 'Moron,' 'saint,' 'idealist' and 'person living in a fool's paradise' were some of the sobriquets his colleagues, superiors and subordinates in the office used about him. He was widely perceived as a person, who would neither make use of the opportunities for earning money coming his way. nor allow others to do so.

Kuppuswamy's integrity and incorruptibility were the factors that earned him this kind of criticism. Working in an office where taking bribe was a way of life, but firmly refusing to seek or accept bribes, Kuppuswamy was like an island in the middle of a vast ocean.

Till the day he retired, Kuppuswamy strictly followed the policy of doing his duty as per the rules and regulations, with no deviations or compromises.

However, Kuppuswamy never quarreled with anyone. If he was pressurized by his superiors or colleagues to do something that was not in conformity with the rules, he would politely but firmly decline to do so.

He would never try to explain his stand, by claiming that he was a straightforward man and that he won't do anything in violation of the rules.

Perhaps, he realized that if he gave any scope for others to argue with him, he might end up losing the argument and accepting the other person's stand. Because of this, he was also called a 'hard rock.'

One of his superiors once lamented, "If the man attempts to explain why he wouldn't do a particular thing, it may be possible to argue with him, persuade him or trap him in his own arguments. But he never goes beyond saying, 'Sorry. I won't do it.' What can I do with such a person?"

Kuppuswamy's send-off party was conducted in a lacklustre manner. Breaking with the practice of ordering expensive dishes from a high profile restaurant, snacks and tea were brought from a nearby tea shop. Quite a few employees including some senior executives skipped the function citing some excuse. 

A few of his colleagues made ceremonial speeches, mentioning Kuppuswamy's long service in that office, but made no reference to his contributions or qualities. One of them, however, was a little outspoken. He lamented that if only Kuppuswamy had been more 'accommodative,' he would have been more valuable to himself and to others. 

A wall clock of mediocre quality was presented to him as a gift.

Kuppuswamy's speech was short. He just thanked everyone for their affection and co-operation.

Usually, a retired employee in the office where Kuppuswamy worked, would get his retirement benefits including pension sanctioned within two months after retirement. But in the case of Kuppuswamy, his pension was not sanctioned even after six months.

When Kuppuswamy checked with the head office, they told him that they had not received the papers from the office where he had worked.

Kuppuswamy went to the office where he had worked and met the clerk, who was looking after pension papers. 

The clerk replied nonchalantly, "We have sent the papers long time back!" 

"Don't lie to me!" said Kuppuswamy, angrily.

Offended by Kuppuswamy's acerbic tone, the clerk told him, "Go and ask the executive in-charge."

"Where is the executive? Ask him to come out of his cabin!" shouted Kuppuswamy. His voice was heard throughout the office. The employees who had known Kuppuswamy as an unperturbed and soft-spoken person were surprised by his indignant tone. 

The executive, hearing Kuppuswamy's voice, came out of his cabin.

"What is going on here?" he asked, in an authoritative voice.

"Good Morning, Mr. Dharmalingam! Your clerk lies to me that he has sent my pension papers to the head office. Will you please check and ascertain the position?"

Kuppuswamy was polite, but his tone was loud and assertive. His former colleagues looked at him in amazement, wondering whether Kuppuswamy was capable of being so indignant.

The clerk, taking offence at Kuppuswamy's remark, replied angrily, "How dare you say I lied, you scumbug!"

Kuppuswamy turned to Dharmalingam and told him, "Sir, please ask your clerk to be respectable while speaking to others. I am not seeking any favour from him."

"But your remark that he was lying to you was offensive, wasn't it?" asked Dharmalingam.

"I have checked up with the head office and confirmed that the papers have not been received by them. But your clerk tells me, even without checking the records that he has sent the papers long time back. Am I not justified in saying that he is lying? Let him check the records and tell me when the papers were sent. Then I will apologize to him!" 

"Please come tomorrow. We will check up and give you the details" said Dharmalingam, in an attempt to pacify Krishnaswamy.

"Why should I come tomorrow?" Kuppuswamy's voice became louder again. "As per the norms, the papers should be sent within a month. But nothing has been done even after six months. I won't leave this place, unless you give me the date and reference number of your letter forwarding my papers."

"Why don't you check up now and give him the details?" Dharmalingam asked the clerk.

"I have to search. It will take time. I can't do it now" said the clerk, adamantly.

Dharmalingam looked at Kuppuswamy again. Realizing that Kuppuswamy won't relent, he told the clerk in a low voice, "Please search and take out his file. The public, who have come here for their work, are also witnessing this scene." 

The clerk grudgingly went to the filing cabinet, took out a file after a brief search and browsed through it.

He then told Dharmalingam in a toned down voice, "Sir, the papers are here. I will forward them tomorrow." 

Hearing this, Kuppuswamy said in an angry voice, "So, you lied to me that the papers had been sent already! Why have you kept this pending for six months? Did you want to extract some bribe from me, the way you extract money from the public?"

Dharmalingam moved closer to Kuppuswamy and spoke to him in a low voice. "I am sorry for what has happened. I will see to it that the papers are forwarded tomorrow. Please leave now!"

"Why not today?" said Kuppuswamy. Then, relenting a little, he said, "Okay. I hope you keep your word and send the papers tomorrow. If the papers are not received by the head office within the next two days, I will file a complaint with the Vigilance department."

After Kuppuswamy left the office, Dharmalingam told the clerk, "Process his papers and forward them to the head office today. Don't wait till tomorrow!"

Thirukkural
Section 1: The Path of Virtue

Chapter 3
The Greatness of the Ascetics

Verse 29 (In Tamil)
guNamennum kunRERi ninRAr veguLi
kaNamEnum kAththal arithu.

Meaning:

We cannot withstand, even for a moment, the rage of a person who has scaled the peak of morality.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'sAdhu miraNdAl' by the same author)

Verse 30 

Verse 28

28. An Examination at the Library

Gunaseelan is a publisher. I got his acquaintance through a friend of mine. He invited me to visit his office sometime.

I went to his office after fixing up the time with him. All the books published by him were neatly stacked in a shelf in chronological order. He told me that he had published 247 books so far.

"Oh, you have published 247 books to match the 247 alphabets in the Tamil language" I said.

"I have not stopped publishing. So the number of books may exceed 247!" he said, smiling.

"Okay. Here is the list of books I have published. Quickly go through the names of all the 247 books and their authors. There is a test for you" he continued, handing me a printed sheet.

"If I had known that I would have to face an examination, I wouldn't have come here!" I said, in a lighter vein.

As asked by him, I quickly went through the list, wondering what kind of a quiz I was going to face.

After going through the list, I nodded my head, signaling my readiness to take the test.

"Okay. The test is simple. Randomly recall as many names of the books and names of the writers you have seen in the list, as you can" said Gunaseelan.

Feeling relieved that the test was not as tough I feared it would be, I tried to recall the names from the list I had browsed through. I was able to recall the names of ten books and three writers. 

"Fine! I will tell you something I found surprising. Many people visiting my office have taken this test. The names recalled by all of them are nearly the same. What can you infer from this?" asked Gunaseelan.

I would have liked to say, 'Well, they should also have been dullheads like me!' but wisely chose not to answer his question, awaiting what Gunaseelan was going to say.

"What I found interesting was that though the names of books and authors recalled by people were random, these ten books were written by these three authors!"

"Oh, it is surprising!"

"It may appear surprising, but it is really not so. A lot of people write books and some of them write several books, each. Some of the books become best sellers. Some receive acclamation from the scholars and connoisseurs. Some books fall under both the categories. But only a few books stand the test of time. These books live for ever, radiating the wisdom of the scholars who wrote them, for many generations of people, and perpetuating the glory of the authors.

Fortunately, Gunaseelan didn't ask me, 'What do you infer from this?' If he had asked, I would have said, 'The inference I draw is that people like me shouldn't attempt to write books!"

Thirukkural
Section 1: The Path of Virtue

Chapter 3
The Greatness of the Ascetics

Verse 28 (In Tamil)
niRaimozhi mAndhar perumai nilaththu
maRaimozhi kAtti vidum.

Meaning:

The glory of people who have spread their wisdom through their words will be revealed to the world through the books they have left behind.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'nUlagaththil oru parItchai' by the same author)

Verse 29 

Verse 27

27. The Connoisseur of Food

Rajagopal, employed in Nilakantan's house as a home cook, was upset on seeing Murthy visit Nilakantan that morning.

'Oh, my God! This carper, an expert in finding fault with cooked dishes, is here!' he thought, feeling tense in anticipation of Murthy's carps about his cooking.

"Hi Murthy! I am about to have my breakfast. Please join me" invited Nilakantan.

"Thank you, sir. But, it is too early for me to have my breakfast. You may have it. I will talk to you as you are having your breakfast" said Murthy.

"Okay. But you can at least have a cup of coffee."

"Sure. Given the culinary skills of your chef Rajagopal, I am sure that the coffee made by him will have an exquisite taste" said Murthy, looking at Rajagopal.

Wondering whether Murthy's appreciative remark about his culinary skills was genuine or sarcastic, Rajagopal made coffee, taking extraordinary care, and brought it to Murthy.

"You know Rajagopal?" asked Nilakantan, in a tone of surprise.

Before Murthy could answer, Rajagopal was quick to pitch in. "He met me in a marriage, in which I was the chief cook. He came to the kitchen and appreciated my cooking."

Murthy just smiled.

As soon as he took the coffee cup in his hand, Murthy told Rajagopal, "Mr. Rajagopal! The milk seems to have been overboiled. I can smell the flavour of the overboilt milk!"

'Here he goes. He can't help finding fault' thought Rajagopal, containing his irritation.

"But I couldn't sense it!" said Nilakantan.

After taking a sip of the coffee, Murthy said, "Great! What a flavour!" and looked at Rajagopal, in appreciation.

He then turned to Nilakantan and asked him, "You usually buy A.R. brand of coffee powder. Now, you seem to have switched over to M.K. brand."

"What! You can detect the brand of the coffee powder used, by taking a sip of the coffee!" exclaimed Nilakantan.

'Why, he can even detect in which place the coffee was grown! His nose and tongue have such an acute sense of perception. Have I not experienced it?' reflected Rajagopal.

About two months back, Rajagopal had taken the catering contract for a marriage.

Murthy, one of the guests at the marriage, after having his lunch, came to the kitchen and confronted Rajagopal.

"Are you the chief cook? The food was good, but you had messed up on a couple of aspects" he said.

"Which aspects?"

"You have have used some rotten coconuts, for preparing the coconut chutney."

"I used thirty coconuts. Only one was rotten" said Rajagopal.

"Isn't one drop of poison enough to spoil the quality of one pot of milk? Then, while preparing the buttermilk kuzhambu, you have used too much of turmeric powder. Because of this, the buttermilk kuzhambu tasted a trace bitter."

"A lot of people relished the buttermilk kuzhambu and conveyed their appreciation to me" said Rajagopal, defensively.

"After conveying their appreciation, they would have been wondering why a bitter taste was still lingering in their mouths! Then, the cashew nuts used in the milk kheer seems to have been of stale quality. They smelled like naphthalene balls!"

"Anything else?" asked Rajagopal, trying to control his anger.

"There are a few others, but they are not significant. I don't want to sound like a carper, by bringing them in. There is no doubt that your culinary skills are excellent. If only you take care to avoid these kinds of lapses, you would excel even more. Oh, I almost forgot. You have put coriander leaves in rasam and boiled it. Ideally, you should add coriander leaves, when the rasam begins to boil and then put off the flame. Otherwise, the bitterness of coriander will sink in and affect the taste of rasam, the bitterness increasing, as time passes. For those who take lunch in the last batch, the rasam will taste like a bitter syrup!"

When Murthy left after making these remarks, Rajagopal felt like having the experience of having been hit by a tempest that struck unexpectedly, caused extensive damage and then receded.

'Thank God, today he didn't have his breakfast here. If he had had, he would have said things like 'the idli was not cooked enough, the pongal had a little excess salt, the dosa was burnt' etc.'

Nilakantan, having completed his breakfast, went to the washroom in the adjoining room.

When the two were alone in the dining room, Murthy told Rajagopal, "Don't feel bad about my not eating the dishes you have made for breakfast. I told Nilakantan that it was a bit too early for my breakfast, only as an excuse. This is my breakfast time, alright. In your cooking, you use oil, ghee and spices a bit too much. That's why I avoided taking my breakfast here. Though I have a fine taste for food, I am not a gourmand. I am careful about what I eat. I have no health issues. But I want to be restrained in my food habits both because I want to preserve my health and because I want to live a disciplined life. Next time when I come here, I will definitely taste some of the dishes cooked by you."

Murthy then looked at the bowl of sambar kept on the table and said, "It seems that the sambar has not been boiled adequately. I sense the flavour of chilly powder. This flavour would have been contained, if the sambar had been boiled adequately. Poor Nilakantan won't perceive these things!" and smiled at Rajagopal.

Thirukkural
Section 1: The Path of Virtue

Chapter 3
The Greatness of the Ascetics

Verse 27 (In Tamil)
suvai oLi URu Osai nARRmena ainthin
vagai therivAn kattE ulagu.

Meaning:

One, who has mastered the perception of sensory objects through the five senses taste, sight, touch, sound and smell, but is restrained in pursuit of pleasures through them, will control this world.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'sAppAttu rAman' by the same author)

Verse 28

Verse 26