173. A Silk Sari for the Wife

A few months after joining the audit department of the government as an Assistant, Ramesh got the chance to accompany an audit officer, on his tour, for auditing the accounts of a co-operative society.

Sitaraman, the audit officer moved with Ramesh not as a superior, but as an elder friend.

The cooperative society was running a silk sari weaving unit at Kanchipuram.

After they had landed at the office of the society and conveyed the purpose of their visit to the Managing Director of the society, the Managing Director assigned Varadarajan, a senior executive of the society, to get them the records and documents required for the audit.

Varadarajan sat with them throughout, getting them the records and documents sought by them.

In the evening, Varadarajan took the duo to some temples. 

"As you may be aware, Kanchipuram is a temple town. This town more than a hundred temples, including 108 Siva temples, 15 Vishnu temples and temples for other gods like the Sun, Yama etc. These include 15 Vishnu temples whose glory was sung by the Alwars, the Vaishnavite saints and 11 Siva temples sung by the Nayanmars, the Saivite saints. According to ancient texts, this place is one of the 7 holy places that would offer salvation to the soul. The renowned Sanskrit poet Kalidasa has described Kanchipuram as the foremost among all the towns. I will take you to as many important temples as I can, during the few days of your stay in this town" he said 

After Sitaraman and Ramesh had returned to their hotel, Ramesh asked Sitaraman, "Sir! We have come here to audit the accounts of the society. But, the society people pay for our food. Additionally, Mr. Varadarajan took us to a few temples in a car. Is it right on our part to accept this kind of hospitality from people whose accounts we are auditing?"

Sitaraman looked at Ramesh for a moment and then said, "The question you have raised is pertinent. But, this society is run well. There will be no malpractices here. If it were an organization that follows questionable practices or fudges the accounts, I won't accept its hospitality. Providing food to the visitors and taking them out for sight-seeing are considered acts of courtesy, by a person or an organization. Though we are auditors, we are also treated as visitors by this society, whose accounts we are auditing. If we decline these gestures, we may be considered discourteous. If we detect lapses or wrongdoings during the audit, we don't have to overlook them, just because we have accepted the society's hospitality. In other words, we don't have to feel indebted to someone, because he gave us a good lunch!"

The audit was completed in four days. As mentioned by Sitaraman even at the beginning of the audit, there were no irregularities in the accounts of the society. There were some minor lapses, which Sitaraman brought to the notice of the Managing Director, after completing the audit. He told the Managing Director that he would mention those lapses in his report and that if the society rectified them and confirmed to the government that the lapses had been rectified, there would be no problems. 

When they took leave of the Managing Director, he gave two packets to Sitaraman.  

Sitaraman said, "Thank you" and received the packets. 

After returning to the hotel room, Sitaraman gave one of the two packets to Ramesh. 

"What is this, sir?" asked Ramesh. 

"Gift" said Sitaraman, with a smile. 

"What is this gift? Why are they giving it to us?"

"What gift can you expect from an organization that produces silk saris? It should be a silk sari. Open the packet and see for yourself."

Sitaraman then opened the packet that had a label carrying his name. "They have labelled the packets. So, the two gifts could be different" he said. 

The packet contained a silk sari. Even from its appearance, it could be seen that it was an expensive sari. It had a price tag, showing the price of the sari as Rs.21,375."

"They have not removed the price tag, since they want us to know the value of the gift!" said Sitaraman. "Would you like to open your packet here or would you prefer to open it after reaching home?'

"I don't want to take this, sir" said Ramesh.

"Let us first open the packet and see what is inside" said Sitaraman. He then opened the packet carrying Ramesh's name on the label. It also contained an expensive silk sari. The price tag mentioned the price as Rs.10,275. 

"They have given me such an expensive gift!" exclaimed Ramesh. 

"I thought you might feel that your gift is less valuable then mine. But, you are grudging their giving you a gift!"

Ramesh recalled how his wife Gita had a fascination for saris. Whenever she went for shopping, she would explore expensive saris, by looking at them and touching them. But, she would buy only a low-priced sari.  

"Why should I spend a lot of money on saris? I can save that money and spend it on the children that will be born to us" she would tell Ramesh.

Gita had no silk saris, except for one silk sari that her parents had bought for her at the time of her marriage. She would often tell Ramesh, "Silk saris costing one lakh rupees and above are available. I don't want to buy such expensive saris. But, someday, I should buy a moderately priced silk sari."

However, considering their state of finances, Gita had been postponing fulfilling her desire. She satisfied herself by looking at and feeling expensive silk saris, during the times she visited textile shops to purchase some clothes. 

'If I give this silk sari Gita, she will feel excited. She will be doubly happy that she has been able to get a silk sari, without making her husband empty his purse, for paying its price.

'However...'

"Sir! Don't mistake me. Can I return this gift to the society?"

"Why do you want to do this? This is a small thing. We are not taking a bribe from them for covering up their lapses. We have done our job honestly. This is a gift they have given us out of their goodwill for us. Present it to your wife. She will be happy."

"Yes, sir. She will be happy. In fact, she has been craving to buy a silk sari. I can also be happy about fulfilling a small wish of her. But I don't want to lose the greatest joy, for the sake of this petty joy."

"What is the greatest joy?"

"I believe that the greatest joy in life is to live on what I earn by doing an honest job, without harbouring any desire to get anything from the other person. Don't mistake me for saying this. This is my outlook in life" said Ramesh, feeling slightly uncomfortable.

"I won't mistake you. I have been considering myself a man of integrity. But your standard of morality is much higher. Keep it up. Instead of returning this sari to the society, I can take it. But, I want the Managing Director of the society to know that you didn't take the gift. I will ring up to the Managing Director and ask him to send someone here, to take the gift back" said Sitaraman.

"Thank you for understanding me, sir" said Ramesh. 

Thirukkural

Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 18
Not Coveting Others' Belongings

Verse 173 (In Tamil)

siRRinbam vehki aRan alla seyyArE
maRRinbam vENdubavar.

Meaning:

Those who desire the highest bliss will not act crave for the trifle pleasures that other people’s money can give.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'kAnchip pattuduththi' by the same author)

Verse 174
Verse 172

708. A Silent Interrogation

After Saravanan was questioned by the Sub-Inspector of Police, he was taken to another room in the police station.

Saravanan was not sure whether the Sub-Inspector was convinced by his statement that he didn't commit the crime he was accused of.

Saravanan had feared that the police would beat him up and torture him in various ways. But, no such thing happened. The Sub-Inspector questioned Saravanan intensively. During the course of the interrogation, he threatened Saravanan that if he lied, the consequences would be severe. There was a lathi on the table. But, the Sub-Inspector didn't use it. 

When Saravanan was taken to another room, he observed that a person, not wearing the police uniform, was sitting there. He asked Saravanan to sit on the chair opposite to him. He gazed at Saravanan's face for a few seconds. He then took a book kept on the table and began to read it. At intervals, he would raise his gaze from the book, look at Saravanan for a few minutes and return to the reading again.

After about fifteen minutes, the policemen took Saravanan to the lock-up in the station and locked him up inside.

After sometime, the door of the lock-up was opened. The Sub-Inspector entered the lock-up. He had the lathi in his hand. Even as Saravanan looked at the Sub-Inspector with apprehension, the lathi hit his body. 

After a few minutes, Saravanan confessed to the crime. 

"Sir! Is what we have been doing right?" Constable Sekar asked the Sub-Inspector. 

"Earlier, we used to beat up every one who was suspected to be involved in a crime. But, nowadays, we don't beat up all the suspects. We question a suspect and if he doesn't accept his guilt, we send him to Mr. Sundar. Mr. Sundar looks at the suspect's face for some time and then tells us whether the suspect is guilty, whether he has been speaking the truth, what he is thinking at the moment etc. If he says the suspect is speaking the truth, we don't release the suspect immediately. We continue to hold him in custody and question him again and again. In most of the cases, the person cleared by Mr. Sundar has turned out to be innocent. On several occasions, we have caught the real culprit and released the suspect. Otherwise, we would release the suspect only after we are convinced that he is not guilty, based on repeated questioning. But, if Mr. Sundar says that a suspect is lying, we question the suspect more intensively and even beat him up, if required. In most of the cases, such suspects confess to the crime, after a while! By following this procedure, we minimize the chances of an innocent person getting beaten up, because of the suspicion we have on them" explained the Sub-Inspector.

"But, this procedure is not as per the law."

"We are not violating the law. Sundar is a retired police officer. By virtue of his long experience in the police department, he has acquired the skill of finding out whether the person is speaking the truth, just by observing his face for a while. We are making use of his skill and experience. But, we are not entirely going by Mr. Sundar;s judgement. We use his judgement as a guide, but make our own assessment" said the Sub-Inspector.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 71
Divining the Mind

Verse 708 (in Tamil):
mugam nOkki niRka amaiyum agam nOkki
uRRadhu uNarvArp peRin.

Meaning:

If a person has the power to read the mind of another, just by looking at him, it is enough that he stands looking at the other person's face.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'iraNdAvadhu visAraNai' by the same author.) 

Verse 709
Verse 707

172. Invest Five Hundred, Harvest Two Lakh!

Venkatachalam would often talk to his friend Balu, about new business opportunities spotted by him from time to time. But, he didn't pursue any of them, since he didn't have the money to invest. 

"If only I had one lakh rupees with me to invest, I would earn one lakh per month" Venkatachalam would often claim. 
 

Sometimes, he had asked Balu to invest money in one of the business plans touted by him. But, Balu didn't have money to invest. He was not enthusiastic about starting a business, either.

But, the business plan mentioned by Venkatachalam this time appeared to Balu to be distinct, feasible and attractive. 

"You just need to invest five hundred rupees. You can earn thousands of rupees, sitting at home" said Venkatachalam.

"How?" asked Balu, his interest kindled by the idea that he could do a business with an investment of just five hundred rupees.

"Do you have five hundred rupees with you?" asked Venkatachalam. 

"I don't have, but I can mobilize."

"That will be good enough. You just need to buy a book costing five hundred rupees from me."

"What is the title of the book?"

"Invest Five Hundred and Harvest Two Lakh!"

"Oh!" said Balu, his interest put out by the hype of the book title.

"What you are buying is not a book. It is a currency printing machine" said Venkatachalam, with excitement. 

"What do you mean?"

"I will explain. Look at this form."

Venkatachalam showed Mani a printed sheet of paper.

It carried the names and addresses of four people. Venkatachalam's name was third on the list. 

"I told you that you need to buy a book for five hundred rupees. This sum of five hundred rupees has to be split into four parts and sent to these four people. You will send 200 rupees to the person first on the list, 120 rupees to the one second on the list, 100 rupees to the one third on the list, that is me and the remaining sum of 80 rupees to the company running this scheme, whose name and address is printed at the fourth place in this form. The company will send you the book and a form like this. In that form, you will be listed in the third place. I will move to the second place and the person in the second place to the first place. The person who is at number 1 in this form will have his name removed. Of course, he will continue to earn money from other lists, where his name is listed in one of the three places. He would have learned a lot of money by that time, anyway. Take xerox copies of that form, and get people enrolled, by making them buy the book, the way you did. You will then keep receiving money."

"You said I could earn two lakh rupees. How?" asked Balu.

"You could earn even more than that. It depends on how many people you enroll. If you enroll 10 people, if each of them enroll 10 people and if those 10 people, in turn, enroll 10 people each, your name will be on top in one thousand forms. So, you will get 1000 x 200, that is two lakh rupees. I am not even considering the sum you will get from the forms in which you will be in the second or third position!"

"This looks like money circulation. Is this legal?"

"If it is not legal, how can the company operate the scheme? Of the sale price of each book, the company keeps 80 rupees and distributes the remaining sum of 420 rupees to three people. This is profit sharing, not money circulation."

"This won't work for me. I can't enroll anyone" said Balu.

"You don't have to enroll anyone. You just need to explain this scheme to some people the way I explained it to you. A few people are sure to enroll themselves, even without your asking them to. This scheme has been explained on the back side of this form. You may even send this form to your contacts, by post. Some of them, convinced on reading the details, will enroll themselves. Even if only four people get enrolled, you will get four hundred rupees, If one person out of those four is able to enroll one person, you will get one hundred and twenty rupees. At that stage, you would have recovered your investment. Whatever sum you get subsequently will be your profit" said Venkatachalam. 

After listening to Venkatachalam's explanation, Balu thought, 'I am going to risk only five hundred rupees. Let me venture into this' and enrolled himself in the scheme. 

After two days, Balu received, by registered post, the book 'Invest Five Hundred and Harvest Two Lakh' and a printed form, with his name added in the third position. 

On seeing his name on the form, Balu felt excited, buoyed by the prospect of receiving money from several people. But, when he browsed through the book, he was disappointed. 

It was a thin book of twenty pages, the content consisting only of the details of the scheme and tips for explaining the scheme to people and convincing them. The price was printed on the cover of the book as Rs.500.

Balu remembered Venkatachalam's suggestion. 'Prepare a list of people to whom you will send your wedding invitation.'

Balu began to prepare the list. He started with his close relatives and then added distant relatives, friends, acquaintances, casual contacts etc. He was able to add only 50 people in the list.

'Let me try with these 50 people first. Even if 5 of them enroll, my investment can be recovered, going by Venkatachalam's workings. 

He started thinking about how to approach each person and how to talk to each of them, tailoring his conversation to how close the person was to him.

As Balu was planning his strategy, he sensed a disturbed feeling in his mind. Initially, he thought that it was due to his reluctance to approach people and talk to them about the scheme. But, subsequently, he realized that in addition to reluctance, there was some other factor that caused him the disturbed feeling. 

He recalled Venkatacalam's advice that while explaining the scheme to a prospect, he shouldn't sound as if he was seeking any favour from the prospect. He should sound as if he was bringing a golden opportunity to the prospect and that it was up to that person, to make use of the golden opportunity or not. 

He should tell the prospects, 'There is a golden opportunity for you to earn two lakh rupees, by investing just five hundred rupees. If you miss this, you will be the loser!'

Balu posed a question to himself. 'Is it my real intention to help others earn money?'

'Not at all' came the answer immediately, from another part of his mind.  

At that moment, Balu was able to identify the factor that made him feel disturbed.

'What am I trying to do? I am trying to enrich myself, by collecting small sums of money from various people. If some people accept my suggestion and invest in the scheme, what will they do? Like me, they will also try to collect money from other people, by selling the scheme to them. And I will also get a share as a result of their efforts. How immoral is this! I don't want to enrich myself this way.

'Enticed by Venkatachalam's words, I invested five hundred rupees, . Let me accept this as loss and end this venture at this stage. I don't want to make other people lose money, for the sake of recovering my investment.'

Balu tore off the book and the printed form into pieces.

In spite of feeling bad about losing the sum of five hundred rupees invested by him, Balu felt a sense of relief.

   

Thirukkural

Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 16
Bearing No Envy

Verse 172 (In Tamil)

padu payan vehkip pazhip paduva seyyAr
nadu vanmai nAdubavar.

Meaning:

Those, who feel ashamed of indulging in dishonest acts, will not commit questionable things, for the sake of coveting others' wealth

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'selavu ainURu varavu iraNdu latcham' by the same author)

Verse 173
Verse 171

707. After the Meeting

"Now that we have decided to accept you as a sub-contractor of our project, you will be interacting with the senior executives of our firm, while executing the contract. So, I will introduce them to you" Senthilkumar, the Managing Director of the firm told Marudhachalam.

He then called the peon and asked him to bring the executives specified by him.

Presently, five senior executives of Senthilkumar's firm entered the room and took their seats. 

Senthilkumar introduced them to Marudhachalam, by giving their names and designations.

He then turned to his executives and said, "This is Mr. Marudhachalam, Managing Director of Dhanam Industries. The other gentleman is his General Manager...What was the name you said?..Yes. Dhandapani. Dhanam Industries is going to be a sub-contractor for our project. The two of them will be interacting with you, during the implementation of the project. That is why I thought I should introduce you to them." 

They discussed for a while about the details of the project. After that, Marudhachalam and Dhandapani took leave of Senthilkumar and others. 

While driving back to their office, Marudhachalam was in deep thought. After some time, he turned to Dhandapani and said, "Mr. Dhandapani! I think we will rather not take up this contract!"

"Why, sir? This is a profitable contract. We got this contract, amid tough competition from several other firms, including some big firms. Mr. Senthilkumar said that he would issue us the work order next week. Should we withdraw from the project at this stage?"

"Fortunately, they have not yet issued the work order. They have only orally informed us that they have decided to give us the contract. After reaching our office, we can send them an email that we won't be able to take up the contract."

"That can be done, sir. But, I don't understand why you don't want to take up this contract? Did Mr. Senthilkumar or any of the executives say something that you didn't like. Did I miss something?" asked Dhandapani, perplexed. 

"They spoke to us well, alright. But, Senthilkumar doesn't respect his executives. The executives also harbour a feeling of resentment towards Senthilkumar. The disharmony between the Managing Director and the senior executives may create some problems for us, when we will be executing the contract. The executives won't be able to take any decision, make any commitment or assume responsibility for anything. Senthilkumar won't allow them to take decisions, or use their discretion either. We will be caught in the crossfire" said Marudhachalam.

"How did you gauge this, sir? I didn't get any such impression from what they had said during the meeting."

"We might not have been able to infer anything from the words spoken by them. The impression I gained was based on their face expressions. Words can't reveal a person's agreement or resentment as much as his face reveals" said Marudhachalam, laughing.

"I am scared, sir. If I ever consider the idea of looking for some other job, you may find out my thinking, by looking at my face!" said Dhandapani. 

"I have been looking at your face for the past several years. Can I not find out what is in your mind? In fact, I have found it out already" said Marudhachalam, looking at Dhandapani's face.

"What do you mean, sir? I have no such ideas" said Dhandapani, somewhat shocked.

"Nevertheless, I have read what is in your mind. You won't leave me, even if I push you out!" said Marudhachalam, touching Dhandapani's shoulder affectionately.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 71
Divining the Mind

Verse 707 (in Tamil):
mugaththin mudhuk kuRaindhadhu uNdO uvappinum
kAyinum thAn mundhuRum.

Meaning:

Nothing is more revealing than the face. It beats the mind in revealing whether the mind is pleased or vexed.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'santhippukkup piRagu' by the same author.) 

Verse 708
Verse 706

171. A Visit To the Village

Gopi was the only passenger to get down from the bus, that stopped at the village bus stop, after stirring up a large quantity of dust.

He reached Sakthivel's house, after ascertaining the location of the house, by enquiring with people on the way.

The door of the house was open. Standing in front of the doorstep, he could see the entire house, including the dark corridor immediately behind the door, the open yard at the middle of the house, the adjoining corridor and the backyard. But he couldn't see any person.

"Sir" Gopi called out, standing outside the dpprstep.

It appeared to him that his call, made in a feeble voice, was not heard by people inside the house.

After a couple of minutes, a woman made her appearance and asked Gopi, "Yes, please?"

 

Before Gopi could answer her, a man came from inside, walking in hurried paces.

'This should be Sakthivel' surmised Gopi. 

"You are Mr. Gopi, aren't you? Please come in" Saktivel welcomed Gopi and took him inside.

"He is the one I told you about. He has come in connection with the marriage proposal" Sakthivel told the woman, whom Gopi now identified as Sakthivel's wife.

"Please come in and take your seat. I am sorry. At first, I din't recognize who you were" said Sakthivel's wife, in an apologetic tone.

After exchanging pleasantries, Sakthivel told Gopi, "It is good of you to have come here, traveling a long distance, to discuss the marriage proposal."

"Is it not the convention for the girl's parents to meet the parents of the prospective bridegroom and discuss the alliance proposal?" replied Gopi. "I understand that you don't hail from this place" he added.

"Yes. I belong to Thanjavur. I came to this village, when I was posted as the VAO - Village Administrative Officer - of this village" said Sakthivel. 

"Oh, VAO? Earlier, there used to be officials like Karnam and Munsiff."

"Yes. Those positions were abolished in the 80's and replaced by VAOs."

"Did you know the person who was the last Karnam of this village?" asked Gopi.

"I didn't know him personally. But my predecessor has told me about him. Why are you asking about him?"

"After getting down from the bus, I asked some people the directions to your house. They told me that you were residing in the house that belonged to the erstwhile Karnam. That's why I was curious to know whether you had known him."

"This was his house. But, after his demise, his wife sold it. Now, it is owned by another person in this village. I hve taken the house on rent" said Sakthivel.

"I heard that that the Karnam had a bad reputation."

"It seems even before leaving for this village, you have gathered a lot of information about the people of this village!" said Sakthivel, laughing. 

He then added. "That is a long story. You have been living in big cities like Mumbai and Kolkatta. I wonder whether you would understand the systems and practices in a village like this. Those days, it was the Karmam who was maintaining the records of the ownership of lands in the village. With literacy having not spread much to the villages at that time, many of the villagers didn't have proper records for the lands owned by them. Taking advantage of this, the Karnam had cheated several people, by manipulating the records maintained by him. He would classify a piece of land belonging to a particular person as public land and later change the title in his favour. He had indulged in many such manipulative practices."

"Is it possible to make such changes in the land records?"

"I am talking about the system prevalent fifty years back. You and I would have been studying in a school at that time. If you can talk to the affected people, they would narrate many such stories that would appear strange and unbelievable, when we look at things from the way things are today. Parallel records were maintained at the Taluk office. But the Karnam would change even those records, using his contacts at the Taluk office."

"Oh!"

"One fine morning, the Government did away with the posts of Karnams and Munsiffs and replaced them with government appointed VAOs. After that, a large number of complaints were received against the Karnam. The complaints were probed. He was found guilty in some cases."

"Did the police arrest him?"

"No. the police came and questioned him. Realizing that he would be arrested and imprisoned, he ended his life one night, by consuming poison. 

"Oh. My God!"

"Why do you sympathize with a person like him? What else could happen to a person who cheated innocent people and deprived them of of the lands owned by them?"

"What happened to his family?"

"His family has to be pitied, of course. The Karnam had a son and a daughter. His son had run away from home, when he was a school-going boy, sometime before the Karnam was exposed. It was said that he ran away because he was unable to live with the things he heard people saying about his father."

"How could other people know about the reason for his running away?"

"I heard that his mother herself had said this. He had conveyed his anguish about his father's misdeeds to his mother several times, before he chose to run away. She was heard lamenting, narrating his conversations with her."

"Where are the Karnam's wife and daughter now?"

"That lady could have continued to reside in this village, living on the income from the properties the family had. But, she could not live here, listening to the blame and curse the village continued to harp on the Karnam, even after his death and bearing the stigma imposed on the family by the guilt of her late husband. Therefore, she sold all her properties in the village and migrated to her mother's place, situated nearby. Oh, why are we talking about this? You have come here to discuss the marriage proposal. Let us talk about it." 

Sakthivel then narrated details about his family to Gopi and asked him, "Please tell me about you."

"I have nothing to add beyond what I had said in my letter. I had lived in places like Mumbai and Kolkatta. I came to Chennai recently and settled down there. I came to Thanjavur on an assignment. I thought I could meet you in person. I will come again with my wife, after a few weeks. I take leave of you now" said Gopi and got up to leave.  

"Please have your lunch here and then leave" said Sakthivel's wife. 

"No. I have to leave now. I will have lunch at your home, when I come here again with my wife" said Gopi and left.

'I left home resenting my father's ways. But, it was a sin on my part to have not communicated with my family for forty years. Now, I will go to Panthanallur, my grandma's place and meet my mother living there. I don't know where my sister is living, after getting married.'

Reflecting as above, Gopi walked towards the bus stop.

Thirukkural

Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 18
Not Coveting Others' Belongings

Verse 171 (In Tamil)

naduvinRi nan poruL vehkin kudi ponRik
kuRRamum AngE tharum.

Meaning:

A desire to usurp the well-earned wealth of others, using unfair means, will destroy one's family and attach the stigma of guilt and blame.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'thappuk kaNakku' by the same author)

Verse 172
Verse 170

170. Missing the Recognitions

The monthly meeting of the sales executives of 'Southern Enterprises' was in progress.

"I am going to announce the name of the executive who achieved the highest sales last month" announced the Sales Manager.

After a brief pause, he said, "R. Sekhar."

"Can't be, sir. When I checked with the Accounts department on 31st, they said that I had achieved the highest sales for the month" said Murthy. 

"Sekhar had given given his sales invoices late in the evening, and after they were added, his sales figure increased and he moved to the top position" explained the Sales Manager.

Other sales executives sitting in the meeting exchanged some grudging remarks among themselves, in low voices.  

"Give Sekhar a big hand!" said the Sales Manager

There was a mild applause, which subsided almost immediately.

After the meeting had got over, the sales executives broke into small groups and talked among themselves.

"Sekhar has always been doing something to manipulate the figures. If someone outperforms him, he can't stand it. You should have seen Sekar's face, when Chandru emerged the top performer for the month before last!"

"But, it was Chandru, who congratulated Sekhar today, when most of us felt unhappy when Sekhar was declared the top performer for last month. 

"Chandru is a gem. He has a habit of encouraging and helping other sales executives. When it comes to character and attitudes, Sekar and Chandru are two opposite poles."

After a couple of years, when the position of Sales Manager became vacant, Sekhar was elevated to that position. 

This decision was not well received by other sales executives. The reactions were on these lines:

"This is atrocious! The management has given the promotion to Sekhar, overlooking the candidatures of several executives who have performed better than Sekhar. Even if we consider seniority, there are some above Sekhar. Chandru himself is senior to Sekhar!"

"Deciding whom to promote is the prerogative of the management of the firm. Perhaps, Sekhar may be close to the General Manager.""

"If Chandru had been promoted to this position, all of us would have been happy. How are we going to work under Sekhar, who cannot stomach the success of other people?""

After some more years, Sekar got another promotion. Chandru could not rise above the position of a Senior Sales Executive. Some executives, resenting the unfair treatment meted out to them by the management of the firm, moved to other companies.

Time passed. 

It was time for Chandru to retire. A farewell party was given to him, in which many employees at several levels participated.

Sekhar had retired two months earlier. 

After the farewell party had got over, Chandru's friend Karthik offered to drive Chandru home.

While driving the car, Karthik told Chandru, "I usually don't speak while driving a car. But, today, I am making an exception, since I feel the urge to share a thought that occurred to me."

"What is it?" asked Chandru. 

"I have been working with you in this firm, for the past thirty years. Everyone in our firm knows what a noble-hearted person you are. Everyone also knows about Sekhar's petty-mindedness, jealousy, greed and proclivity for dishonest practices. But, Sekhar went up in his career. You were not able to rise as high as him. People working in our firm have feelings of regret about this. I have been wondering since long why things happened this way. But, today I realized something, that would explain things."

"What did you realize?"

"A large number of the employees of our firm attended your farewell party. During the farewell party, I observed the love, affection and goodwill people had for you. But, only a handful of people attended the farewell party given to Sekhar. It was clear that they came to the farewell party and sat through it, only for the sake of courtesy. They had no warm feelings towards Sekhar. But, today, I witnessed people becoming overwhelmed by their good feelings towards you. Elevation in life doesn't have to be only by way of achieving a high position in one's career or earning a lot of money. Earning the love, affection and goodwill of people is also an elevation in one's life. In fact, what reward can be greater than securing a high place in the minds of people around us?" said Karthik.

"I don't know whether your perception is correct. But, I have always felt that getting the love and affection of all of you, my colleagues and associates, was a great reward I got in my life" said Chandru.  

Thirukkural

Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 17
Bearing No Envy

Verse 170 (In Tamil)

azhukkaRRu aganRArum illai ahdhu illAr
perukkaththil thIrndhArum il.

Meaning:

An envious person doesn’t ever attain glory; of those who are free from envy, there is none who has fallen from glory.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'kidaiththadhum kidaikkAdhadhum' by the same author)

Verse 171
Verse 169

706. Dressing Room

The tourist guide, who was showing the tourists the various spots inside the ancient palace building, on entering a particular room, turned to the tourists who were following him and asked them, "Can you guess what this room could have been?" 

The tourists, who were walking with their gazes down, to avoid getting tripped by an uneven part of the floor of the dilapidated palace, looked up and turned their gazes around the room.

'The whole structure is dilapidated. We are unable to make out whether a particular place is a hall or a room. How can we guess what this room was used for, several hundred years back?' Kamalanathan asked himself.

He turned to his wife Satyabama, who had been walking beside him and asked her, "Are you able to guess?" and laughed, as if he had uttered a joke. 

Satyabama didn't answer him. 

"Could it have been a bathroom? There is a hole on the roof. Are you going to tell us that the rain water that fell through the hole served as the shower, for the person taking a bath?" asked one of the tourists, jokingly. 

"You are not quite off the mark. This was not a bathroom, but the dressing room. The dressing room would be the next destination for a lady who had taken her bath, won't it be?" asked the guide, smiling at the ladies in the group.

"How do you say this was a dressing room?" asked another tourist. 

"That is the right question. Do you see this stone slab?"

"It is broken. But, it is glittering" said one tourist and went near the stone slab, to examine it closely. "I am able to see the reflection of my face here. Oh, is this a stone or a mirror?" he said, with astonishment.

"It is a stone. A marble stone that can reflect light like a mirror. They had fixed it on the wall, like a tall mirror that could show the reflection of the person standing in front of it. One can stand in front of the mirror and powder one's nose! The slab has been damaged over the years and only a small part of it is intact now.  One can notice this 'mirror,' only after coming near it" said the Guide, somewhat proudly. 

Several tourists went near the stone and checked whether they could see their reflection on it. 

Kamalanathan, after going near the stone and looking at it, said, "Bama! Come and see this" and turned to look at his wife.

But, Satyabama was not there. She was walking away from the place at a fast pace. A perplexed Kamalanathan, began to walk fast, trying to catch up with his wife.

The guide who was walking behind the tourists, whispered into the ears of his assistant who was walking beside him, "That lady seems to have been upset, for some reason. Her face was reflecting the anger that had arisen in her mind. But, he husband was talking to her about something, without realizing that she had been upset. It has made her even more angry and she has walked away, without even showing any interest in finding out what is interesting about this place. Her husband is trying to catch up with her, without realizing what has upset his wife."

The two men chuckled, hiding their laughter, by placing their palm over their mouth.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 71
Divining the Mind

Verse 706 (in Tamil):
aduththadhu kAttum paLingu pOl nenjam
kaduththadhu kAttum mugam.

Meaning:

Like a mirror showing he hues of the objects near it, the face betrays the mood of the mind. 

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'enna vEgam nillu bAmA?' by the same author.) 

Verse 707
Verse 705