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

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 706
Verse 704

704. The Add-ons Man!

"Sir! I would like to ask you something. I hope you won't mistake me!" Kesavan said, reluctantly.

"Ask, by all means!" said Branch Manager Kannan, with an encouraging smile.

"Madhavn and I have the same educational qualification. We joined this company at nearly the same time. Both of us have been holding identical positions in this company. We are drawing the same amount of salary."

"You have omitted some more similarities!"

"What are they, sir?"

"Both of you have two eyes, two hands , two legs, one nose and one mouth!"

"Sir!"

"I was just kidding. Continue."

"Both of us are reporting to you. But you tell Madhavan more things than you tell me."

Kannan threw a sharp glaze at Kesavan, as if he was looking into Kesavan's eyes.

"Pardon me, sir, if you consider my observation impertinent. You treat us with kindness and dignity. You speak to us in an informal way. You have told us that we can ask you anything, without any inibition. That was why I took the liberty of asking you this. I am sorry, once again" said Kesavan, feeling apprehensive that he had offended the Branch Manager.

"I didn't say your question was impertinent or inappropriate. I am just thinking how to answer your question. But, tell me how you say that I tell Madhavan things that I don't tell you."

"You give both of us similar tasks. But, I find that Madhavan, while executing a task, does a few additional things, like add-ons! Apparently, you should have given him instructions for doing such additional things. I feel bad that my execution of the task looks poor, when compared to that of a similar task by Madhavan. I have naturally felt that if you gave me too such additional instructions, I would do things in a better way."

Kannan didn't answer Kesavan. He rang the bell, called the peon and asked him to send Madhavan to his cabin.

When Madhavan came into his cabin, Kannan asked him, "Madhavan! You have sent me the file relating to last year's audit. I didn't ask for that file."

"Sir, you told me that the auditors would be coming in a day or two and asked me to keep the records ready. I thought that you would like to check whether we have rectified the deficiencies pointed out in last year's audit. That's why I sent to you last year's audit file. If you don't need it..." said Madhavan, wondering whether what he had done was inappropriate.

"Yes, I need that file. I wanted to know how you had sent me the file, even without my asking for it. Good job. You may leave" said Kannan, with a smile.  

After Madhavan had left, Kannan turned to Kesavan and said, "Did you see? I don't tell Madhavan anything more than what I tell you, relating to any task. But, he tries to understand my mind, thinks about what I would expect relating to the particular task and executes the task accordingly. I am not finding fault with your way of working. You are doing your work diligently. But, if you can put your mind into the objective of my giving you the task, think what additional things would serve my objective better and execute the job by providing for such additional things, you will be able to perform still better. This approach will help you excel in other areas of your life too" said Kannan. 

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 71
Divining the Mind

Verse 704 (in Tamil):
kuRiththadhu kURAmaik koLvarOdu Enai
uRuppOr anaiyarAl vERu.

Meaning:

Those who can sense thoughts without being told, are distinct; their resemblance to others is only in their human forms.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'ennaip pOl oruvan' by the same author.) 

Verse 705
Verse 703

703. God's Special Gift

"I don't understand why our MD* has been taking Varadu with him, while attending a meeting of the Chamber of Commerce, like someone taking a pet animal with him!" commented Santhan, somewhat irritably.

"Are you jealous that the MD has not been taking you along?" asked Sarala, sitting next to him in the office.

"The MD has not been taking even the Manager with him, while attending an important meeting. How can I expect him to take me along?" said Santhan.

"If the MD takes the Manager with him, who will control you people? Even when the Manager is in the office, you two have been chatting in the office. If he is not in the office, this won't be like an office at all!" quipped Kumaraswamy, a senior employee, who was listening to the conversation.

"The old man has been deluding himself that he is the only person in the office, working sincerely. The output we deliver, even after spending some time chatting, is much more than the output he delivers by immersing himself in work!" Santhan whispered to Sarala, with a smile.  

Varadarajan was sitting at a corner of the room in which the meeting of the Chamber of Commerce was being held.

Though there was some resentment among several members about Nallasivam's bringing his assistant to the meetings of the Chamber of Commerce, they could not object to it, since the rules permitted the presence of an assistant to a member in the meetings. 

A few minutes after returning to his office, after the meeting of the Chamber of Commerce got over, Nallasivam summoned Varadarajan to his cabin. 

"The two of them just returned to the office from the meeting. Why is the MD calling Varadu to his cabin?" Santhan asked Sarala, in a whispering tone.

"Perhaps, the MD wants to discuss the deliberations of the meeting with the 'senior executive' Varadu!" said Sarala, mockingly. 

"Tell me, Varadu" asked Nallasivam.

Varadarajan said, "Whenever, you signaled me, I observed the people pointed by you to me. The points made by Mr. Sambandham were not to the liking of many people. The suggestions given by Mr. Kathiresan, on the other hand, were well received by most of the people. However, M/s Sundaresan and And Shanmugam were not impressed. Then..."

After listening to the observations made by Varadarajan, with interest and amazement, Nallasivam said, "How do you do this, Varadu? I was sitting near these people, but I could not discern their feelings. But, observing from a distance, you have been able to read so much from their face expressions and gestures. Every time, I hear your observations, I am amazed."

"Sir! I just tell you what I perceived from the face expressions and gestures of people. Only you will know to what extent my perceptions are correct" said Varadarajan, feeling slightly embarrassed by his superior's words of appreciation. 

"Your observations have been confirmed to be accurate, every single time. The skill of reading the minds of people from their face expressions is a special gift given to you by God. By the way, did people in our office ask you why I had been taking you with me to the meetings?"

"Yes, they did. I told them that you were taking me with you, to remind you of the pills you have to take at regular intervals" said Varadarajan.

"Good" said Nallasivam, appreciatively.

*MD - Managing Director

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 71
Divining the Mind

Verse 703 (in Tamil):
kuRippin kuRippu uNarvArai uRuppinuL

yAdhu koduththum koLal.

Meaning:

A person, who, when signaled by his superior, can read others’ minds by observing them, should be retained as an aid, by giving him any amount of resources, for his services.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'varadhuvukku angE enna vElai' by the same author.) 

Verse 704
Verse 702

702. The Financier

Ramani and Guru went to meet Financier Shanmugam, for seeking his investment in the business venture they proposed to launch.

After listening to their business proposal, Shanmugam told them, "Your business plan appears to be good. I think I will be able to invest in your venture. But, I will confirm my investment, only after your project is approved by my business venture evaluation team, after a detailed study. In general, I will be able to evaluate the viability of a project, by having a look at the details. Til now, my judgement made after a quick study of the project details, has been endorsed by my team, after a detailed appraisal. But, I still follow the system. We need a system for anything, don't we?"  

"Fine, sir!" said Ramani.

"I will tell you what my terms are" said Sanmugam and outlined the terms of his investment. 

"Ok, sir!" said Ramani. 

Ramani and Guru got up to leave.

"You have not given me your project report. My team can decide, only after going through the project report" said Shanmugam. 

"We need to give some finishing touches to the report. We want the report to be perfect, when it is given to your team for evaluation. We will finalize the report and then hand it over to you" said Guru. 

After coming out of Shanmugam's house, Ramani asked Guru, "Have we not finalized the project report? You said that we need to give some finishing touches to the project. What are they?"

"Our project report is perfect. It doesn't need any finishing touches. I said so, only to avoid giving the report to Shanmugam. I think it is better that we don't take any investment from this gentleman" said Guru.

"Why? Did you find any of his terms unacceptable?"

"The terms mentioned by him are the standard terms that will be stipulated by any investor. I have no problem with them. But, I suspect that his intentions are not good. He seems to be having an ulterior motive in investing in our venture."

"What is that motive?"

After Guru mentioned his apprehension, Ramani asked him, "On what basis are you saying this?" 

"It is the impression I got by listening to him and observing him. I suggest that we contact a few people financed by him already and get their feedback" said Guru. 

"Perhaps, we can" said Ramani, somewhat reluctantly.

"Ramani! I am your working partner. You are the one who is investing the capital. I hope you don't consider my suggestion presumptuous" said Guru, in an apologetic tone.

"Not at all, Guru. I asked you to be my working partner, because I value your advice. I am happy that you shared your misgivings with me. As suggested by you, we will contact a few people financed by Shanmugam and ask them about their experience" said Ramani, patting Guru on his back. 

After a few days, Ramani called Guru over the phone and told him, "Guru! Your misgivings have been proved to be right. I made some enquiries about Shanmugam in the business circles known to me. I also contacted some of the people financed by Shanmugam and talked to them. This is what I found. In the past, Shanmugam made attempts to take over the firms financed by him, soon after they had begun to earn profit. He successfully took over some firms. Some other firms have been resisting his takeover attempts, but their energy and resources are getting drained in the process. How did you discern Shanmugam's motive, by listening to him for a few minutes?"

"We were breeding a cat in our house. When it looked at a prey, there would be a glow in its eyes, reflecting its excitement, anticipation and delight. I saw such an expression in Shanmugam's eyes. Thank God, my suspicions turned out to be right. If they had been wrong, you would have missed a good investment opportunity!" said Guru, feeling relieved. 

"They say God alone knows what lies in the minds of people. It is remarkable that you are able to peep into the mind of another person and dig out the thoughts hidden at the bottom of his mind. This is a divine skill. Taking you as my partner was the smartest decision I took in my life" said Ramani, with excitement and pride.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 71
Divining the Mind

Verse 702 (in Tamil):
aiyapppadAdhu agaththadhu uNarvAnai
dheyvaththOdu oppak koLal.

Meaning:

One who is able to ascertain without a doubt what is within the mind of another person is to be considered God. 

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'mudhalIdu vENdAm' by the same author.) 

Verse 703
Verse 701

701. The Stenographer's Impressions

Senior Executives of Vijay Engineering had assembled in the conference room at the company's head office, for a meeting with the senior executives of Pradeep Enterprises.

Krish, the stenographer of Vijayan, the Managing Director of Vijay Engineering, was also present in the meeting, sitting in a rear row, ready to take notes of the discussions. 

The meeting was organized by Vijay Engineering, with the aim of roping in Pradeep Enterprises as a customer of Vijay Engineering, by making a presentation to the senior executives of the latter, about the high quality of the products and services offered by Vijay Engineering. 

Before the meeting was to begin, Vijayan told Pradeep, the Managing Director of Pradeep Enterprises , "Sir! If you have no objection, my stenographer Krish will take notes of the discussion."

Pradeep nodded his head in agreement. 

After the meeting had been over and the senior executives of Pradip Enterprises had left, Vijayan called the senior executives of his company, who took part in the meeting, to his cabin. Krish was seated in Vijayan's room at the back. 

They discussed the deliberations of the meeting they had had with the senior executives of Pradeep Enterprises.

Referring to a specific proposal discussed in the meeting, Dhanapal, the Marketing Manager said enthusiastically, "Sir! I think they liked this proposal."

Vijayan looked at Krish, sitting behind every one. Krish nodded his head sideways, conveying his disagreement with Dhanapal's claim. 

"Mr. Dhanapal, I think you are wrong. They didn't like this proposal" said Vijayan. 

"How do you say so, sir?" asked Dhanapal, in a polite tone.

"This is what Krish's notes show. Am I right, Krish?" asked Vijayan, looking at Krish. 

Everyone turned back to look at Krish's face.

Krish nodded his head, confirming Vijayan's statement. 

"No, sir. I remember well. When we mentioned this proposal, they didn't say anything against it. Krish might have made wrong notes, by mistake" said Dhanapal, standing his ground. 

"It is true that they didn't say anything against the proposal. But, it doesn't mean that they liked it. They might have refrained from saying anything negative, by way of courtesy."

"In that case, how could Krish have made notes that they didn't like it?"

"Mr. Dhanapal, Krish didn't just take shorthand notes of the points discussed. He also made notes of what he had discerned from the face expressions and gestures of our guests, during the times various points were discussed" said Vijayan, smiling. 

The executives looked at Vijayan, with a perplexed expression.

"When we listen to people, we pay attention only to their words. We often don't pay attention to their face expressions and gestures. Even when a person is silent, we can understand what is in his mind, by studying his face expression. But, this requires a skill and persistent efforts to sharpen the skill. During the past two months, when Krish has been my stenographer, I realized that he had the gift of understanding what is in a person's mind, by studying the person's face expressions and gestures. Whenever some visitor came to my cabin and talked to me, Krish would observe that person. After the person left, Krish would tell me what he had read from that person's face expression.requires I have found that his reading has always been right. That was the reason I asked him to be present, during this important meeting" said Vijayan. 

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 71
Divining the Mind

Verse 701 (in Tamil):
kURAmai nOkkak kuRippu aRivAn egnAnRum
mARA nIr vaiyakku aNi.

Meaning:

He who reads the mind of the other person just by observing him, even with no words spoken by the other person, is ever an adornment to the world, which is endowed with unchanging oceans.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'surukkezhuththALarin kuRippugaL' by the same author.) 

Verse 702
Verse 700

700. How Did This Happen?

When Sundaram, the Manager of the firm, went to the cabin of Proprietor Vedamuthu, responding to his summons, Vedamuthu was furious.

Vedamuthu, who had been following the practice of first offering a seat to Sundaram, whenever he entered his cabin, didn't ask him to sit. The moment Sundaram stepped into his cabin, Vedamuthu started taking to him, venting his anger.

"Mr. Sundaram, I have entrusted the running of my firm to you. How can you be so irresponsible?"

"What did I do, sir?" asked Sundaram, perturbed by the Proprietor's words. 

"Ram Enterprises have been paying our bills, with a lot of delay. They arbitrarily deducted some amount from some of the bills, claiming that the quality of our product was not good. So, I took a decision to stop supplying our product to them and apprised you of my decision. But, you have supplied the product to them, defying my instruction!" 

"Sir! When Ram Enterprises made a request for supplying our product to them, I declined their request, stating the reason. But, I when I came to the office this morning, I found that the product was supplied to them yesterday, when I was on leave. I thought of bringing this to your notice, soon after your coming to the office. But, before I could do so, you called me" said Sundaram.

Vedamuthu thought for a while, called the peon and told him, "Ask Kumar to come to my cabin."

After a few minutes, Kumar entered Vedamuthu's cabin, seated himself on a chair and asked Vedamuthu, "You wanted to see me, uncle!" 

"Get up from your seat, first. Don't you see that the Manager is standing? How can you take your seat, before my asking you to?" flared Vedamuthu.

He then looked at Sundaram and said, "Please have your seat. In my perturbed state of mind, I forgot to ask you to sit. I am sorry" he added, apologetically.  

"It is fine, sir!" said Sundaram and took his seat.

Kumar got up from his seat, startled by Vedamuthu's display of anger and asked him, "What has happened, uncle?"

"Stop calling me 'uncle.' This is my office. You are an employee here. Sundaram is your boss. Other employees are your colleagues. I have heard that you have been trying to command every one in the office, as if you had the authority to do so, taking advantage of the fact that you are related to me. I wanted to call you and reprimand you, in private. But, before I could do so, you did something worse. You misused your authority and committed an irregularity" said Vedamuthu, his tone indicating that his anger had still not subsided. 

"No, uncle...I mean, no, sir! I didn't intend to..."

"The Manager has given clear instructions to all the staff that we should not make any supply to Ram Enterprises. He gave that instruction, in compliance with the decision taken by me. But, yesterday, when the Manager was on leave, goods have been delivered to Ram Enterprises. Was it done as per your instructions?"

"They begged me over phone that their position was precarious and that they desperately needed the product. That's why I agreed to their request." 

"Who gave you the authority to decide to supply the goods to Ram Enterprises? The other employees would have told you that the Manager had instructed that we should not supply our product to them!"

Kumar nodded his head, silently. 

"You have taken this decision, knowing that it was in violation of the instructions given by the Manager. Considering that you are my relative, the other employees did not want to disobey you and carried out your instruction. If you want to continue to work here, you should understand your responsibilities and know your limits. You should be aware that you are like any other employee working here in the same rank as you. If you cannot accept this and conduct yourself appropriatey, you are free to look for some other job" said Vedamuthu.

"Please forgive me, sir! I will not act this way again" said Kumar, in a feeble voice. 

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 70
Getting Close to the Ruler

Verse 700 (in Tamil):
pazhaiyam enak karudhip paNballa seyym
kezhu thagaimai kEdu tharum.

Meaning:

Taking advantage of proximity to the ruler and acting out of character will bring ruin.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'idhu eppadi nadandhadhu?' by the same author.) 

Verse 701
Verse 699