Ramamurthy Kalyanasundaram
I have always been amazed by puritans who steadfastly stick to their principles in all circumstances. They do not lend themselves to any change what so ever.
My father was the guarantor for a bond executed by me to serve a public sector company for 5 years. However after a few months, I was transferred to the most backward district of Bastar from the cosmopolitan city of Hyderabad, contrary to what I was promised at the time of interview. Hence I decided to change to another organisation that gave me a posting in a city. Promptly my father received a notice to pay back all the salary drawn by me. I told “Dad the company is not serious about such recoveries and people usually ignore such notices and after all the company has also not kept its word. He replied “To me any contract is sanctimonious. I don’t care about what others do; it is my principle to respect my commitment”. He paid all the dues and went to check if the matter was closed. The Personnel officer laughed and asked him “Why did you pay? It is our duty to send notices and you could have ignored the same”. My father replied “I don’t want to owe a dime to anyone. My conscious is clear now.”
During my school days we used to consult a doctor who believed that left to nature many ailments will cure without drugs. He belonged to the now practically non-existent breed of doctors, whose principle was to avoid medication to the extent possible. It was usual sight to see him stand at the entrance of his clinic, clad in white safari suite, examine the patients and give them on the spot treatment.
Whenever I had fever, he used to advise “Go home and ask your mother to give porridge for two days and if the fever continues, then come back”. More often than not, this treatment used to work. For children this was a better option than visiting another doctor, whose first level of treatment was the dreaded injection as it fetched more fees and the cure was faster.
I had a rather strange experience while working with a foreigner. I was associated with an American in a joint venture in Bangalore. An Indian vendor met us and presented the American with a sandal wood pen set as a matter of good will gesture. The American silently called me aside and told “Kalyan, I have signed an agreement with my organisation that I will not accept any gift and if I refuse this gift, the vendor will feel hurt. What should I do now?”I told him that this piece costs less than $2 and I do not see any violation in the real sense. But he said as a matter of principal did not want to accept. It was a typical catch 22 situation. To solve this tangle I told him to accept the gift and pass on the same to me, for I had not executed any undertaking with my company. This was readily agreed and the matter was sorted out, pleasing all the three in the process.
Though these characters seem worldly unwise, it is always a pleasant experience to come across such principled persons even today, though small in numbers, in this materialistic world.
