Father accompanied me in my maiden trip to Trichur to take up my first job, despite my telling it was not necessary.
“I I’ll introduce you to Dr. Vaithukkutty Athimbar and Vadakkunnathan, who will be your local guardians at Trichur,” he said. The former was our relative and Vadakkunnathan, the presiding deity of Trichur.
During the train journey which lasted nearly two hours, he unleashed the story of his struggles to build up his business and how he expected me to take over from him and raise it to higher levels. ” I’m not disappointed though, as business is not your cup of tea, according to your mother. But, I can tell you that it has many advantages, compared to working for others. In your business, you are your master. You, not someone else, controls your time . You work for your uplift first and then that of others. Risks are there in business but risks are there in any jobs. If a necessity comes later, you are not left without a job. You have one on hand. Remember this”
He took out his Brasso- bright betel leaf casket, from his hand bag, shared the contents with one or two, enjoyed the chew slowly and then enquired about the nature of work expected to be allotted to me. I explained.
“So, you will be dealing with agricultural workers. You will be handling their blood and excreta samples for analysis” my father continued, “handling men are more difficult than handling their blood and their waste but your childhood experience in our Akaththethra agricultural lands, will come to your help. No knowledge goes waste. At one time or other, what you learned, will come to your help”
“I wish I had acquired a small percentage of your skill in personnel relationship”
I said smiling. “you have many of my qualities including handling words. But remember, honesty is the basic requirement for success in any profession”
“There are instances when honest men had to lose their jobs” I quipped..
“Jobs yes, but not their soul” Appa argued. “Their conscious will never prick them. A man with a conscious of Narasimhamoorthy ‘s teeth and nails, kills him silently every minute”
“The other requirements of equal importance are control over yourself, control over time, money, thoughts, words etc. This is not to say that professional competence has no importance. This is to say that professional competence without the above qualities, won’t take you far”
In my long life journey, Appa’s words of wisdom in the train and earlier, have been a guide or reference book for me.
My maiden visit to the Vadakkunnathan temple and other shrines a long with my father, is still clear in the mirror of my mind, especially the recitation of my Rudram, Chamakam japam, along with him, who was my Guru for my Vedic lessons.
To continue