The Man and The River

Emperor Yudhishtira came out of his room ready for the day's official work. As he came out of the main door of his private palace, he saw a line of priests standing with "prasad" and ready to greet him with the usual Vedic chants befitting his status. Such arrangement was common on some important days like his birthday or anniversary day of ascending the throne. There was no such occasion today and yet the priests had assembled in full numbers. He was perplexed and looked at Bheemasena, his younger brother who now also held the post of his senior most minister. Bheemasena just smiled and signaled to the priests to start their chants and offer prasad to the emperor. The emperor received all the prasad with reverence. Once all the priests had left the hall, he asked Bheemasena as to what was the reason of this special arrangement.

"I had ordered special pooja and offerings to all the deities in the capital today. The priests had come with the prasad after such special pooja in their respective places", replied Bheemasena.

"What was the reason for such special celebrations?" asked Yudhishtira.

"I was happy that you had conquered Death for one day" said Bheemasena.

"I do not understand what you are indicating" said the emperor.

"Yesterday an old man came to you asking for some gold coins for managing some function in his house. It appears you told him to come tomorrow and he will be given the same", said Bheemasena.

"What is special about it? It was late when the man came to me. Hence I told him to come tomorrow", said Yudhishtira.

"That is why I was happy and arranged the celebrations. One never knows whether he will be alive on the next day. But you were confident that you would be alive to meet the old man's request. Does it not mean that you had conquered death for one day?", asked smiling Bheemasena.

Yudhishtira understood the lesson his brother was indicating. He nodded and said, "Yes. I knew that nothing is certain in this world., but had forgotten for a moment yesterday. Thank you for reminding this eternal truth. Change is the only certainty in life. But Life itself is uncertain".

*****   

Similar references can also be seen in philosophies of other parts of the world. "No man ever steps into a river twice" is a famous saying in Greek Philosophy. Why is it so? Can a person step into the river, come out and after sometime step into the same river? No, it is not possible. Because he is not the same man now. Nor the river is the same. The person is now older than what he was when he stepped into the river last time! Similarly, the river is also not the same. The water flowing at this moment is different from the water that was flowing in the river when he stepped into it last time. Therefore, No man ever steps into the same river twice. When he steps in for the second time, he has changed as also the river. This appears strange; nevertheless it is true!

Heraclitus (535 BC - 475 BC) was a Greek philosopher who lived before Aristotle, Plato and Socrates. He lived in Ephesus, then a part of the Persian empire and present day Efes of Turkey. He was known as the "Weeping Philosopher" and is credited with many wonderful expressions that try to explain the "Laws of the Universe". Heraclitus was the earliest known philosopher of the west who identified that Change is the essence of life. He believed in the Theory of unity of opposites and stated that "No entity ever occupies a single state at a single time". He believed that Fire was the basic element from which all other elements took shape. 

Some of the other sayings of Heraclitus are equally interesting:

1. Men who wish to know about the world must learn about it in its particular details.
2. If you do not expect the unexpected then you will not find it, for it is not to be reached by search or trail.
3. It is hard to contend against one's heart's desire; for whatever it wishes to have it buys at the cost of soul.
4. God is day and night, winter and summer, war and peace, surfeit and hunger.
5. Our envy always lasts longer than the happiness of those who we envy.
6. Good character is not formed in a week or a month. It is created little by little, day by day. Protracted and patient effort is needed to develop good character.
7. Much learning does not teach understanding.
8. Big results require big ambitions.
9. Man is most nearly himself when he achieves the seriousness of a child at play.
10. To God everything is beautiful and just; humans however think that some things are unjust and others are just.

and many more......

*****

Many management experts conduct workshops on "Change Management". It is better for them to remember Heraclitus. And his saying: "Nothing endures but Change".

Do you have change, Please?

The line leading to the toll booth gate was growing by the minute. The wait appeared to be endless for the occupants of the waiting vehicles. Government had just demonitized high value currency notes as a tool to fight black money menace. Everyone was rushing to his or her destination. The government had waived toll charges on all National Highways for a short period, but this was a private toll road and such waiver was not recognized here. As a part of demonitization process, 500 and 1000 Rupee notes were not legal tender anymore and were required to be surrendered to the banks. 2000 rupee notes were said to have been released but not much in circulation as they were still on their way to the banks. Small denomination notes were not in adequate supply and people did not care much for them as their purchasing power was also too small for any meaningful use. Even beggars would not accept small denomination notes now. Government felt that use of electronic money would alleviate all cash shortage problems. But electronic money receiving gadgets were not in use in this toll booth. Beggars, small merchants and such toll booths were not yet caught in the electronic money tsunami. For all of them, Cash was still the King.

At last the vehicle reached the toll booth. The driver tried to hand over a 500 rupee note to the booth operator. Booth operator looked at it but did not touch it. "Do you have change, please?" he asked. The driver said he did not and added that nobody had change these days. "Go on and pay the toll at the exit point", said the booth operator looking at the long line of vehicles. The driver nodded and pressed the accelerator pedal. One hurdle was cleared.

As he approached the booth at the other end, the driver again showed the 500 rupee note to the booth operator. The booth operator asked the same question about change and the driver repeated his answer. Booth operator sighed, swung his hand and by that gesture asked the driver to be on his way. The driver smiled, pressed the accelerator pedal and put back the 500 rupee note in his pocket.

As per last available information, the driver had waved the same 500 rupee note at the booth operators for five days, ten trips in all, and moved to and fro without paying toll. He wants to pay, but cannot pay. He has not paid toll even once and the 500 rupee note is still with him. 

*****

Henry Adams was a 27 year-old young man and worked as a clerk in a San Francisco mining-broker's office. He was free on Saturdays and had the habit of venturing into the sea in a small boat. On one such saturday he ventured too far and the currents swept him deep into the sea. He was rescued by a ship bound for London. He was made to work on the ship during the voyage without wages and dropped off at London harbor. When he stepped on London harbor, he had only one dollar in his pocket and his clothes were ragged and shabby. The dollar sustained him for one day, but he was hungry and without a place to stay on the next day. He was moving along the city's Portland Place and was looking at a peach thrown away by a small child and was thinking of picking it, clean it and eat it. He was that much starved now.

Bank of England had issued two notes of one-million pound each, to be used for a special purpose in connection with some public transaction with a foreign country. One note was used, cancelled and returned to the Bank. The second was still lying in the vaults of the bank. Two wealthy old brothers had a chat over breakfast about this note. The issue that came up for discussion was what might be the fate of a perfectly honest and intelligent stranger who came adrift to London and came in possession of such a note. Brother A said he would starve to death and be ruined. Brother B said he wouldn't. The argument went on till brother B bet 20,000 Pounds to put this to test. Brother B went to the bank and bought the note. They dictated a letter to a clerk who wrote it down in beautiful handwriting. The letter was put in an envelope with the note. Now they waited near the window watching for the right man to give the envelope and put their wager to a test. The faces they saw on the street were not of strangers. Those who were strangers either did not appear honest or intelligent. Now, here was Henry Adams who was a stranger and looked intelligent as well as perfectly honest.

Henry Adams was called in to the house and was handed over the envelope after a brief discussion. He was asked not open it until he reached his lodging and sent away. After coming out of the house Henry Adams opened the envelope and found the letter and money in it. He went to the nearest cheap eating house and ate well enough. When he was full, he took out the note and could not believe his eyes. It was five million Dollars! (One pound was equal to five dollars as per exchange rate in those days.) The owner of the food house fainted when he saw the note. He apologized profusely and told Adams not to worry and let the bill go unpaid. But honest as Adams was, he insisted on getting the change. The owner respectfully told Adams that he can have an account at the place and come and eat whenever he desired. But there was no possibility for him to break the note and get the change.

Adams rushed back to the house to return the money and the envelope to its owners. But the brothers were gone to either Egypt or India. The servant reported that the brothers had indeed told him that Adams would be back within half an hour. The servant was to assure him that there was no mistake and it was real. Adams was to report back after 30 days at the same place and tell the brothers about the happenings in his life. 

Adams went to a cloth shop and asked for a misfit cheap suit. He was given one and he produced the note and asked for the change. The note went from the salesman to the owner and the owner was now apologetic. He scolded the salesman and gave the dresses made for His Serene Highness the Hospodar of Halifax. (Hospodar is a title given to a Governor or a Prince.) The dresses were handed over but the note was duly returned without change! Within a few days Adams was on the pages of every newspaper. He was described as the "Vest-pocket Million-Pounder". Punch carried a caricature of him. He was the talk of the high society in London and elsewhere. He got whatever he wanted to buy, but the note was always returned to him. Everybody was willing to lend money to him to now.

Adams went to meet the American Ambassador who later said he was a boyhood friend of Adam's father! Adams was invited to a dinner of fourteen with the rich and mighty twelve, besides the minister and himself. There Adams met the 22-year old English girl Portia Langham and the two fell in love with each other in two minutes. Adams was honest with her and told her that he had nothing with him except the million pound note and she did not care. They had great time together thereafter.

Adams met a friend from San Francisco who wanted a million dollars on a business deal. Adams agreed but not to give money but his reference. His word was now as good as money. They became partners in the business deal. The deal clicked and he had a million US Dollars (200,000 Pounds) in his account with a London bank by the end of the month. He requested Portia to go with him to the brothers at the end of the month to make his report. She agreed and he presented himself with her to make the report to the two brothers.

Adams produced the million dollars note and along with it a Certificate of Deposit for 200,000 Pounds in the London bank. The brother who won the bet offered a gift but Adams said he did not need it. Then the biggest surprise came. The man was none other than Portia's father! The two brothers had a hearty laugh. Now Adams said he would apply for the job of son-in-law. He added that he can be tested for 30 years as a son-in-law and can be confirmed later. 

The brothers took the check to Bank of England and it was en-cashed. The bank cancelled the check and returned it to the two brothers as a souvenir. The brothers happily celebrated the wedding of Portia and Adams. The cancelled check was given to Adams and Portia as a wedding gift. The cancelled check was duly framed and hung on the wall of their house to tell this story to all those who saw it.

*****

The above is the summary of a delightful story titled "The Million Pound Bank Note" by Mark Twain, which I read some fifty two years ago. It is a story with lot of Twain's trademark humor and twists. The story was made into a movie in 1954, with some modifications to suit screen presentation, with the handsome Gregory Peck playing the role of Adams. The film is available on Youtube.

The 500 rupee note our Driver has may not be able to get a Certificate of Deposit of 200,000 rupees or get a Portia Langham. It was just like the million pound note; never got broken and yet gave dividends. But it was adequate to remind of the wonderful story weaving and telling capacity of Mark Twain!

Not a word has been changed

Any communication sent from an establishment ought to reflect the thoughts and ideas of its author. The person signing such a letter or releasing the communication is to own the responsibility for it and as such he would be the final authority to approve its language and content. Quite often, such letters or messages given out by very senior functionaries in an organization are actually prepared by others reporting to them. There are different levels of people who prepare such written or spoken material as also approved by authorities at different levels. The knowledge and skill level of both the ones who prepare as well as approve differs from case to case. Pressure of work and deadlines add to the problem. An awareness that such material reflects the dignity and standing of the office enhances the quality of communication.

There are many interesting situations that would develop in this field. Communications were very formal and direct in the decades bygone. There was a system of preparing a "DFA" note (Draft for Approval) and placing it before the signing authority. The authority would go through the note, make suitable changes and then approve the draft. The final letter would be prepared thereafter, signed and released. This inevitably led to delays and double work. But many people in authority insisted that such should be the system in their offices. There were others who were more moderate and advised placing final letters directly and make some changes in a few of them. This would save time and speed up the proceedings. There were yet others who signed whatever was placed before them without worrying much about the language, tone and tenor of the letters. Of course, there were a fourth breed; they did not even understand what they were signing.

Senior officers in organizations had the support of a person designated as stenographer or steno-typist. Such persons had the skills to take down the contents of letters dictated by the boss in shorthand and prepare the final typed letter very quickly. Very senior officers had (and still have) an assistant designated as "Personal Secretary". Experienced stenos and secretaries had the capacity to understand the boss's mind while taking dictation. There was no need to tell them the entire thing. Just giving an idea was enough; they could add all other ingredients and make a fine letter ready for signing and despatch. Such people were in great demand as they were reliable and trustworthy. Trustworthy mainly because they could keep their mouths shut despite being privy to many confidential developments and issues.

Two anecdotes that come to mind sum up the above situations. The first was an instance wherein a senior officer placed a lot of importance to each letter signed by him. Any letter prepared by his subordinate would always come back with some correction or the other. At times the final output would be something totally different from what was placed before him. In the initial days the subordinate officer appreciated it and felt he was learning a lot. At one stage later on he told the boss: "Sir, I am learning a lot each time you correct or modify letters put up by me. But nowadays I have started losing confidence in my own abilities!". The senior officer realized the truth and moderated his interventions later on.

There was another situation wherein a subordinate sent a copy of the draft of a very important letter, to be sent to the Head Office, to the boss but forgot to write the three golden letters, DFA. The draft did not come back from the boss's chambers even after three days. He went to the boss and asked him about approval of the draft. The boss handed over the reply received from the Head Office for that letter! "I had signed and sent it over on the same day. Your letters are always perfect and reflect the content and language I want to convey. Henceforth, do not send any draft for approval. Send final letters with office copies. In case any change is required, which will be few and far between, I will let you know.", he said. The confidence the superior had in his subordinate was another end of the pendulum. Working would be a pleasure when such a level is reached in an office unit. 

*****

Mass leaders and people occupying highest positions in political fields have their own speech writers and communication drafters. Some of these leaders are themselves good writers with literary bent of mind, but still require support for drafting speeches and communications due to paucity of time. They also have the remarkable ability to spot a mistake in spelling and grammar as well as pick lacunae in them that touch a raw nerve in public sentiment or create controversies. Some of these leaders have the gift of deviating from the prepared text effortlessly and bring in their own golden touch on the spot. A few of them are brilliant extempore speakers; they can create and deliver masterpieces in accordance with what the situation demands. Even their rivals have to perforce admire such remarkable quality. Our former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was one such speakers. Of course, there are many of those who cannot even read a prepared text properly and often come out with foot-in-the-mouth stuff.

Former Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was known for speeches which would pass for a literary masterpiece as well. His speeches at the Constituent Assembly on the night of 14th August, 1947 ("Tryst with Destiny" speech) and address to the Nation on the day Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated ("Light has gone out" speech) were part of text books when we were students. The words "At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom" is still remembered. While there was ample time to write and prepare the first speech, the second was urgent and immediate. It is not known whether a draft for approval was prepared and how many times it was changed. The second is believed to have been delivered extempore as there was no time for approving any draft speech.

*****

Advent of computers have changed everything. There is no more need to have a draft for approval. A document can be prepared in any corner of the world and mailed to another part of the world for correction, modification and finalization. Steno-typists and stenographers have disappeared. It might even be proper to say that everyone has become a reincarnation of stenographers. Language can be changed, pictures and graphs can be added and fonts can be modified. More importantly, language, spelling and grammar have lost relevance and importance. Some of us from the old school may still worry about them, but this generation too will pass in one or two decades. SMS language and abbreviation have removed the sanctity attached to the three words mentioned above. 

SMS language was being used by the younger generation in their private conversations while sending SMS messages. Now it has become official and accepted as such everywhere. Last month (on 13th June, 2016) RBI came out with guidelines on S4A scheme. S4A is the short form for Scheme for Sustainable Structuring of Stressed Asset.  A friend extended an invitation for lunch at a new restaurant opened in their locality. We were told that it is named as A2B.  There is also a chain of restaurant known as 1947. We thought it was something like that and on the lines of B2B. It was known only after going there that it was our good old "Adyar Ananda Bhavan", a place from which we were buying sweets for the last three decades in Chennai! The language used today is shorter than even the shorthand our stenos were using decades ago!

*****

There is no method to know whether any document or letter was finalized after changing a few drafts or mere words. But what was the position several hundred years ago when writing the first version on palm leaves was in itself a big task? One never knows. We know many poets of recent times who did not need a pen and paper to write their poems. Whatever they said was poetry! They indeed breathed poetry. Da Ra Bendre was one such poet. Gopaldas Neeraj is another poet that comes readily to the mind. His songs used in Hindi films bear a testimony to this.

One poet whose exact period is still disputed and dragged between 13th and 15th century has categorically declared that there was no such issue as Draft for Approval in his case. Gadugina Naranappa, popularly known as KumaraVyasa, has written an epic titled Karnata Bharata Katha Manjari. It is the Kannada version of entire Mahabharata. He has taken the story from Vyasa's epic, but traced his own path in weaving and narrating the Mahabharata story in Bhamini Shatpadi, a meter consisting poems of six lines each. This full scale epic work is highly respected and used even today. He declares in the beginning of the book itself thus:

ಹಲಗೆ ಬಳಪವ ಪಿಡಿಯದೊಂದಗ್ಗಳಿಕೆ 

ಪದವಿಟ್ಟಳುಪದೊಂದಗ್ಗಳಿಕೆ 

ಪರರೊಡ್ಡವದರೀತಿಯ ಕೊಳ್ಳದಗ್ಗಳಿಕೆ...... 

A slate and chalk piece has not been used

Not a word has been changed once written down

Not followed the path traced by another poet...

KumaraVyasa belonged to a period when paper and pencil, printing press or computers were not known. His work was not a creation in prose. It had the challenging meter where only a specified number of letters could be used in each line. Yet, he had the guts to declare that "Not a word was changed" in his creation. Once written, that was final. Blessed are those who have such a legacy with them.....