I was frantically doing some calculations. The numbers did not match. I had done some official travels and had to close all my accounts to get the money reimbursed. Every penny had to be accounted for. I don't mind spending money from my pocket, which inevitably happens, but sometimes (very very rarely) we might end up getting a few bucks more than we spent. Since we are eligible for a certain daily allowance and if we had spent lesser money than the daily allowance and had not kept track on how much we had spent this happens.
Even as I was doing the calculations, my sister called me. Her voice sounded worried. They are inspecting her hospital for erecting an ultrasound machine and she had to get it registered. The government of Tamil Nadu had to register her and grant her eligibility. Oh yes, should I expand on what she was worried about in all these inspections?
And by the time she finished her monologue on how worried she is, and how everybody else is saying it is impossible to get a registration without paying that extra few thousand bucks, I could hear some crackers going on. I could see a few cadres of a political party dancing. It suddenly struck me that the famous 2G case verdict is supposed to have come and searched online for some news.
And there were the famous accused in the 2G scam with huge smiles. Oh ya, all the 17 of the accused in the case were acquitted. Maybe there was no scam called 2G. Maybe it was all a conspiracy. Maybe the petty political calculations of the day had saved them. The maybe's of life.
As all this was going on, a close friend and colleague came to me and said this and I quote "Naama thaan da mutaazh", ippadi calculation pottukitu irukom"; (We are the fools, who do all these silly calculations).
Am I a fool in wanting to be that individual who does not mind losing money but is extra careful in making sure that I don't take any extra benefits? Is my sister a fool to think that she should not pay a bribe and would rather not do ultrasound than pay a bribe?
Maybe the world is going at a different pace! Yes, surely we lose out on a lot of things in life in trying to be ideal. Surely the ideal world does not exist. The harsh reality is that there are no brownie points in this world for having a squeaky clean image. Honesty is the best policy is meant for films. Nothing else!
Yet, I'm not comfortable getting more money than deserved or getting money in a wrong manner! For if there is a God, and if he asks me at the end of it all, I dare not stand in front of him naked.
Even as I was doing the calculations, my sister called me. Her voice sounded worried. They are inspecting her hospital for erecting an ultrasound machine and she had to get it registered. The government of Tamil Nadu had to register her and grant her eligibility. Oh yes, should I expand on what she was worried about in all these inspections?
And by the time she finished her monologue on how worried she is, and how everybody else is saying it is impossible to get a registration without paying that extra few thousand bucks, I could hear some crackers going on. I could see a few cadres of a political party dancing. It suddenly struck me that the famous 2G case verdict is supposed to have come and searched online for some news.
And there were the famous accused in the 2G scam with huge smiles. Oh ya, all the 17 of the accused in the case were acquitted. Maybe there was no scam called 2G. Maybe it was all a conspiracy. Maybe the petty political calculations of the day had saved them. The maybe's of life.
As all this was going on, a close friend and colleague came to me and said this and I quote "Naama thaan da mutaazh", ippadi calculation pottukitu irukom"; (We are the fools, who do all these silly calculations).
Am I a fool in wanting to be that individual who does not mind losing money but is extra careful in making sure that I don't take any extra benefits? Is my sister a fool to think that she should not pay a bribe and would rather not do ultrasound than pay a bribe?
Maybe the world is going at a different pace! Yes, surely we lose out on a lot of things in life in trying to be ideal. Surely the ideal world does not exist. The harsh reality is that there are no brownie points in this world for having a squeaky clean image. Honesty is the best policy is meant for films. Nothing else!
Yet, I'm not comfortable getting more money than deserved or getting money in a wrong manner! For if there is a God, and if he asks me at the end of it all, I dare not stand in front of him naked.
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