‘I stood there dumbstruck. Because of my foolish behaviour the whole company was going to suffer. An employee should always work for the betterment of the company. But what had I done? I was so numb I could not even cry. I went back to my desk and sat quietly. After thinking for a while I knew what I should do. I took a blank sheet of paper and wrote my resignation on it. That was the only way I felt I could atone for my mistake. I went to my boss’s chamber and gave him the letter. Then I stood there, my head bowed in shame.
‘He read the letter carefully. Then he tore it up. He said, “Everybody commits mistakes. I took a backup of the information on the disc before you lifted it. The data is still intact in the store room. You don’t have to worry. Repentance itself is a punishment and you have repented enough. You should not be so sensitive. Sensitive people suffer a lot in life. Go and do your work.”
‘I did not have any words to say to him.’
Now I looked at Nalini and told her, ‘It was also my mistake. I should have made a copy of such an important program. Please do not worry. I will rewrite the program. I still have some notes at home.
‘That incident taught me that when you become a leader you should be kind and forgiving to your subordinates. It is not fear that binds you to your boss. Affection, openness and the appreciation of your qualities builds a long-lasting relationship. We spend most of our time at our work places. This time should be spent in happiness, not in blaming each other.’
My students broke into applause.
The Secret
In my class, about forty per cent of the students are girls and sixty per cent boys. When I studied Engineering thirty-five years back, I was the only girl in the course. I could only see boys and more boys everywhere. Today that trend has changed. People often ask me how I managed. But when I look back I feel it was not very difficult. Having a girl in the class was unusual for the boys, and initially I was the target for a lot of teasing. But over a period of time they became my best friends.
One day, in the class I was teaching, the students got into an argument. This happens often and I always allow them to speak. Normally this happens in the last class of the semester. I call it a free day, and there are no studies that day.
An argument had broken out between the girls and the boys about who was better. This is a very juicy topic and there is absolutely no end to the arguments. Suddenly the class was divided into two groups and the debate became emotionally charged. I sat back and enjoyed their arguments.
The girls said, ‘It is ultimately the woman who makes the man. She is more powerful, has great endurance for pain and a better manager than a man. All successful men have been backed by supportive women. Without her help, man cannot achieve anything.’
The boys laughed at this, ‘The woman will always be behind, never in the front. How many women have got the Nobel Prize? A woman’s brain weighs less than a man’s.’
I had to interfere here to say that there is absolutely no co-relation between the weight of the brain and its functions. The boys looked quite upset at my comment.
‘Men start wars.’
‘Wars happen because of women. Look at what happened because of Helen of Troy, Draupadi or Sita.’
The foolish arguments continued for a long time. Neither of the two groups was ready to accept the reality. Now I realized I had to step in.
I said, ‘I will tell you a story. Listen to it and decide who is great.’
Immediately there was pin drop silence.
A long time ago there were two kings. One ruled over Kashi, and the other over Kosala. They did not like each other. Once both kings were travelling and they met. They were on their chariots. The road was small and only one chariot could pass at one time. Unfortunately, both chariots reached that spot at the same time. They stood facing each other. Which chariot would pass first? The kings refused to talk to each other, so their charioteers started talking.
The Kashi charioteer said, ‘My king has ten thousand soldiers.’
The Kosala charioteer replied, ‘My king also has ten thousand soldiers.’
‘My king has two hundred elephants.’
‘So does my king.’
‘My king owns ten lakh acres of fertile land.’
‘So does mine.’
The arguments carried on. It was very surprising that both kings had the same things.
Then the Kosala charioteer said, ‘My king punishes bad people, dislikes lazy people and uses his money for the betterment of the kingdom.’
The Kashi charioteer replied, ‘My king helps bad people become better human beings, makes a lazy person work hard and uses his money for the betterment of poor people.’
When the king of Kosala heard this, he told his charioteer, ‘He is a better human being than me, I must become his friend. Give way to their chariot first.’
When the king of Kashi heard this, he got down and embraced the king of Kosala. Thus their enmity ended and they became friends.
I looked at my students and said, ‘Today I will tell you a secret. I usually tell this at the end of the course in the last class. In real life, men and women are not opponents, they are the two wheels of a chariot. There is nothing good about one and bad about another. Both should possess good qualities.
‘A person gets known by the qualities he or she possesses, not by the gender. That is decided by God.
‘I am teaching you Computer Science today, but you will learn more in real life. Technology changes every day and good books are always there in the market. What I am teaching is also how to be a good human being. These values have not been prescribed in any syllabus nor will they appear in any examination. But these are the essential qualities you need, to do well in life. When you become older you should remember that there was a teacher who taught you the values of life along with your first knowledge of Computer Science. You must then teach your children these same values with as much love and affection.’
The class ended that day with my students gathered around me and all of us trying to hold back our tears.
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First published in Puffin by Penguin Books India 2004
Copyright © Sudha Murty 2004
Cover illustration by Anitha Balachandran
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How I Taught My Grand Mother to Read and Other Stories Page 10