Neelambari

One can rewrite his fate with his right choice, sometimes it can be a person, or some decisions made up after a thorough analysis. One day an expensive car almost hit the gates of the house. The house that belonged to the owner of the same expensive car. The car door opened and, on the ground, Padayappa's feet landed on the sandy floor and progressed on the glossy tiles of the house. The personal assistant reminded him of the interview he had on that day.

He headed to the house and sat on the single sofa he always preferred when he had to give interviews or ruminate about his past. His face looked satisfied with life and his lips slowly recovered from the dark prints of his cigar he had quit a few months ago. He was so graceful that people admire his style and humble stature, a quiet contradictory parts of his personality. The interviewer wished him with the Tamil gesture, 'vanakkam' and started posing his questions. 

Interviewer: You became famous from the scratch, and you had nothing left in the beginning. How come you became so successful sir?

Padayappa: It was true that I began my career from the scratch, but I had my wealth with me. The wealth nobody can take away from me. My education. The certificates I received in the USA after the completion of the course. My father gave his assets to his brother, not my certificates of education and it can't be. Next question please.

Interviewer: You didn't go to break rocks and nor did you move ahead with a spade to eke out a living?

Padayappa: Any kind of work is worship, yet I never had to go for it. I did start my work all by myself by being an employee at some top-notch companies learning the nuances to pull myself off and availed the knowledge into my business and by the grace of God I am able to sit in front of great interviewers like you.

 

Interviewer: And in your venture the stones turned out to be granite and luck played well in your life. Is it not?

Padayappa: No way. I never had been to that enterprise nor did the luck work out in my life. I believed myself and listened to the people who wanted me to go ahead. 

Interviewer: Is that your wife that you are mentioning?

Padayappa: yes , her education helped me as well to rethink before deciding on anything.

 The interviewer looked puzzled and switched to the question he never thought of asking.

Interviewer: What happened to your sister? Is she married? 

Padayappa: To her cousin of course.

Interviewer: But she had no money then right ?

Padayappa: I thought the same but my wife , then was the woman in love with me interfered and spoke to my father that my sister deserved her share as she was about to get married. You know how arranged marriages are. 

Interviewer: Your wife? As a docile young, sorry to say, not so educated woman she was able to argue things so well. 

Padayappa: Docile? Uneducated? Nah, nah She is powerful and well educated. Being docile can't be the trait of a woman. She helped me when I had nothing. She loved me in my hard times. She dealt issues with astute mind and handled things so well. Do you think a woman with no education can do this much? May be there are some women as exception. But I strongly believe that Education is power irrespective of caste , creed , gender or religion.

 

The extremely confounded interviewer posed his last question. 

Interviewer: That's sound so good sir. May I know who your wife is?

Padayappa with his signature smile, and his stylish gesture said, "Her name is Neelambari, directing the interviewer with his hand towards the stairs where she descended.