They teach one to cultivate propriety in conduct. Throughout their lives, in every matter, they give utmost importance to this sense of decorum. Our people too have written a great deal about propriety. But all those writings have remained buried in palm-leaf manuscripts, on scraps of paper, and in printed books—never seeing the light of day.

If I continue in this vein, there are many more things I could say, and many more you would have to listen to. But by now, I must have already wearied you all with my long-winded lecture. It would not be proper—nor would it be courteous—to trouble you any further. Therefore, I take my leave, offering my heartfelt thanks to you all for having listened so patiently and attentively to everything I have said thus far. I wish you all the very best.”

With these words, I sat down.

The felicitation held at the high school caused quite a stir. The whole town was abuzz, everyone talking about it—some saying it was splendid, others simply marveling at it. My fellow students exclaimed, “Our Parvateesam spoke so magnificently! Imagine, even with the headmaster present, he spoke without a hint of fear or hesitation—how did he manage that, eh?”

Others said, “Oh, that’s not it! He’s one of us, isn’t he? He used to play and sing with us, just like anyone else. We’ve seen him as he was—how did he become such a person? I simply can’t fathom it.”

Yet others remarked, “What’s the big deal? If you burn through ten thousand rupees and make a single trip to London, any fool can become like that!”

And so, within twenty-four hours, all these comments had lifted me to great heights.

Though they raised me up so high in their enthusiasm, I, for my part, felt rather dizzy and uncomfortable. As long as I was on solid ground, nothing anyone said bothered me, but now, being hoisted so high, even the slightest slip in balance could spell disaster.

Now, with the lawyers’ felicitation ceremony approaching, I wondered how I would manage to hold my own there…

I sat there, pondering whether I should step outside or not.

Just then, my mother brought me a little snack she had prepared with some effort. Poor woman, how much trouble she takes for me! I thought to myself, “If only I had a daughter-in-law, she wouldn’t have to suffer so much,” and chuckled inwardly as I finished the snack. By the time I was done, the clock struck four. “Oh, it’s getting late,” I thought, and quickly washed my face, tied my turban neatly, and came out to sit in the front yard.

No sooner had I settled down than two lawyers from Versapuram arrived to take me along. Just as I had thought no one would come—just like those days when I used to go to high school—they appeared at the exact moment and kindly asked me to come. They were very pleased to see that I was ready on time.

We set off immediately and reached Narsapuram in half an hour. As soon as we got down from the carriage near the court, I saw that the whole court compound was bustling with people. I had imagined this would be a small gathering, that only lawyers and their clerks would attend, and no one else. But many people who had heard about the meeting at the school the other day, though they had nothing to do with the court, had come out of curiosity to see me, even without any invitation.

Because of this, the meeting, which was originally planned to be held in the bar room of the court, had to be hastily arranged outdoors in a public space. But the lawyers were capable men, and despite the chaos, they managed to organize the meeting quite well.

As soon as we got down from the carriage, two more senior lawyers came up to us. When I got down and greeted them with folded hands, they returned the greeting warmly, each taking a place on either side of me, and led me into the bar room. There, they introduced me to the court’s head clerk and the other lawyers who had already gathered and were waiting for me. They insisted that I join everyone in partaking of the refreshments that had been laid out on the tables.

Having no choice, I quickly finished that ceremony, and then we all walked together to the meeting. The head clerk stayed by my side, chatting away about something or other. But my attention was entirely on the gathering. I was anxious about how to speak before these dignitaries, and what to say. I barely listened to the head clerk’s words, lost as I was in my own nervousness, and thus we entered the assembly. As soon as we arrived, we were seated in two chairs.

Barrister Parvateesam

The secretary of the Bar Association ascended the stage and, with utmost humility, requested the president of the meeting—the venerable Munasabu garu—and today’s distinguished speaker, the honorable Sri Parvateesam of the Bar, to kindly grace the dais and adorn the seats reserved for them. When such dignitaries themselves are so earnestly entreating, it would be discourteous for us not to promptly mount the stage. So, following Munasabu garu’s lead, I too went up.

No sooner had we taken our places than a pleader called upon the association’s clerk to come forward and offer a prayer. The clerk sang four verses in a melodious sequence, in a style reminiscent of a stage play, delighting the audience before quietly stepping down. The secretary then requested Munasabu garu to conduct the proceedings as per the established program and left the stage.

Munasabu garu stood up gracefully, gathering the folds of his angavastram in both hands, cleared his throat in a single motion, and surveyed the assembly on both sides. “Ladies and gentlemen! Today is indeed an auspicious day! I know why you have all gathered here