Scholar!

Not so long ago, in a not so far country, there lived our hero X.. Unlike me, he loves burying his nose under the books and get himself drenched with new knowledge every single day without caring for food nor relaxation or even some entertainment..

Though there are ways to learn about human behavior and how to interact with other beings are wide discussed and many books have been written, none of them seem to have entered even the peripheral vision of our dear hero..

The library where he had been hunting for books ran out of supply of new knowledge for him at a stage.. Thus he was compelled to look at alternative options..

The alternatives weren’t that much as his resources to attain new knowledge were limited.. Thus he was forced to look up and face humans around him..

He wanted to increase his resources to gain access to more books, and the choice made available to him is full of jobs which needed human interaction more than other skills..

He picked the job with the least probable communication and yet his skill of reaching out to people was more damaging to everyone rather than helping him secure the job..

He had to skip change multiple jobs, just because of his inter-personal skills (or lack thereof).. This multiple change in jobs overrode his reputation as scholar to a recluse..

In spite of his expertise in many areas, he was looked down by the fellow people around him.. His reputation in the elite circle also started fading and his social status was on constant decline..

Since our hero is becoming almost zero, let’s stop your imagination of cliche movies and motivational stories, where the zero hero suddenly bounces back to super hero..

And let us tear off the mask of story and get to the basic idea or the moral of the story..

உலகத்தோடு ஒட்ட ஒழுகல் பலகற்றும் 
கல்லார் அறிவிலா தார். (140)

ulaGathOdu otta ozhugal palakattRum
kallaar aRivilaa thaar

Who know not with the world in harmony to dwell, 
May many things have learned, but nothing well

. (Couplet 140)

Though learning and being a scholar is a noble thought, the basics of living in the society is much more important..

Even when you are a treasure trove of knowledge, you would be labeled as ignorant / recluse or the like, till you learn the skill of being Roman in Rome..

So let us set aside some time to learn what’s happening in the society around us, how they react to situations and then find out the best way possible to achieve our goals with the least resistance from them!

Let us be street-smart scholars, who knows to convert the ideas to action and success!