BOOK REVIEW: Seek and Shall Ye Find? (Short Story No.6 in Marriage and Mutton Curry) by M. Shanmughalingam
The previous reviews of the short stories in Marriage and Mutton Curry, written by the witty and humorous Dato' Dr. M. Shanmughalingam, have shown many issues and themes. From Malaysian history to the Jaffna Tamil society, the stories touched the depths of my heart in a light-hearted manner.
This story in particular made tears spring to my eyes with its theme of honesty and the courage to admit when you have mentioned a white lie. The story unravels with Santokh Singh reveling in his uncontained joy on his upcoming promotion in the Public Service Department.
In this revelation, the hierarchical situation that happens at most workplaces is portrayed, especially during mealtimes in the cafeteria. Those of a certain work position sit together during mealtimes. For example, officers only sit with their kind while secretaries sit with other secretaries. However, never fear, Santokh Singh the joker is here! He enlightens many of his colleagues with his riddles and jokes, relieving them from their work stress.
After being sent to England for a 3-month training course, Santokh is served a blow in the form of some saddening news. His promotion has been delivered to someone else in the department. Feeling frustrated with himself, he appeals to the Director General of the Public Service Department. When his appeal is squashed, his mood goes down the scale once more.
So this time, what do you think Mr. Santokh did? Well, I will reserve my comments, it's for you readers to find out. This is where I learnt that honesty is definitely the best policy. If we do end up saying a lie, we should hold our heads up equally high to admit to it. Maybe who knows, there is a rainbow right at the end of our honesty...
To know what happened to Santokh, I suggest you get Marriage and Mutton Curry off the shelf of the nearest bookstore. You wouldn't regret your choice of reading material. Happy reading, bookworms!
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