Nay Sayers

There are people who caution us against everything under the sun. My Late maternal uncle,who as a VP in a Welding Rod Manufacturing Company in Mumbai was one such.He,being the eldest,was always asked for opinions. eg; if there is a match for my sister, father would ask him and his standard reply was "Paathu Pannu" (Be careful and do with due diligence), which means nothing Ditto if anyone asks him whether he should take up a particular job. If things go well, he basks in glory saying "Yes, they asked my opinion, and it had my consent" If things go wrong, he would say " I told him to be careful but he wouldnt listen. He didnt take my advise" Heads he wins, Tails you lose. He never took a stand. His Sons wedding got postponed because he wont take a decision. His Wife, my Aunty, got fed up and said "I am going for a wedding in TN for a family wedding. I will pick the first eligible girl I see in that wedding for my son". And she did precisely that. Only once in his life my Uncle took a stand. The Founder of the Company where he worked for 34 years died & there was a turf war between the Son and Nephew for Control of the Company.He thought and thought for 7 days and finally decided to back the son. One day he went to the office in the morning, as usual as he was about to enter the Cabin,Nephew walked in & said "Thank you. Please clear the desk. Take whatever you want, keep the car, here is your settlement check, but ensure you are out in 30 minutes". Apparently my Uncle chose the wrong horse on the only time he was decisive He was 58 and was shocked beyond belief. He was also one of the 4 who knew the Chemical Formula for the Welding Rods.He came home crying, never really recovered, health deteriorated over the next few months and died I was reminded of him when I saw some tweets cautioning us to not get Covid Vaccinated as it will take 15 years to develop a Vaccine!