“I am so confused, I feel this will drive me crazy.”, she sighed.

“Why would you say so, you have faced more dilemmatic situations than these and you have always come out strong”, he replied.

“But that was different, I had friends beside me, and most importantly, it never conflicted with my ethics, but this time, I am myself a bit unsure.”

“What are you unsure about?”

“This is a matter of my entire career, one wrong decision and everything may go for a toss.”

“Okay, calm down, let’s sit and talk.”

He takes her to the park across the road and they both sit down on a bench. It’s mid-July and the weather is pleasant after the morning shower. There is a group of kids fighting over who’ll bat first. The kid who owns the bat is threatening that he’ll leave along with his bat if his team is not allowed to bat first despite losing the toss.

“Do you see that house being constructed beside the park?”, he asked.

“Yes.”

“What do you think is most critical, most important to its construction?”

“The walls, the roof, the pillars?”

“It’s the foundation.
And can you recall the name of the cement which we used when we were constructing our house?”

“It has been so many years, I was a kid a back then, don’t remember exactly but I have this faint memory of seeing those UltraTech cement bags.”, she answered.

“Right! And you know we weren’t financially well off then. The expenses had already gone over budget, we got the land at a price higher than we initially anticipated and we had to start with the construction. The day first brick of the foundation was laid, one of my friends walked up to me and said, “Why are you using this cement, your expenses have already gone overboard, buy it from local cement manufacturer, he sells his cement at half the price of what you must have paid and save some money!”.

To which I replied, “This house is my family’s dream, my kids would grow up here. The foundation would determine the strength of the structure, the cement which will bind the bricks will be the lifeblood of this building making it robust enough to overcome all adversities. UltraTech Cement is synonymous to quality and I can compromise on anything but that.”
You understand why am I telling you all this?”

“Yes papa, I do!” she exclaimed with a spark in her eyes.
“This degree is the foundation of my career and I would want to build it on the steady base of sincerity, hard work and values. I cannot let my conscience prick me throughout my life that I resorted to unethical means to get something which I may be did not even deserve. The structure with such a weak foundation is bound to fall, sooner or later. I have made up mind, I won’t give that bribe even if it means not getting to one of the best schools in the country. I’ll work hard to prove myself worthy of getting what I deserve.”

“You have got your answer.”, the proud father exclaimed.

The fight has resolved. The kid has displayed sportsman spirit and is handing over the bat to the captain of the team that won the toss.

Shruti Gupta

You have got your answer!_IMI New Delhi