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 Hanuman appeared before the brothers and opened the speech with a warm welcome. He introduced himself as the son of Anjana, carrying out the commands of Sugriva who lived in that hill. The words are carefully chosen.
'immalai irundhu vazum eri kadhir paridhich chelvan semmalukku eeval
seyveen'. 'I serve my master, son of the Sun, who lives here.' His heart melts at the presence of Rama and the verse is full of warm addresses, respectful phrases and rich encomiums.
Rama was impressed with this person. Hanuman's modest bearing, polite way of approach, his masterly use of words and his gentle speech revealed his personality. After listening to his first few words, Rama turned to Lakshmana and
said:
'It appears that there is no knowledge, brother, that this young man has not acquired. He looks a very ocean of Vedic lore. Who can he be, this child of the eloquent tongue? May he be Brahma or may he be Shiva?'
Child of the eloquent tongue. Sollin Selvan. This title, earned in a few minutes, conveys the verbal art of Hanuman. The master of communication skills that he was. There are so many other instances in the epic where his communication skills move events in the desired direction. We will see a few of them later.
Sri Rama was advised by Kabandan - the Deva turned demon - before his ascendance to the heavens, to seek the friendship of Sugriva in his search for Sita. As soon as Maruti mentioned the name of Sugriva, Rama wanted to know his whereabouts. 'We came here in search of him. We want to see him. Take us to him.'
Hanuman quickly understood the situation and he read into the mind of the Lord. He saw the opportunity of ending all their troubles. He assessed that here was a person who could overpower Vali and bring all their turmoil to an end. He answered:
 'Thou art the very embodiment of nobility, uprightness and rectitude. If thou wert to come in search of Sugriva, it harbingers our good times. He is living in misery here in this hill, hounded by his elder brother, Vali. Your arrival signals an end to all our sufferings. It is the duty of great people to protect the ones who seek refuge
(sarana gathi) and allay our fears. (Abayam nalgi…). Whom, shall I tell him, that wants to meet him?'
(Yaar ena vilambugen yaan em kulath thalaivarkku ummai)
Just go over the text again. Rama wanted to meet Sugriva and asked Hanuman to take him to the place where he resides. Hanuman elaborated their difficulties and asked for Rama's support instead. Not only that. He has not yet given any clue about the whereabouts of Sugriva. Why he did so? This needs some discussion.
Before going into that, another interesting thing that strikes our attention is the way Hanuman asks for the identity of the two. This situation is very similar to the one in which our modern day Secretaries are often in. A so-and-so would walk in, wanting to see the boss. He would really be a VIP. But the Secretary would have no clue as to who the person is. Think of the consequence of a question like 'May I know who you are, Sir?' That would lead to a very unpleasant situation, even though the question might have been put in the most polite manner. He or she immediately requests 'May I have your card, please?' It is important in all relationship. Recognising a person on his or her arrival. If you don't know the person, adopt some indirect way to elucidate the information. Don't make him or her feel that he or she is not known. That amounts to an insult. You may see this tact in the words of Hanuman, 'Whom, shall I tell him, that wants to meet him?'
There is more. His handling of a delicate situation and getting information. What was the delicate situation? We will go into that in our next
instalment.
(To be continued)
Hari Krishnan
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