A Competitor

Today Savithri proves her mettle and – excitement! – is a new man about to enter her life? And unlike their mythical counterparts, are they about to engage in battle?!

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Manilal's father had formed the trust to provide scholarships to deserving students. A number of bogus applications poured in, sifting through these posed the biggest headache for Manilal. Savithri was able to weed out such applications. In the first few months of her employment, Manilal noticed Savithri's quick grasp of matters and her efficiency. He felt Savithri would be an asset in his firm. The family's business was in machinery and spares. In those days most of these were imported. Manilal got a margin of 15% to 20% on machinery and a little more than that on spares. His firm had a steady share of 40% of the market. Perhaps because of this, Manilal could afford to be ethical in his dealings and indulge his philanthropy. Savithri soon became Manilal’s most trusted employee. She had meanwhile shifted her residence to a bigger portion; Raju was a regular visitor to her house.

In 1947, with Partition lakhs of refugees poured in and spread throughout our country. Sathya Prakash, a Punjabi, was one such refugee. At the time of Partition, he was working in a key position in a reputed firm dealing with machinery at Karachi. He decided to set up his own firm with Chennai as his base. His refugee status and his Punjabi connections ensured import licences. The restrictions imposed by the Government he dodged through his ingenuity. He was happy with a margin of 5%. Gradually, he was able to cut into the business of other merchants. Manilal was one of the affected merchants and he did not know how to deal with this situation. It was left to Savithi to enter the battleground.