Anybody born in India would and must know epic -Mahabharata; it offers lessons on life style and provides solution to any human problem.
Who was Sallian ( Shalya) in Mahabharata?
He was a brother of Maadri. Maadri was the second wife of king Panda. Consequently, he was a maternal uncle of the last two Pandavas - Nakula and Sahadeva;
He was a very good charioteer treated on par with Lord Krishna, but had to fight against Pandavas due to the trick played by Duryodhana. He subjected himself to the hospitality of Duryodhana who headed enemy Kauravas.
Sallian heard that Paandav's Agnathavas was over, and therefore in a happy mood started towards Upaplavya Nagar to see Yudhishthir. Duryodhana heard this and tricked Sallian. He made Sallian's journey as comfortable as possible. He did not allow him to camp on his own anywhere on the way. Duryodhana made all the arrangements of his staying. Sallian was very pleased with the arrangements. He actually thought that these arrangements were made by Yudhishthir, as he never saw the host. He told the servants that he was very happy with the arrangement and he wanted to see his host. He wanted to give reward to him for this. The servants went to Duryodhana and told this to him.
Duryodhan came and greeted Sallian. Sallian was surprised to see him instead of Yudhishthir, but he had already promised to give him reward, so he said to Duryodhan - "I was going to see Yudhishthir on his invitation, but you have won my heart, so ask for its reward." Duryodhan asked him to be the charioteer for Karna. Sallian had to agree.
Sallian went on to take over the leadership of the Kaurava army on the eighteenth and last day of the great battle after the death of Karna; he was killed by Yudhishthir with a spear.
Lessons for debt-collection
The trick by Duryodhana was nothing but bribing. Many High Risk High Delinquent(HRHD) borrowers are like Duryodhana; they try their level best to trick/ bribe the collectors.
Anything beyond Water, Coffee, Tea and Cool Drinks offered by any borrower must not be accepted by collectors; if borrowers insist on having some, collectors must either refuse politely or ensure to pay for all. Else, debt-collectors would be required to be grateful to borrowers like Sallian instead to his employer and be on the wrong side.
I came across many such sallians in financial services industry; I would like to share about a branch manager who had accepted dry fruits and some monetary help from a second-hand vehicle broker when his wife was found to have been suffering from cancer. The manager was obviously not in the right mood. The broker used the opportunity to trick the manager to approve loans and sign agreements without verification of the vehicle and based on fraudulent collaterals. The manager thought that it helped his sales numbers. I was not sure if there was any malafide intention by the manager. But, he was feeling like a sallian; he tried to cover the broker during investigations.
So, do not be a Sallian. And live with self-respect.
