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Unit – III: Risk Management & Leela’s Friend
Deadly Factory Fires in India Illustrate Need for Stronger Risk Management
- Joe Crompton
India has turned into a major resource center for big corporations around the world. With a huge labor
market, many businesses rely on the country as a key component to manufacturing operations. At the
same time, tapping the cheap labour in the country is a critical risk for various reasons. Exploitation of
labour and using child labour are two major social issues. Poor worker safety is another issue that leads to
various other problems in all three core business areas: brand reputation, operational efficiency and
revenue.
A Fire Accident in a Fire Crackers Unit
A fire that recently occurred in Sivakasi in South India shows just how risky these operations can be. The
fire killed 34 workers and destroyed the facility where it started, quickly ripping through a number of
conjoined factories and eventually igniting a supply of recently manufactured fireworks. The heat was so
intense that many local villagers were also hurt, and firefighters struggled with the blaze for five hours
before they could extinguish it.
Bizarre Working Conditions & Ghastly Scenes at the Sight of the Accident
D. Krishna Mohan Sharma, Associate Professor of English,
Vignana Bharathi Institute of Technology, Ghatkesar
sharma.dkm@gmail.com
Business Insider, a magazine, notes in a report that there are several reasons that work together making
the situation a grave one in South Asia. The magazine shows the horrendous working conditions like
padlocked exits, basements being used as storerooms for highly flammable raw materials and the
absence of fire escapes. Smoke alarms or sprinkler systems are completely unheard of in this part of the
world.
Child Labour being Used in Many Fire Crakers Manufacuring Units
In the United States or in other developed countries with strict safety and compliance standards, these
conditions are unimaginable for modern firefighter units. The fact that fire services in South Asia are
among some of the least developed in the world only worsens the situation.
On top of that, industrial zones in India force their way expanding into residential zones. Congested slums
with all the lack of facilities present dozens of opportunities for catastrophe. In Bangladesh alone, there
have been more than 600 factory fire deaths over the last five years.
Big Brands and Risk Management
It is common for many big foreign corporations such as Apple to use manufacturers and factories in
developing countries in order to save money by using cheap labor. It is very important that these big
corporations extend their risk management efforts to also cover these partners and suppliers. Scores of
fire accidents take place every year in the factories in these countries. Mainly caused by negligence and
improper management, these disasters result in revenue losses and reputational damage to these
companies. Many of these companies also face the risk of legal charges on the grounds of criminal
negligence.
Outsourcing and utilizing third-party vendors can be a big boon for businesses, but they present just as
many financial and social risks. If companies decide to go this route, they need to utilize the best risk
management solutions and practices to ensure they enjoy a profitable relationship with these suppliers. A
corporation can never be too involved with its suppliers, and may be able to mitigate losses by frequently
assessing and monitoring risks. The governments of the respective countries should come forward to
solve these safety issues in order to prevent more deaths and loss of property.
D. Krishna Mohan Sharma, Associate Professor of English,
Vignana Bharathi Institute of Technology, Ghatkesar
sharma.dkm@gmail.com
The Writer:
Rasipuram Krishnaswami Narayan (10 October, 1906 - 13 May, 2001) is one of the best Indian novelists
writing in English. His famous novels are Swami and Friends (1935), The Bachelor of Arts (1937), The
Dark Room (1938), The English Teacher (1946), The Guide (1958), The Man-eater of
Malgudi (1962), etc. He also wrote many short stories and published them in volumes as Malgudi Days
(1941), Dodu and Other Stories (1943), Cyclone and Other Stories (1944), etc. He is noted for his
simple way of writing. He won numerous awards and honours for his works. He received the Sahitya
Academy Award in 1961 for his novel The Guide. He was awarded the Padma Bhusan in 1964. In 1980, he
was awarded the A. C. Benson Award by the Royal Society of Literature.
Brief Summary
The present story Leela’s Friend is one of his best known short-stories and is taken from his collection of
short stories ‘Malgudi Days’.
A Scene from the Story
Leela is a little girl. Sivasankar, her father, is found brooding over when Sidda approaches him and offers
to work as their servant. Leela instantly takes a liking for Sidda and begs her parents to hire him. He works
hard and becomes a favorite of Leela. One day Sidda goes to the market, accompanied by Leela. When
they return, Leela’s mother notices that Leela’s necklace is missing. She questions Sidda, who does not
answer her accusations but instead quietly leaves the home. Sivasankar reports the incident to the police.
The police locate Sidda and take him to Leela’s house, where Leela’s parents again confront him. Sidda
maintains his innocence, but is taken away by the police for questioning.
Detailed Summary
Mr. Sivasanker is deeply thinking about his servant-problem. Sidda, a homeless poor boy, comes to his
gate just then in search of work. Sivasankar looks at him and finds nothing objectionable. Yet he asks a few
D. Krishna Mohan Sharma, Associate Professor of English,
Vignana Bharathi Institute of Technology, Ghatkesar
sharma.dkm@gmail.com
questions about his previous work. He then calls his wife who turns satisfied after meeting the boy. Leela,
their five-year old daughter comes out and likes the boy as well. Sidda is selected on an agreement of two
meals a day and four rupees a month. In return he is to wash clothes, tend the garden, run errands, chop
wood and look after Leela.
Sidda is a likeable boy who gets on well with the family. He quickly becomes a good friend with Leela.
Sidda engages Leela with different games and stories. Sidda throws the ball upward. When the ball comes
down, he tells her that the ball has touched the moon. He also tells her that he has touched the moon many
times climbing a coconut tree. The innocent girl is fascinated and believes every word of Sidda. Sidda
informs her that he actually knows the moon and can even command it. She is elated to see that wherever
they move, the moon followed them. She claps in joy.
At the end of the day it is Leela’s turn to engage Sidda. She greatly enjoys playing the teacher to Sidda.
She writes a letter or draws a kind of a cat or a crow, and asks him to copy it. But he is utterly incapable of
holding a pencil and writing. Yet Leela does not give up her effort. She does not allow him to leave his
task. Sidda gets relief only when he diverts her attention saying that she is being called by her mother for
dinner.
Every night Sidda tells a fascinating story to put Leela to sleep. Day by day he becomes her constant
companion. A sweetening relationship is established between them.
D. Krishna Mohan Sharma, Associate Professor of English,
Vignana Bharathi Institute of Technology, Ghatkesar
sharma.dkm@gmail.com
One evening Sidda goes out to buy sugar and Leela accompanies him. When they come back home,
Leela’s mother notices that the gold chain around Leela’s neck is missing. She scolds Leela and shouts for
Sidda. On being questioned about the chain, Sidda defends himself feebly but quietly leaves the house.
At this Mr. Sivasanker and his wife are convinced that Sidda is the culprit. He lodges a complaint against
him in the police station. But Leela is not ready to believe this. She longs for his company. She thinks that
her parents are responsible for her friend’s leaving their house. The loss of gold chain does not matter to
her.
Mr. Sivasanker learns from the police inspector that Sidda has criminal past. He has been in jail for several
times for stealing jewellery from children. He assures his wife that the police will arrest Sidda very soon.
Four days later, the police inspector and a constable bring in Sidda. Leela is very happy on seeing him and
hurries down the steps to meet him. The inspector stops her and presses Sidda to confess his guilt. Leela’s
mother abuses him for his treachery. Sidda only replies that he has not taken the chain. The Inspector tells
his constable to take him back to the police station. Leela protests and requests him to free Sidda. But
nobody listens to her.
A few days later, Leela’s mother discovers the lost gold chain from a tamarind pot. She comes to know that
Leela somehow dropped it there and forgotten all about it. Mr. Sivasanker learns all and informs the police
about the chain’s discovery, but does not even consider taking him back. He remains a confirmed criminal
in his eyes.
It is clear from the title Leela’s Friend that the story is about Leela and her friend Sidda. The story brings
forth the class-conflict between the high and the low of the society. Sidda becomes the victim of that
conflict. Poverty leaves a permanent scar on Sidda’s life. Though he tries to overcome his dark past and is
proved guiltless at the end of the story, he is not forgiven. The so-called society remains indifferent to his
sorrows and sufferings.
Sidda’s punishment seems unfair. This is not just the story of Sidda, but the story of all the poor workers
who do not get fair treatment in the hands of their masters. R. K. Narayan, with his unassuming style,
successfully makes the case for Sidda for the readers are left sympathizing with Sidda’s plight at the end of
the story.
D. Krishna Mohan Sharma, Associate Professor of English,
Vignana Bharathi Institute of Technology, Ghatkesar
sharma.dkm@gmail.com