Bunk-ing the Bank-ing!

Instance 1: A not-so-young-not-so-old man was ‘pained’ by our Branch, his only agony was: Maine beti ke delivery ke 15 din pehle form jama kiye, delivery ho gayi, lekin khata nhi khula.

And yes, his sufferings were more than the labour pain of his daughter, at least that can be gauged by his behavior.

Instance 2: Some days back, this time an old man was at loggerheads with me. For, I was not accepting UID acknowledgement copy as KYC proof of his 5-year-old granddaughter. Senior colleagues joined me in making him understand but his decibels were louder than all of us together. “Press walon ko launga, tab dekhte hain kit um kaise nahi khata kholte ho.”

Instance 3:  Two days ago, there came a sarpanch of a nearby village. His punch in tone said all, but in vain. The absence of original documents for checking allowed us to say no for account opening. “Kal Gehlot ji ke sath jab stage pe khada hoke bolunga tab dekhna….isi bank mein, isi branch mein kal tak khata khulwa ke rahunga.”

In 99% cases, the word ‘scholarship’ is the reason behind the fights. The word ‘scholarship’ had always evoked some respect from me. Though I never got one, I looked up to my friends who always kept it as a prized possession.

But, like several things changed during the last one year, so did the meaning of many words, like ‘scholarship’. Now even if you are a Xth fail student, you get a scholarship for the next class. And if you fail again, you are now eligible for a cheque of ‘Berozgari Bhatta’.

I urge Mr Politician to not use the word scholarship, just for the sanity the word has.

Individuals have become pay-cheques these days. Now, the sheer pleasure of a newly born baby in a family is not the only reason of happiness. A cheque for delivery supplements that. Bring more babies to the world, get more cheques. Never mind, we will not cross China before 2030, a study reveals.

There are cheques for delivery, cheques for scholarship, cheques for dress stitching, cheques for ‘Berojgari bhatta’. You have every reason to be a ‘berozgaar’ now. You just need to be an individual to get a cheque.

No Indian institute figures in the world’s top 200 educational institutions. Who cares that?

I asked for English Newspapers in Gangapur City- the place of my posting. They looked at me as if I asked for a Meat Masala from a Puja shop in Rajasthan.

Finally I understood. Now every morning, I am greeted by Dainik Bhaskar. The page no. 3 and 5 boasts of Rajasthan’s Congress government works under the banner “Unse pucho jinhe fayda hua”. That always gives push to my adrenalin, as it is the prelude to some other fights.

And amidst all this sufferings, you will find a banker on the passive side. Some 2000 kms away from home, finding it difficult to get two meals a day, he has to keep everyone happy, as there is a Happy Room somewhere which needs to be Happy for his livelihood, irrespective of how unhappy he himself is. The only satisfaction he gets is on 27^th or 28^th of every month, where a smaller five-digit CR figure on 450 screen of his Bank’s software, a result of the entire month’s shouting, fighting, disapproving…

Two months into my new posting, I do not proclaim myself ‘a relatively calm person’. Like the inevitable disease for a Banker, I am getting close to BP, Hear Ailments etc etc and it is still PROBATION, not confirmation.

I do not have regrets that as an individual, I have seized to grow. After all, I am doing a ‘job’. However, I feel bad for this country. I feel bad for schoolteachers, who are busy filling bank account forms. I feel bad for country where individuals have mere become ‘pay cheques’. We need to understand that a Rs 1000 or Rs 1400 or even Rs 25000 cheque will not help us the entire life. After all we are worth more than a ‘pay cheque’.