10. ON ENTERING A MALE BASTION (YEAR 1971)

STRESS, SUCCESS AND EVERYTHING IN-BETWEEN
The Highs and Lows of A Woman’s Journey in the Corporate World

CARE: This is Chapter 10 of my book Stress, Success and Everything In-Between. These are individual anecdotes but to understand the professional journey in totality, I would recommend reading the book from Chapter 01 onwards.

On 22nd November 1971, the assigned date for joining, I reached the Staff Training Centre of the Bank, located in Maha Nagar, Lucknow, to start my career as a banker. Wearing my favourite maroon-coloured silk saree with a broad yellow border, I rode my Vespa scooter to reach the venue. A few officials stood at the gate to receive the newcomers and escort them to the lecture room, where the new entrants were to assemble. On seeing a woman riding a two-wheeler, they could not hide their amused grins. One of them guided me where to park my scooter and even tried to help me to park it.

"Thanks, I can handle it,” I politely declined the help.

In the lecture hall, despite the presence of thirty-two of us, there was pin-drop silence. All were quiet and looked tense. The air was charged with anticipation. The Induction Programme unveiled its curtains slowly as Mr CS Chakravarti introduced himself and other Faculty members to us. Soon, Mr. JP Jakhodia, the Chief Instructor, joined us, and the new entrants were asked to introduce themselves briefly. Amidst the sea of thirty-two grim-looking faces, it was heartening to see five women. They were Sneh Lata Khanna, Lily Kapur, Aella Guha, Anita Govind, and myself. All of us were directed to sit in the front row. All the newcomers completed the formalities, filled out the necessary forms and submitted them along with a Bank Draft of Rs 1000. 

At 11.30am sharp, Mr SD Varma, the suave-looking Secretary and Treasurer (now known as Chief General Manager) of Kanpur Circle, stepped in to inaugurate the five-week-long Induction programme and everybody in the room stood up respectfully.

After the standard introduction, he started his address, “Gentlemen, I am happy to be here to…..."

The Inaugural Speech by the Secretary & Treasurer of Kanpur Circle, Mr SD Varma

Fed on a constant diet of gender equality and women empowerment since childhood, I had a strong impulse to correct him. Raising my hand, I suddenly interjected, "Sir, there are five ladies too."

He startled and stopped, unable to hide his momentary embarrassment. Being in such a senior position, he was apparently not accustomed to such an interruption when he spoke. But kudos to him, he quickly regained his composure and confessed with a benevolent smile, "Ah! My sincere apologies, Madam. This was by sheer force of habit as we have never had lady officers in our organisation."

And he restarted his address encompassing both genders this time, "Ladies and Gentlemen..."

During his inaugural address, he told the group that the sky was the limit for our aspirations and that one of us would one day become the Chairman of the Bank. However, after elaborating on the career prospects in the Bank, the Secretary and Treasurer added, "This is for the first time in the long history of our esteemed organisation that as many as five women have joined the bank directly as officers. While I cannot predict how many of you will last in the bank after five years, I am pretty sure, at the end of this five-week training programme, as many as five happy couples will walk out of this training centre.”

A chorus of approval reverberated from our male counterparts, and their non-stop clapping resonated through the air like a rallying cry, much to the chagrin of the women. Within ourselves, a storm of indignation brewed, the weight of our discontent palpable for days on end. However, it was a curious twist of fate that none of us found our life partners during this training period, and not one of us forged a marital bond with a fellow Bank officer. Also, out of five, four of us continued to work, thus busting the preconceived notion that women join the service for temporary fun and that their only goal was marriage.

The Five Trailblazers of Kanpur Circle

On 22nd November 1971, a baby step was taken towards shattering the myth that a career in the bank was meant only for men. The stage was all set for women to make their entrance into the Bank.

This day could be marked as a miniature leap towards dismantling the misconception that banking was exclusively a male domain.

 (To be continued.....)

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