28. AN UNWARRANTED DETOUR (YEAR 1975)

STRESS, SUCCESS AND EVERYTHING IN-BETWEEN

The Highs and Lows of A Woman’s Journey in the Corporate World

CARE: This is Chapter 28 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 right from Chapter 01 onwards.

In 1975, Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India, inaugurated a newly constructed annexe to Parliament House, and christened it Sansadiya Soudha. The year 1975 had been declared the International Year of Women, and she desired that the Bank in the building should have only women employees. The Reserve Bank of India quickly issued a Branch Opening License.

 

After the inauguration of the building, the concerned Govt. department impressed upon the Bank Management to open the branch without any delay and post only women employees there. Hearing this, the Bank Management went into a tizzy: they started looking for a suitable woman officer to head the all-women branch. The number of women officers in the Bank could be counted at the fingertips, and the search ended up at me, who had completed less than 18 months of confirmed service. 

 

The Regional Manager called me, looked at me critically from head to toe and asked tersely, “This is a highly sensitive assignment. Are you competent enough to handle it?" 

I said,” Yes, of course, Sir,” and was immediately instructed to go and meet the officer in charge of Branch Expansion and take possession of the premises. Thus, at the young age of 25 years, I was identified to undertake the responsibility of setting up a new branch in a sensitive VVIP area.

I could not wait for the lift and climbed three flights of the stairs, two steps at a time and in no time, was at the floor where the Officer-in-Charge of the Branch Expansion Department sat. 

 

“Good morning, Sir. I have been identified as the Branch Manager Designate for the Sansadiya Soudha Branch.”

The serious-looking gentleman in his forties looked up, “Hmmm…Do you know where the Sansadiya Soudha building is located?”

“No, Sir. No idea! Er..you see, I am sorry..er, but I am kind of new to Delhi,” I uttered apologetically.

“Okay. I will come with you, show you the place and introduce you to the concerned officials in the Parliament House Secretariat,” he said reassuringly.

“Thank you so much, Sir. That will be so nice of you,” I felt grateful.

As we came down from the multi-story building of the Head Office, he asked me, “How do we get there? Do you have a vehicle?” I did not have any because my husband had dropped me there in the morning.

“We are not likely to get a scooter or a taxi here,” he mumbled while looking at the busy Parliament Street.

“If you do not mind, you can come with me on my scooter,” he spoke in undertones. I saw nothing wrong with that and accepted the idea without hesitation. 

As the scooter moved, he suggested, “The road is not good, and there is too much traffic, and you may get jerks. I suggest you hold on to me tightly for safety.” 

I ignored the suggestion as I knew how to sit on the pillion of a Vespa scooter without holding the driver. The road was empty, but he frequently applied sudden brakes, giving unexpected jerks. I was used to driving a two-wheeler for over a decade and noticed neither pot-holes nor traffic on the road. But seeing his fatherly figure and grey beard, I surmised that he was a novice and could not drive well. I thought it was nice of him to show me the place personally. He had also offered a lift to me on his scooter. 

I had no idea where the premises of the new branch were located. The fellow drove and drove until we entered the Talkatora Garden. As he stopped at an open-air restaurant near the entry gate, I asked him curiously, “Sir, is the branch to be opened located somewhere in this garden?”

 

He maintained a smug look, parked his scooter and uttered, “I have got a headache as I have not had tea since morning. I thought it nice to have a cup of tea here.” 

I had no option. We were standing in the thick of Talkatora Garden, in front of a café, under the shadow of tall trees. I am not conservative and would not mind having tea with a male colleague. But it felt queer sitting alone in an isolated park with him. I tried to rationalise my mental agitation, but the fact of sitting with him in a lonely place kept bothering me. 

Tea over, we went and met the concerned officials in Parliament House Annexe and took the keys to the branch premises. He returned to his office, and I became busy arranging the remaining infrastructure for the new office.

 

As evening approached and it was time to go home, I came out to hail a cab. As the taxi started moving and I got my bearings right, I realised how much petrol that man had burnt for bringing me to Sansadiya Soudha via Talkatora Garden by taking a considerable detour and pressing the brake pedal intermittently.

As his evil design became crystal clear, a strong surge of impotent anger swelled within me.

(To be continued....)

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