58. A DICHOTOMY OF EMOTIONS ( YEAR 1991)

STRESS, SUCCESS AND EVERYTHING IN-BETWEEN 

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

CARE: This is Chapter 58 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.

The morning at the Branch was as chaotic as usual, a cacophony of ringing phones, shuffling feet, and the occasional customer outburst. As the newly posted Chief Manager, I was still finding my bearings when a shrill male voice cut through the din, announcing a new disturbance.

I came out of my office to find a customer, face flushed with anger, pointing an accusing finger at a beleaguered assistant. The man was demanding immediate closure of his savings account.

The assistant, a young woman named Kanupriya (not her real name), explained the situation with admirable composure. The account was less than a week old but swollen with multiple large deposits received through clearing. Caution demanded scrutiny before allowing the closure of the account. The customer, however, saw this as a personal affront.

I ushered the irate fellow into my office, hoping for a quieter venue for his rising temper. The man launched a tirade about his right as a customer to close the account and the incompetence of bank staff. After some smooth talk and a cup of tea, the storm subsided.

Once he had run out of breath, I calmly asked him about the source of the deposits. A resident of Chhapra (Bihar), he had come to Delhi to perform the engagement ceremony of his son. He shared these details with a smug smile. The deposits in the account were all shagun money, a gift for his son received on his engagement. The amounts ranged from fifty-one thousand to a princely five lac rupees.

Intrigued, I inquired what his son was doing. The answer was swift and decisive: Indian Administrative Service. My eyebrows must have shot up because he misinterpreted my expression as disbelief.

“He is brilliant, you see,” he assured me as if reading my mind. “He has appeared in the prelims. Just waiting for the results.”

I struggled hard to stifle a smile. “Ohk, your son has not joined the IAS yet?”

His face turned red. “No. Not yet. But so what? Not everybody can appear for Prelims. But he has. When he clears the IAS examination, and I am confident he will one day, I will not settle for a measly ten lakhs. It will be at least a crore, I tell you, nothing less than a crore! हमार इकलौता लड़का हमार हुण्डी बा। (My only son is my Promissory Note.) Why should I not encash it?”

It was hard to keep quiet, but I decided discretion was the better part of valour. I focussed on my objective of garnering deposits for the Bank instead of lecturing the customer on the malice of dowry.  I convinced him about our policy about closing a newly opened account soon after opening it. I also persuaded him to keep the amount in a fixed deposit to be used when he comes to Delhi to perform the wedding next year. With a nod, he approved the idea, much to my relief.

As he beamed and exited, I could not shake the feeling that I had just seen a greedy father seeped in the malice of dowry with no qualms to encash his son.

The day passed as a blur of forms and figures. But the image of Mishra ji, his face etched with the certainty of a man who had already counted his chickens even before they hatched, stayed with me.

I was also reminded of what Major Solanki had said in Meerut that I was sitting on a goldmine as I had two sons, hundies to be encashed at the appropriate time.

It was a crude reminder that in professional life, one comes across people whose values differ from yours. Yet you resist indulging in arguments and discussion and keep quiet for the sake of professional behaviour. I was upset the way the customer  unabashedly sought and accepted dowry but was happy that I succeeded in getting a big deposit for the Bank.

A dichotomy of emotions!

(To be continued....)

*****