THE CHURNING THE OCEAN OF MY LIFE PART 13

 

"Love looks through a Telescope; envy through a Microscope." 

Prologue to the Part 13

 

A peek into the future events that forced me to oppose the unlawful and dishonest acts of our executives.

 

In the last but one part (Part 11), I mentioned that I had a running feud with the corporate honchos M/S Progressive Constructions Pvt. Ltd., owned by the family of Sri K.S.Rao, ex- Minister and MP from Congress party (now, in BJP). It was no surprise that the bankers are still on the streets regarding the overdue accounts of this Corporate, even after three decades and plus.  Their over dues (exceeding Rs.1000 crores)

 

The most unethical and dishonest action of the Bank Management against all norms set by the IDBI. A strong opposition from me that had increased the gulf between me and the management.

Back in the 1980s, around 1983-84, M/S Progressive Constructions Pvt., Ltd., floated a sister concern, a Proprietary Firm, Hyderabad Builders, mainly for the purpose of carrying out construction of commercial and residential complexes. One such residential complex was Asiana Apartments in AC Guards, Opposite Sarojini Devi eye- hospital, in a prime locality of Hyderabad. They raised a Term Loan of Rs. 30.00 lakhs from our Bank, our Branch, where I was the official second-line manager.  (I was a mere 30 years of age then, hot in blood). Unlike Cash Credit accounts, in term Loans, debits and credits are not permitted on a running basis. The term loan is for a fixed term during which the borrower pays the loan in pre-fixed instalments. If, by any chance, the borrower credits an amount higher than the instalments, he is not permitted to withdraw the same again. In Cash Credit and Overdraft accounts, the borrower can credit and withdraw amounts any number of times and interest is charged on a daily basis on the outstanding amount. These are RBI guidelines which no bank can violate. 

 

The game played by Hyderabad Builders also known as Progressive Constructions Limited in cahoots with Senior Executives of the Bank, not excluding the “appearing honest chairman, YS Hegde”.

 

After one month of disbursing the loan the firm got a cheque of Rs.15.00 lakhs from IDBI ltd. that they credited to the loan account. This action effectively means the loan amount got reduced by Rs.15.00 lakhs. This, in effect means interest is charged only on the balance amount till loan is closed. RBI guidelines say clearly that such amounts credited into term loan accounts can not be withdrawn by the borrower again. The only way out is to get another term loan for Rs.15.00  lakhs sanctioned.

But shockingly, after one month, the firm approached me to disburse the Rs.15.00 lakhs again. I refused. My manager stood solidly behind me. There was a call from Chairman's secretariat. For one full day, there were heated exchange of words. I asked for a written communication from them. They refused. I stood my ground, so too manager. But, finally, we received Telex Instructions next day to permit them to withdraw the amount. We disbursed the amount. So they got interest benefit for a month on Rs.15.00 lakhs and also got back their part loan, against all norms of banking. On instructions from HO, we violated RBI guidelines. What happened in this one day? They called my minor lapses as dishonest acts, with a view to get rid of me. They violated RBI guidelines. Nowhere in their telex message did they mention RBI permitted them. Am I dishonest or the Management? Fools like my third brother may say billions of things based on hearsay. I am confident of my honesty.
The loan account became overdue. Here, the fun started. After taking back their fifteen lakh rupees, they stopped paying instalments and interest. Dues mounted to more than Rs.40.00 lakhs.

 

The most dishonest compromise by the Senior Executives who all happily retired and are enjoying retirement benefits’

 

The firm made a proposal. They had six unsold flats in the Asiana apartments. These were unsold, as they were on ground (abutting the parking lot) and first floors and were not preferred in a posh locality. Window panes were made with iron and ordinary see-through glasses were fitted to the windows. Any passer-by can see through the glasses into the bedrooms.  Washrooms had the cheapest fittings.

 

And the compromise started here. The firm made a written proposal to the bank that they would sell these flats to the bank, at a price 10% higher than market price. And the Management suddenly developed love for the local managers. They decided to provide readily built flats as their quarters in place of the rented buildings provided to them till then, at various localities as per the preference of the managers. The Managers of five branches in the city and a manager in the Regional Office were offered these flats as quarters. It worked like this. The firm, Hyderabad Builders, owned by a Congress politician was advanced Rs.30.00 Lakhs to construct an apartment block in a posh locality in Hyderabad. All kinds of illegitimate transactions were allowed in the loan account.  Interest amount was not collected for a month or more on Rupees Fifteen Lakhs. The firm intentionally defaulted in repayment. They are wilful defaulters who must be booked under the laws of those days. Instead, they practically forced the bank management to buy those very flats, that remained unsold due to the poor construction quality, at a higher price. The management succumbed despite strong opposition from managers. This is called dishonesty and a whole lot of executives deserved dismissal as punishment. Instead, I was targeted for minor lapses of judgment and failing to prove dishonesty, they took shelter under the SC judgment that said any loss to the bank above Rs.5.00 lakhs attracts capital punishment. Funny thing was this loss was manipulated and I was not allowed access to records, saying my acts amounted to criminality and I would be arrested. They could not extract a single letter from any customer that I took bribes, though they tried blackmail, threat and all means above the rule book. A question was asked by many why I did not go to court. Knowing the justice system, no individual who is innocent goes to court. As I was honest, I came out of bank with no money to buy rice. I had to beg a manager to send rice that he obliged.  My younger brother supplied other essentials for about six months. I stayed in a dungeon for one year. I stayed rent-free in my brother’s new house for one year. I begged and borrowed to feed and educate my children.  All because in the view of the management, I was dishonest and earned lakhs of rupees. Justice died the day I was dismissed, whatever wolves like my third brother may think and spread canards.

 

By the time our bank purchased the apartments, half the pumps were leaking. Paint was peeling off. After all, they were lying unsold for more than a year and we bought them to make their accounts regular. All in the game, no retribution. No car parking was available. Our Management meekly succumbed and purchased those unsalable apartments just to close the loan account. Managers were allotted those flats. No Manager was owning a car then. They occupied the flats without murmur. I remained a "stone in the slippers' of the company officials and owners. These powerful politicos were in a position to get loans and make the banks cough up the loan amount for cheap flats sold at high end rates. People like me lost in the game. I will again come back on the subject, when I come to the 1980s and my tryst with destiny in Hyderabad.

 

I flew where eagles dare. I suffered humiliation but I never succumbed to pressure. That was what made me different from other officers. Even after my dismissal, staff who worked with me used to stand in reverence till I sat. That was the respect I commanded as an honest and sincere officer. They did not envy me as my third brother still continues to. 

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I will travel back in time. A few incidents in Davangere. My own rise in

My working life at Mandipet, Davangere was full of successes except one sore note or two in the middle. It surprised many, including the otherwise skeptical Regional Manager. He could not, though unwillingly, but quote me in every Branch visit he was making in the region. "See that officer! Ask him any transaction! He will repeat with date and figures. When you visit Davangere, meet him without fail and learn his working style." was his refrain to the officers and Managers in every Branch.  By the mid-1980s, I was a house-hold name in the Region, so much so that when I took initiative to revive the defunct Officers' Organization in the Region in 1980, I needed no introduction. 

 

 

The second most exhilarating experience in my entire career in those parts was the next day after I was relieved. We were traveling by bus to Hospet, to catch a train for a final journey from Karnataka.  The bus was scheduled at 10.30 AM, the time Branch used to open. But the entire clerical and sub-ordinate staff, a few customers and few staff of PB Road Branch were in the bus station to say "Good Bye" to me. Branches started functioning at 11.30 AM that day. Customers did not object. Both Mr.Shivayogappa and Mr. Maheswarappa bid a tearful farewell to us. It was an unforgettable experience. I dared "where eagles dare" and came out with flying colors. Mr. Mallya must have been devastated with my performance. For an officer who sent me to Davangere just as a sheep is sent to butcher, my leaving his region with flying colors was in fact a sad song in his eventful career. But things never fell in place right for me. Mr. Mallya was promoted as Assistant General Manager and landed in Head Office in a position of strength. Mr. U.V. Nayak, who gave me lift was denied promotion and got stuck in the game of ladders.

 

 

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Back to the story. I was reverted to my parent branch after a successful stint in PB Road Branch on deputation. The skeptic reaction with which an officer on training used to be received when he joined a new Branch was absent as I already earned a name "the young man with brain and brawn," The incumbent Manager resigned from the Bank as he was facing charges and a meek-looking, just on the verge of retirement, extremely talented and good Manager, Sri Perodi Vasuddeva Rao took charge. He was non-controversial, always available for advice and highly knowledgeable man, but did not get promoted because his caste and nativity were barriers. That is banking for those, who do not know how caste and region played havoc with some people. Nothing changed much in the way the banks are run even now, I feel.

Two or three incidents during my service here are worth mentioning. Shivayogappa was basically a good-natured man. Yet sometimes he was cranky. He lacked tact. He was cranky and shouted at officers and other clerks. He was good with his work, but his poor English was a negative. After we became good friends, he used to express these many times. I had sensed very early that his militancy was not original but it was assumed because of his inferiority complex. Once I found out his weakness, it was very easy to tackle him. Many officers and clerks in the Region wondered how I was able to tame the aggressive Shivayogappa.

Maheswarappa, on the other hand, was not aggressive but cunning. He formed his own group of clerks. He was poking them to oppose the officers and Shivayogappa. But there were instances of these two shouting at each other. At times, they were physically fighting too. Those were difficult times in the early days of my stint at Mandipet Branch. Maheswarappa had one weakness too. He was an easy prey for praise. It took me some time to sense this. Once, I sensed this I used the weapon effectively. But it was a rough walk on a road filled with sharp nails. The double game I was playing with these two guys should never come out.  Though one or two clever guys sensed this, they had no proof and I moved my pawns speedily and effectively. Besides Ramnath Nayak, who was the undisputed leader of the Branch, there was Mr. Manjunath Karvey, an officer. He was more of a follower than a leader. He was maintaining a neutral stance so far as the Branch politics was concerned. He was confining himself to routine branch duties just as a clerk does. I was the third officer, though strictly speaking, I was not an officer, but only a trainee.

 

There was a third force to be tackled. He is Ramesh Prabhu, who represented the minority union. Though he had no strength to oppose the majority union, he used to create trouble in the branch behind the scenes. Quarrels between him and the majority union, were frequent.

 

Karvey was an officer for name-sake. When Mr. Ramnath Nayak was transferred, Mr.C.K. Kamath was posted to our branch as officer. As I already established myself as a very efficient officer with managerial capacity I was given total authority over the branch operations. In effect, Mr. C.K. Kamath had to follow my directions. Clerks used to mock him to my disliking. It goes to Kamath’s credit that one day he told me that he was very happy to learn branch work from me and whatever others say he would co-operate with me in the work and again requested me to teach the branch banking. After few months he was posted to Head Office again. I feel that his posting to the branch, where I was gaining total control was another ploy by Mr. Mallya. He felt a Senior Officer, who was my manager for months, would revolt against me. The opposite happened. So, he was transferred. Another officer, R.G. Shanbogh, a senior officer, was posted. He, too, turned out to be more of a follower than a leader. My status as a second-line officer, in fact, de facto manager to the branch.

 

There was a system of rotating clerks from their duties every three months. This was primarily done to see no employee resorts to mischief by learning the tricks of the trade. There were two cashier posts. On one such occasion, I do not know how I was misled, but I posted a clerk of the minority union, whereas an employee from the majority union was senior to him. The cashier post was allotted based on seniority. All hell broke loose.  The majority of the union objected and asked me to reverse my decision. I was still a trainee then. I knew what would happen if I reversed the decision. I stand like a fool, and the minority union staff would hold the grudge. The minority union clerks unfortunately belong to the same caste as the RM. I told Shivayogappa firmly that I would not reverse the decision. The entire staff of the majority union resorted to a pen-down strike and went inside the dining hall.  There were two clerks of the minority union, myself and two other officers. I told the officers to do their regular seats, asked one clerk to act as cashier, and I started working on all five counters without delaying or troubling the customers. Shivayogappa was grumbling all the time. He was taunting me about how many days I could maintain all the counters. Silence was the best weapon in those circumstances. The meek manager was advising me to satisfy their demand. I refused. After an hour, Shivayogappa called Joshi. Joshi came rushing along with two other clerks. He heard the story and supported my stand, but he asked me how I would rectify the unintentional mistake. I promised him that the very time a minority union clerk becomes eligible for a cashier post, I would overlook him and allot the same to the majority union. He told the clerks to return to their seats, advised them not to trouble Chandramohan in the future and, surprisingly, he thanked me and went away. This incident went viral In the region, and one after another, managers and officers started visiting my branch to know how I tamed the tigers. I did not say anything, lest I antagonise the tigers again. My methods were my strength. Instant decision was my forte.

 

 

For two or three months, both Maheswarappa and Shivayogappa tried all the tricks in their books to trouble me. Though troubled, I never expressed my predicament openly. One opportunity came my way. A friend of Shivayogappa, who was engaged in the manufacturing of steel furniture, wanted a loan. Shivayogappa approached the manager. He asked him to contact me. He came nervously to me and requested for a loan to his friend. After verifying his credentials, I okayed. I took this decision immediately and sanctioned and disbursed the loan the same day. I knew it was within the discretionary powers of the manager and the guy was eligible for the loan. I also knew that an opportunity came my way by which I could tame Shivayogappa. From the very next day, he became very close friend of mine.  To the surprise of all and to the shock of Maheswarappa and Prabhu, he started helping me in the work, even by sitting after office hours. Taking a cue, I extracted a promise from him that he would not engage in arguments with anyone. Till the day I was relieved he remained loyal to me and was telling me that it was the first time in his career any officer treated him with such regard and respect that his friend was sanctioned a loan the very day he asked.

 

Maheswarappa was observing this from the sidelines. He understood that he should make my friendship to beat Shivayogappa at his own game. Slowly he started coming nearer me and helping in the work. During the year ends, bank used to supply calenders and dairies to be distributed to clients. I sensed an opportunity there. I called Maheswarappa to my quarters and asked him how many calenders and dairies he wanted. He was very pleased at the importance I gave him. I already gave a promise to Shivayogappa that I would keep aside a few of them for him. Thus, when opportunity came, within a year I ensured total peace in the branch. Prabhu was never the fighting type. So, my position was cemented in the branch. The news of all branches used to reach the RM through his couriers of rumors. So, whenever he was visiting a branch he was quoting my name as an example of sincerity and hard work and managerial capacity. Officers were calling me or coming to our branch to seek my advice whenever there was trouble in their branches. All this happened even before I became a regular officer of the bank. I was still a trainee.

 

 

 

We used to have two pigmy deposit collectors (Janata Deposit) attached to the branch. Commission earned on their daily collections was their income.  Soon after I gained control over the branch, I made it a point to check their collection register first and dispose them, whatever work I had on hand. This gave them more time to go for next day’s collections. Previously officers used to make them sit for hours in the Branch. My immediate identification with the problems faced by the low- level employees gave them encouragement and these two were present in the bus stop on the day of my final journey with a humble gift. One after the other, I used my skill to satisfy the needs all sections of staff, I never hurt their ego, I was humble and sincere and the way I did work amazed every one in the branch. I became a demi-God before my confirmation.

We had to sub-ordinate staff, attendants in the Branch, One of them was Shivappa Setty and the other Rukmaiah Setty. Both were speaking Telugu. But they were members of the two rival Unions. Once, there was a personality clash in between them. It took a Trade Union turn. immediate casualty was Branch work.  Me and Manager tried to resolve the dispute but it only multiplied. After one month the issue was still unresolved. Physical filing of papers was the worst casualty. I was finding it difficult to retrieve a paper. So, one fine morning, i woke up and came to the Branch at 6 AM, (I was staying in the portion attached to the Branch). My wife was shocked not to find me in the house but she knew I would be in the Branch and brought coffee and breakfast there only. By 10 AM, I completed filing, went home, dressed up and came back to the branch. The attenders saw this, the elder one Shivappa practically fell on my feet, both came to me together and took a vow that they would never quarrel and trouble me in future. They stood by their word. This was a great experience. I replicated this in almost all branches and I succeeded in winning the hearts, through my silence and my capacity to do any work without hesitation. All this was thanks to Dale Carnegie’s work, “How to win friends and influence people”. I read the book number of times and got the contents by heart almost.

More on Davangere and Karnataka experiences in the Part 14, with my tussle with big Corporate honchos as Prologue. 

 

 

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"Courage is reckoned the greatest of all virtues; because unless a man has that virtue he has no security for preserving any other" - Samuel Johnson