THE CHURNING OF THE OCEAN OF MY LIFE – CHAPTER 10

 

THE HONEST – THE DISHONEST AND HOW THE SYSTEM WAS TAILOR-MADE TO PUNISH  

                                 THE HONEST AND HONOR THE DISHONEST .

 

MANY ARE THE FABLES WHERE THE INNOCENT SUFFERED AT THE HANDS OF THE

               CRUELTY OF CASTE, REGION, RELGION AND CROOKED POLITICS.

 

                                                                       

 

Institutions must be run like Rama ruled Ayodhya. They should not be run by the ten-headed Ravaana.

 

UNFORTUNATELY OUR BANK WAS RUN BY RAVANA AND HIS ILK.

 

 

THE CHURNING OF THE OF OCEAN OF LIFE - MY OWN STORY - GAME OF LADDERS AND SNAKES BEGINS IN RIGHT EARNEST

I wrote the Ninth Part in this series in July. That ended with my Goddess, Vani, entering my life. After a long gap, on the 39th Marriage Day, I again wanted to restart the story.

 

Even before our traditional marriage, my wife was again absorbed as a temporary stenographer in the DEO’s Office, Machilipatnam. It too was purely temporary. I once visited the office at 5 PM, hoping my wife would have come out of her office. It was 6 PM, 7 PM, 8 PM, 9 PM and 9.30 PM, there was no trace of her. I lost patience. I approached the Superintendent and asked him why a lady employee was being held up after office hours and whether the office was paying any overtime allowance. He claimed ignorance. I told him I wanted to meet her. He took me to the DEO’s Chamber. He did not have the courtesy to return my wishes, too. I asked him to permit me to see my wife. He refused. I took the attendant's help and went into a room, where the lighting was dim; there was no fan, and Machilipatnam, being a seaside town, was sweating profusely. I asked my wife to accompany me with a paper and pen. I asked her to sit in front of the DEO and submit her resignation letter. "I will not accept", he roared. "Throw it in the dust bin", I roared back. Employees started peeping into the room. He said he would call the police. I told him to do so and said I would see him behind bars for detaining a lady employee against her wishes beyond 5 PM. He was taken aback. He took the resignation letter. I told him, "This job is like a nose that falls when you sneeze. The payment you give is paltry, and we are cleverer than you think. And, mark my words, I will see she joins a permanent job before you take another breath" All this, I said in the loudest tone possible. His BP increased, and he started stuttering.

 

 

For the first time, my wife (we were already married in the Registrar’s Office) witnessed another facet of my courage or arrogance, whatever it was.    She was all appreciation on one side. She was shaking with fear. I cooled her down, saying that it was how it worked with the rotten system. There was no other way. We went to Vijayawada the same day. She got her balance payment by cheque. Her resignation was neither accepted nor rejected, as it was a temporary posting and there were no rules or regulations.

 

 

Temperamentally, my wife and I stood oceans apart.  She is too cool to the point of turning submissive. I was too aggressive, never compromising on what I believed, come what may. This “come what may” really came in the future. That did not alter my nature. I fought and had been fighting still. She was cool. She continues to be cool. That made our combination successful in the face of utmost adversity.

 

"The world needs anger and temperament. The world continues to be evil as it is not angry enough," I believed in this saying by Bede Jarrett.

 

"I have reached a point in life where I feel it is no longer necessary to try & impress anyone. If they like me the way I am, good, & if they don’t, it’s their loss," she believes in this unknown saying.

 

 

 

 

Thank you! Every person, who has ever told me, I can’t. You are just another reason I will. And I have done it. Of course, her help was immense.

 

One step forward – Two steps backward . The real churning starts.

 

In 1973, when I joined LIC of India, there was a total ban on promotions for a decade. So, clerks were remaining clerks. This led to frustration among at least five to ten guys who joined LIC with me and were confident in their abilities and felt they deserved more in life. The first to leave was one Mr.Jawahar, who joined IOB. Then my close friend, Mr.Emani Krishna Murthy, grandson of Sri Emani Sankara Sastry, the world-famous Veena player, left for Andhra Bank. Both went as P.O.s. This brought pressure on me from my peers. Even seniors started pestering me to leave as there was no future in LIC. So, the first advertisement I saw was from Corporation Bank Limited, which called for Officer Trainees with Rs.700/- p.m. stipend in the 1st year and Rs.800/- in the second year. There were no other benefits PF, attached. I was drawing a gross salary of more than Rs.900/-,  in LIC.  But the absence of growth prospects in LIC prompted me to make a good decision then, but one that proved fatal later. I was called for a test on the 11th of September, 1977, nine days after my traditional marriage and for an interview on November 15th, in Hyderabad. Candidates appearing for these objective-type, mental ability tests used to buy books and prepare strenuously. I was walking in without even thinking about the test. That was my confidence level and my IQ level, that my third brother envied a lot. Even now, if I write a poem, a blog or a parody and post in the group, his reaction stinks of envy. Other family members who sit like cats on the wall are afraid of his reaction, if they pass a remark applauding me, forcing me out of the group.

 

There were two panelists. One was a respected gentleman from AP, Sri. C. Narasimham (I learned about him in later days, a Chowdary by caste (I had to mention caste, as you will know later why I did so) and the other was one Mr. KPJ Prabhu, a Konkani speaking from South Canara District. They asked many questions for half hour and Sri C. Narasimham nodded his head. He asked me, "Can you extract work from your subordinates?". I said I was as capable as any officer working in the Bank. Arrogant? But I was right. The other gentleman immediately intervened, as if he were waiting for a chance, "He is looking just like a boy. How can he extract work from seniors, that too with strong unions in the banks?" At that Mr. Narasimham got very angry ( I do not understand even now why he supported me so much. He was very much impressed by my plain-speak and bold attitude. There is no other explanation as we were seeing each other first time in life) and said, "This is not Military Service. This young man seems far better than many of your executives." and he told me "You are on the panel. You will hear from us." This might have angered the other Director and I was not knowing what was the noting he made. I climbed the ladder again, and within a split second, a snake bit me. My growth and fall started the same day. I proved the Director, who selected me was right with the capable handling of my job  and the other Director who objected my selection proved right after eighteen years of service, when I was dismissed as recommended by him in his dissent note. It took very little time for my mercurial brain to know what transpired between the two.  It was a split verdict with no provision for appeal.

 

 

Plunder or blunder, the result is the same. Mr. B.G.Prabhu poured petrol on the brightly shining career of one of the most efficient officers and burned the light into ashes.

 

I was selected and received my orders on 3rd December, asking to report in Mangalore on the 19th for training. Incidentally my interview in LIC was on 15th November and I received orders on 3rd December, 1973 only. I received dismissal orders dated the same day 18 years later. Strange, but true! Did the Creator create me while he was half-asleep?

 

The struggle started. My wife wanted to explore the world as she never saw any place other than her native places like  Ponnuru, Tenali, Vijayawada and Hyderabad. My family was against my moving out for their selfish ends, as they would lose my patronage. But they unanimously extracted a promise from me that I shall send Rs.200/- PM, till my younger sister gets married. My younger brother was earning Rs.450/- by then as a Junior Engineer in Telecommunications. I made a promise. I did not fail. Even if I failed for lack of funds, they did not allow me to fail even for one month. So, I borrowed further to keep them happier than me, my wife and one child the first year.  He was in RBI as a Senior Officer. Pendulum swung in favor of my wife's wish and my own ambition and advice of Seniors in LIC to quit the rotten LIC of India.

 

Quirk of fate was that, exactly within a year of my leaving, ban on promotions was lifted in LIC and all my colleagues who passed departmental examinations retired as Senior Divisional Managers. But a Bank job was a Bank job, the most challenging job then. That too in Branch banking, it was more so. In LIC there were no challenges. It was routine clerical work, come at ten and leave at five. That way, I derived job satisfaction even for a limited period.

 

There was a problem getting relieved from LIC of India, as the Union guys with whom I fought for four years made an issue that I kept work pending and committed many errors. This was after I met my wife and was roaming. These were the same guys who advised me not to work. Till last minute, one Tamilian Divisional Manager, Sri Srinivasan did not relieve me. I said it was OK. "I will take back my resignation and complete the work and then get another job." With pressure from the other officers, who liked me he relieved me on 15th December, 1977 at 5'0 clock, after one of my sympathizers, a very senior employee, promised to complete the work. And he completed as he promised. It was the first and last time I kept any work pending.

 

The game of ladders and snakes started in right earnest on the 19th of December, 1977 in Mangalore. Fifteen days of training went on smoothly. Malayalees were my best friends, then. Our own people used to envy me and mock me. Tamilians were the worst of all.  A day before the training was about to end, Principal of the training college called each trainee for a kind of interaction, guidance and moralization. His name was Mr. Subbarao. Usually,  faculty and principals of training colleges were failures in Branch operations and, this posting as faculty was the last resort for the failed and incompetent in those days. The first question he asked me was, "Are you a relation of Mr. Narasimham ?" I was stunned. The officers who interacted with him told us that he asked a few questions about what we knew about banking and he gave a morality lecture.  I told "No". He asked, "Do you know him?" I stammered a little and said, "No". "Then who recommended you? " My temperament took over my good sense.  I replied, "God!". He got furious, asked many irrelevant questions, said I was fit for nothing and declared that he would see how many days I would serve the Bank. My left leg was out of the Bank on the 15th day of joining.  But I was already in a bone with man-eating tigers baying for my blood. I knew that day that time was running out for me and I should look for another job in another bank, even if it were a clerical post. But, -

+ge for entry into any bank, no other institution recruited in any cadre. Only once, UTI*Bank Limited, another private bank, advertised for Probationary Officer posts. I was in Davangere then. The test was in Bangalore. I did not get leave for Saturday. So, on Saturday evening I caught a bus , reached Bangalore at 8 AM, attended the test at 10 AM. I was drowsy and as I did not have breakfast, I started almost swooning. First ever and last ever time I failed in written test. Disgusted and disappointed I returned to Davangere. It was the first and last opportunity I ever got to get out of the cage  of wolves and tigers.

 

Do you see the cucumber below.  A peculiar color combination we rarely see. I was in the same piquant situation, half hope and half despair.

 

 

We, all the recruits, had to fight three forces. That was the first time the Bank made direct recruitment to the officer level. So, we angered the existing officers who saw a threat to their future growth. The clerical staff hated us as they lost out on promotions. The third and the most ominous force was the local South Canara Staff, officers, executives etc. who hated any outsider in the bank. I make this statement with full confidence and conviction, as we all suffered humiliation at their hands. This was not unique to this Bank. In Andhra Bank there was rampant casteism. In Vysya Bank, the same malaise prevailed. Karur Vysa Bank was treating non-Tamilians as aliens. This was a curse that was imposed on us by the Britishers and colonial political bootlickers.  Many of the recruits left within the first year, and few remained. A few grew in cadre, and a few rebels like me suffered huge blows. This was a fact. Now all has changed after the Nationalisation of Banks, hopefully.

 

I will close this part with what our Chairman, who was reportedly a political choice and was allegedly sharing funds illegally collected from borrowers with a national political party. One politician from AP used to call all names in front of us. He was addressing him singularly. This politician was much younger than our chairman. You could have seen the photos of the Chairman and the Politician in a photo I posted supra.

 

"Not only be honest, but appear to be honest." He knew only that sentence. He was appearing, though he was dishonest, and was expecting us to be really honest. That explains the philosophy of the Bank, back then.

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