Today is 22nd July, a landmark day as far as I am concerned, because it proved to be a game changer as far my life is concerned.

I was rather fresh university pass out with very little professional experience when I joined State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur on 22nd July 1985, which unfortunately is a redundant entity having merged with colossal SBI, as a Probationary Officer, a respectable and well sought after service in civil life. Alas, the first experience was none too pleasant, with my first branch being one of the notorious branches of New Delhi! I felt suffocated, regretting my decision to join SBBJ in preference to another Bank, whose offer was also simultaneously available to me! However, come October and were invited to the training centre at Jaipur for almost month long induction programme. Here I was exposed for the first time to people from all over – Orissa, Bihar, Bengal, Assam, South apart from Delhi- a mix of scholarly, erudite and interesting fellows. Not that we struck an immediate camaraderie; there were groups, sub groups, factions, which is not uncommon when people with vastly different backgrounds come together for the first time! We also, for the first time, met our seniors, who were vastly different from the crowd we were exposed to at our branches. Beautiful city of Jaipur added to the quality of our experience.

Fast forward to 2018 i.e 33 years later, I am drenched in nostalgia remembering good times that we had, especially during our first congregation in October 1985. The batch is not even half the original size. A few left within the first couple of years for greener pastures like IAS and SBI. When the Govt. decided to liberalise licensing of new banks, a host of new generation private sector banks took birth, more significant amongst them being Axis Bank, then known as UTI Bank. It’s founder CMD was the then MD of SBI, who had earlier headed SBBJ too. There was, therefore, an efflux of officials across grades from SBBJ to UTI that included the writer of this blog. Life continued till social media gave an opportunity to bring us together once again after a long hiatus.

Today professionally each one of us may be different- some are in private sector banks, some have migrated to other countries, some continue to have their tryst with SBI. Several of us are in different cadres, with one of us recently having been named to head a nationalised Bank. One of us has superannuated, one opted for early retirement, while most others will be doing so in next 2 to 4 years. One of us has died too. A few of us have their children doing very well and I have become a grandfather too! But when we are together on common platform, nothing matters – professional achievement, personal wealth, geographic location. Only thing that matters is that a relationship that started 33 years ago has only got stronger and stronger and while we shall start retiring, becoming feeble with age, having Alzheimer’s or what not and ultimately dying, we will always cherish those moments that we once spent together.

I am not a Modi baiter; in fact, I am his admirer for his simple personal life and frugal requirements. However, it surprises me as to how deeply the Country, society, media, social media, institutions- you name it- have become divided amongst pro and anti Modi. This divide is so sharp that his admirers are blind to deficiencies in his governance while his baiters don’t see anything good at all! There are no middle of the road matured minds evaluating his achievements or failures strictly on merits.

His main plank was to promise “Acche Din” or “Good Days” and he started with a bang. He enforced strict punctuality in Government offices, visited hospitals unannounced, started reviewing ministries and departments, reviewed all the stuck up infrastructure projects, started Swachch Bharat campaign and embarked upon foreign diplomacy unseen hitherto. His impromptu visit to attend Nawaz Sharifs daughter’s wedding raised hopes of an unprecedented improvement in Indo Pak relations. But did an ordinary citizen of this country experience anything accha or good in all these 4 years? Did we see any change in ground reality? Probably not, if the following is any proof:

(1) Religionism and casteism have raised their ugly heads like never before – Jat stir, Maratha agitation, atrocities on Harijans, complete polarisation to the extent that even rape victims are being empathised with based on religion and after so many years of continuity, portrait of Jinnah at AMU is found objectionable and such stories are endless.

(2) In spite of highly publicised diplomacy, relations with neighbours – Pakistan, China’s, Nepal and Srilanka have reached a new nadir.

(3) While bullet train remains a big dream (and expensive one at that!), railways seem to be going from bad to worse with accidents, dirtiness, lack of punctuality, bad food etc and infrastructure in general deteriorating!

(4) While India is being touted as economic superpower, it’s economy is actually characterised by extremely high unemployment, scams and NPA hit Banking guzzling capital, unreliable stock markets and general inflation all round, with petrol prices amongst the highest in the world!

(5) Political acrimony is so high that each election (even insignificant by elections) seems like a matter of life and death and unholy alliance of anti BJP getting without any ideology with the sole aim of ousting BJP.

And on top of it, one set of social media tells us that what disasters will happen if Modi is not re-elected and second set telling us apocalypse likely to hit if Modi comes back.

Let the self-styled custodians of the welfare of this country be cautioned- there’s more to this country than its leaders and politicians. Politicians will come and go – some will be remembered for their good deeds others forgotten- but this oldest civilisation that survived worst of adversities, calamities, epidemics, barbarians, exploiters etc will survive to live another day to embrace one more politician and one more leader!

Every time one goes to a foreign locale, first thing that strikes him or her is the neatness and cleanliness. Not at the airport- airports are clean in India too- but the moment you step out! It could be Munich, Zurich. Cape Town, Johannesburg or closer home Singapore and Dubai! The roads are clean and so are pavements, railings and walls! Buildings are aligned and well maintained. Loosely dangling wires are no where to be seen. The question of slums and pavement dwellers doesn’t arise.

There’s no point lamenting about the above facts, because howsoever we may try through Swachch Bharat campaign and all that, the above mentioned stuff is simply not possible in India! With the population bursting at seams and not enough pucca houses to shelter them, people have no option but to build shanties and hutments wherever they find place and worse stay on pavements and roads! Mumbai may have been declared free of defecation in open, but we all know how serious the problem of availability of neat public lavatories is! And how can we ever dream of having neat walls till our favourite pass time is eating Pan stuffed with tobacco and getting ultimate pleasure in spitting all over! Government sees lots of risks in smoking and drinking, but pan is a matter of our culture and tahzeeb!

However, certain things we can certainly do. Instal CCTVs at every 500 meters to catch road hogs, honkers, speedsters, Lane cutters and law breakers. A disciplined nation’s first identity is discipline on its roads. The cost of investment in CCTVs can be recovered in one year’s time by saving on fuel, medical emergencies and police intervention. Have cleaner fleet of city transport and make it mandatory for private vehicle owners to maintain their vehicles well or face the music. Let cabbies, bus drivers, truck drivers wear proper uniforms and be taught personal and road etiquettes. CCTVs will also catch spitters and other nuisance makers (throwers of garbage- poor Anushka need not fight them, drug addicts, mentally deranged- all of who are risk to society) making our streets safer and better. Can we also check with one of these countries why don’t we see stray dogs, cats, cows and pigs on the roads and streets and how they deal with such strays humanely yet preventing them from being all over!

How do you start your day? By thanking God for waking you up to see another glorious day? By doing Surya Namaskar? Or by greeting elders and seeking their blessings ? The actual answer is by running towards mobile phone and checking WhatsApp messages!

How do you end your day? By thanking God for another day fruitfully spent? By doing meditation to get over the day’s fatigue? By pressing the aching and tired feet of our elders? The actual answer is again WhatsApp!

In flight, train or bus all passengers are busy either reading or sending WhatsApp messages? On roads, in lifts and all other possible places of existence, no one is concerned about anything except WhatsApp!

I start receiving WhatsApp messages from 5 am onwards while being still in slumber. These are good morning messages from a particular friend, who is an early riser. Little he cares whether others have woken up to imbibe his wishes and assimilate his heavy philosophical thoughts! Then starts a barrage that includes messages of all hues and colours- forwarded, re-forwarded, re-re-forwarded and many times re-forwarded messages! Then there are wild, wilder and wildest rumours! Tiring, more tiring and most tiring preachy messages! Cure all remedies claiming treatment of everything from commonest cold to most uncommon cancer! There are cheap porno material, dirty jokes and weird facts! It goes on and on till you drop dead on the bed after checking your last message to start the process all over again the next day!

Why forward if you can write original stuff? Why spread rumour if you can check the facts? Why untried cures? If you’re not sure of such stuff yourself? Why send objectionable materials when it’s known fact that all members of the family access the phone? Why preach that you don’t practice? Why forward blindly that you yourself have not cared to read or liked if read?

A study has shown that good morning messages choke all internet capacity in the morning and these messages are least read! Let’s channelise energies for a good cause rather than this bad curse ! Social media is to be used for betterment of the mankind and should be ensured accordingly by pleading and wielding stick if pleading doesn’t work!

Two quick short stories from my favourite source of inspiration, Pakistani Urdu daily Jang’s daily feature “Story in 100 words”.

Story no. 1

My friend Dodo was very excited about the ongoing FIFA World Cup tournament. He was most excited about the two stars Messi and Ronaldo’s likely showdown in the quarterfinal playing for their respective teams Argentina and Portugal. I am hardly a sports aficionado and do not much understand or follow any sport except a bit of cricket. My response to Dodo’s enthusiasm was rather tepid. A couple of days ago I bumped into Dodo again and didn’t forget to check up with him the outcome of the likely showdown between the two soccer stars. This time Dodo’s response was rather lukewarm saying that “showdown did take place albeit not on the field but on the airport where both of them were taking return flights back home after premature exit of their respective teams. ”

Story no.2

My son returned from school and I enquired about his result. He sheepishly admitted the fact that the result was indeed out. “Is Dodo the topper like every time?” I asked. “No papa Dodo was sick and couldn’t write his exams”, my son replied, ” Then it must be Babloo”, I probed further. ” No, Babloo didn’t deposit fees so he was barred” replied my son. ” Oh, this would have given Pappu a godsend opportunity to top the tables this year? I questioned him again. “No Dad, his dad has been transferred “, replied my son rather tiredly. “How many students are there in your class? ” I asked wondering about the situation. ” I am the only one”, my son murmured. “Oh, I see so you are the topper?” ” No dad I have failed “!

Hardly had IPL fever waned, Afghanistan cricked team came to India for a short series. Indian team is now in England for a long series, after a short tryst with Ireland. French Open became memorable for Rafa’s great show, but before this great event could sink into our hearts and minds, Wimbledon has started. Of course, currently FIFA World Cup soccer has gripped the world in its frenzy and it seems that European dominance is once again going to be the order of the day with Latino teams already back home! Yesterday sports aficionados were spoilt for the choices with simultaneous live telecasts of France Uruguay quarter final match , India England T20 match and Wimbledon initial rounds!

Still remember those days when sports lovers were so starved for action that they would not only follow cricket match between Sri Lanka and West Indies, but eagerly await for evening live telecast on DD of DCM or Durand Cup match between JCT and East Bengal or a Ranji trophy match between Railways and Delhi! But why only talk about sports! This is true about several other things too where we have moved from starvation to over dosage and I intend to cover these in my next blog!

Tag lines, catch lines or slogans – whatever you call them – lend an identity to the companies using them. In fact, a few of these tag lines have become as famous or well known as the corporate using them! “Just do it” has an immediate recall of brand “Nike” just as “I’m lovin’ it” reminds you of McDonald’s. Some are even simpler like “The City never sleeps”, which signifies global presence of Citi Bank.

The fact that we miss out is that much before some of the Indian and global companies adopted these catch lines or slogans, Indian banks, currently under fire and in news for all the wrong reasons, had started using tag lines. These might not have caught on in view of the staid nature of the industry or rather localised and sparse presence of some of these banks. However, if you look at these catch lines closely, some of these are quite creative if not outright brilliant. Let me quote a few of these-

“Good people to bank with”- Union Bank

“Good people to grow with”- IOB

“Your faithful and friendly partner”- Syndicate Bank with a dog as mascot, who is both- friendly as well as faithful

The name you can Bank upon – PNB – most in news Bank with one of the highest reported frauds, this old and very dependable bank used this great tag line in a very innovative manner making it part of its name itself – PUNJAB NATIONAL you can BANK upon.

For years it used “Growing to serve, Serving to grow” before changing to “Together we can”- Canara Bank

There are several others using catch lines, mascots ( e.g. star for Bank of India) and colour codes but alas, the fraudsters with their con acts have pushed these old and esteemed institutions to such an extent that existence of a few of them seems to be in question! Some of these have survived extreme situations such as partition of the nation before and hopefully, they will manage this comparatively smaller exigency too!!!

More than 33 years ago when I joined banking industry, a senior banker, who had come to address the young officers’ batch that I was part of told us “ If you think you are into a cosy place with luxury of having an easy job, you should quit and join some Government Department, because banking is going to remain anything but a cushy job.” Of course, he was speaking in a different context for at that time, 2 years of rural stint was about to become mandatory  should one desire elevation to senior roles and some of the Bank branches were indeed located in remote places with virtually no accessibility or infrastructure.

Come circa 2018 and banking indeed seems to be getting extremely tough. While the perpetrators of frauds are merrily ensconced in exotic places such as St Kitts and London, poor bankers, some of whom are leading retired life, surviving on their PF and other retiral benefits in their respective native places, are being summoned for their acts committed by them several years in the past, which would not be in their memory too! In fact, recent arrests of few senior bankers has sent a wave of panic amongst working and retired bankers fearing who next?

Credit decisions are matters of judgment and discretion and unlike small loans, the larger loans go through series of checks, including vetting by Risk Department. If certain executive decisions are not timely taken, the very economics of a project can go haywire. Moreover, for one check applied by the banker an unscrupulous borrower can have multiple surreptitious ways of siphoning of money! It is not to say that all bankers are clean, but then there are black sheep in every profession!

Government, regulator and law enforcement agencies should focus on the fraudsters instead of witch hunting poor bankers, who would have already professionally suffered for bad credit decisions! Let the bankers work and retire in peace. They should be treated as innocent unless otherwise proven through clear money trail and solid evidence.

Yesterday I was reading an article in the Economic Times that explained why Modicare programme of the Federal Government might not be getting readily accepted, especially in the non BJP states. For them Mamtacare, Naiducare or Kejriwalcare would sound better names. Whether it’s adopting a programme or name of a place- politicians cutting across ideology display the same hue!

When we used to study geography, we were taught that India had 4 international airports – Santa Cruz, Palam, Meenambakkam and Dumdum. Today this answer will fetch me zero marks as all these airports have been renamed. High Courts of Chennai and Mumbai are Madras and Bombay High Courts, though I am not sure whether Calcutta High Court has been able to retain its original name.

Pedder Road, Crawford Market, VT, Altamount Road, Flora Fountain, Connaught Place, Duplex Road etc. still exist but you may not be able to reach there with the original names.

The names have been changed purportedly to change the slave mentality that these were representative of. But change has to be inner and not cosmetic. We would be truly liberated when we get over female foeticide, dowry deaths, casteism, communal hatred, dirty habits etc. Till that time whether we call it Swachch Bharat or Clean India, it hardly makes a difference. Not these names but our own thoughts are representative of our slave mentality.

Certain places have an iconic aura attached to them. Fort in Mumbai, Connaught Place in Delhi, Parry’s in Chennai, Dalhousie in Kolkata- the list is endless. One such iconic place that I got lucky to be associated with for last 16 years is Juhu. What comes to one’s mind when the very name Juhu is mentioned? Chowpatty or beach, Pav bhaji, bhel puri, Prithvi theatre, Amitabh Bachchan, ISKCON temple…… one can go on and on. When I moved to Mumbai some 17 years ago, we started life at Four Bungalows, Andheri , but soon shifted to Juhu to a larger accommodation and in proximity to our daughter’s school, which was Maneckjee Cooper. Some 16 years later, when our young school going daughter is already grown into a beautiful lady, a mother of a sweet little and relocated to Johannesburg, it’s time for us to move back to Four Bungalows, albeit to a dream home of our own!

When I told them of my Juhu coordinates, people envied me for my proximity to beach, film stars and other glitterati. But I hardly ever went to beach after the initial euphoria, seldom waited to see the film stars, saw very few plays at Prithvi, ate more Pav Bhaji at restaurants than at the beach, yet the luxury of having all that close at hand was always available. While excitement of shifting to our own, well furnished, designed to our taste home is inevitable and moreover our new residence is just about 2 Kms away from the current residence, somewhere deep in the heart is a tinge of sadness of no longer be able to call ourselves Juhu residents. After all, only a lucky few get to reside at such an iconic place and 16 years is significant period of one’s lifetime.