Weekend Musings: What One Life Taught Me About Peace

 *Sunday Story: My experience at the bank*

My banking experience has been a happy one and there is one happy reason for it. The branch of the SVC Bank where our family has several accounts is one that is staffed entirely by women. It is what is called a “Women’s branch”, probably one of a kind. Only the security guards are men. It is on the ground floor of one of the buildings of the Saraswat Colony. If I am not mistaken, it is in the same building where the actor Amol Palekar once lived. The branch is so close to my place that our Wifi signal almost reaches it.

The SVC Bank considers it as one of their prestigious branches and whenever there is a change in the top management, they first pay a ‘pilgrimage’ visit to the branch.  Not sure it is the reason, but the ladies in the branch are uniformly good looking. Makes me wonder whether they hire or transfer staff here based on their looks or their qualification. Having said that, the GSB community which essentially runs the Bank are generally good looking people, particularly the women.

I need to mention that a couple of years ago they had a Branch Manager who was the best of all I have seen so far. She was tall, fair (they all are), with a relaxed demeanor that comes from self-confidence. The most notable thing was she knew she was good looking and was used to male attention. I think she even welcomed it as she would occasionally look around to see who is watching her. From the counters one can get a clear view of her cabin, so one day I happened to be looking at her when she must have sensed it and looked at me. The only permissible reaction from me was to smile and she must have realized that it was just an innocent appreciative gaze, so she smiled back...thankfully nothing else.

Another experience of this Bank Manager was when there was someone senior from their Head Office visiting the branch, which I suppose was one of those pilgrimage visits. The Manager was gushing all over while she came out escorting the senior guy. She profusely greeted me on the way as if she knew me very well and probably to demonstrate she is keeping very good relations with the clients. She led him out to his car which was waiting outside with the driver. When she came in, she and the staff heaved a big ‘whew’ and were visibly relieved. I found the whole drama quite entertaining.

One other reason for my happy experience at the bank is the very friendly nature of the staff. My frequent visits there must have helped, as they greet me warmly and we have pleasant exchanges. At which bank will you find staff asking you questions like where are you from, what community and complementing on the very neatly written pay slips, thanks to the wife. Once there was an issue and I was asked to send an email. I sent it and the next time I went there the lady was all praises for the beautiful email. It surprised me, as it was just a normal official email, but then I realized this is not the usual style how people write nowadays.

So you may have got a hint why my banking experience has been generally happy. Since we have multiple accounts and an active Building Account, I need to make frequent visits. As my wife manages the building account, she hands me the deposit slips, passbooks, withdrawal cheques for transacting at the bank. Obviously I cannot show my over eagerness and enthusiasm to go to the bank, so one day I did some acting and wearily asked, “What, again?” I even carried this line a bit further by saying, “The ladies at the branch will think I am a creep, to go there so often”.  She just smiled and said cryptically, “It's ok, it's ok, don’t worry”. I say, wives know us far better than what we even know ourselves. And if you think you know them, you are highly mistaken. You know nothing! Once she even told me that I am no good at acting. For want of some consolation, I am taking it positively to mean that I am just simple-minded and transparent.

Once she accompanied me to the bank as her Debit Card could only be handed over to her in person as I was not a joint holder in that account. I introduced her to all my ‘friends’ at the bank and mentioned that she is the one who writes those neat pay-in slips. They greeted her and while she was getting all the attention was wondering what women really think of one another when they meet like this. Will never know. Once I even took my daughter there  when she was small as she has an account there. This was part of my initiative for her to ‘Know Your Bank’ (KYB) as opposed to KYC. She was observing everything and made an interesting comment when we came out. She asked me why does everyone look so happy there? When I asked would she like to work in a bank when she grows up, she emphatically said no, saying it is such a boring job just to count money and put a rubber stamp! Today she is an emerging scientist.

The bank is housed in a smallish residential flat. So you can imagine that with all standard banking operations being performed here including an ATM, there is hardly any free or open space. For any visitor to the bank, to find in its confined spaces the presence of so many women can be quite overwhelming, at least at first sight. One cannot also help feel a strong feminine energy emanating from the place and men may experience it more. It is not claustrophobic as one would think, but because of the limited open space, one outcome is that normal interactions with staff can give a feeling of being close and intimate.

With the description above I have had some interesting observations on visitor's reactions. Most young men seeing so many female staff fake confidence and carry themselves just with a little bit of swag. They do it in such a self-conscious manner that it makes it obvious that they are faking it. Then there are the slightly shy people who give the appearance of being ‘decent’ and are extra polite out of their diffidence. The disagreeable types are the ones who carry with them a  sense of entitlement and demand things. They have had some measure of success and are used to having things their way. They even raise their voice and compare service with other banks. There are some patronizing types as well, elderly people probably well placed in their careers, and who now take it  upon themselves to ‘guide’ the  young ladies. Have to mention that these reactions don’t deter the ladies as they are safe in their togetherness and their combined female strength is daunting to anyone trying to take advantage.

 

There is some humour too. Once there was a mix-up of our family accounts where transaction messages were sent wrongly to my brother and me. Both of us were called to fill some form and sign there. My brother happily accompanied me and the lady's face lit up when she saw both of us there. She was looking into the forms and was absent-mindedly moving her head from one side to another repeating, "Duttraj, Dnyanraj".  She did this two times and as we were watching her she realized what she was doing and quite embarrassed, started laughing, joined by all of us there. She was telling even her husband is not getting any message about her transactions. I told her that's wonderful, if she can please do the same for my joint account with my wife! We again had a good laugh. At one time a lady at the counter seemed overworked and tired, and sighing heavily said, 'Hey Prabhu'. I bent down at the window opening and asked if she was calling me. She smiled and it did the trick of dispelling her boredom.

You cannot miss all their girlie talk even when they are working. Sometimes you will find one of them pouring her heart to the other, as if complaining that her husband does not love her any more. And if you visit the bank close to lunch time the ladies there have a gala time discussing food, what to order, from where and someone noting down their elaborate orders. All this while they are also attending to clients, much to our amusement. 

You will agree, that the experience I have had at the bank has been a singular one, unlike any other. Essentially the area is residential with small shops. Maybe the bank staff here is trained to provide a homely, friendly service where such clients feel comfortable. They may be driving home this USP to attract new business. But I may be partial to also believe that they are genuinely friendly and not putting up a show of it. In fact, I am looking forward for my next visit!