<p>As a retired bank officer, I feel nostalgic about my days at a bank branch. </p>.<p>Some of them are especially memorable, such as the first working day of the new financial year or even of a month; half-yearly endings and the days before a public holiday!</p>.<p>These were the times when we’d be slogging till past midnight ‘closing’ our books, which literally were those hardbound massive ruled, columned books inscribed with painstakingly handwritten narration and numbers! Clerks were carefully chosen for handwriting ability as well as for mental arithmetic skills. </p>.<p>Everything was manually calculated and the passbook entry details were expected to be complete and legible. Hauling those ‘heavier than me’ ledgers, supplementary and the cash book could be very demanding! Heaven knows how we did not end up with hernias...</p>.<p>In my early years, I recall, we’d sustain ourselves on 2/3 or 6/7 coffees and <span class="italic">bhajji</span>s from the next door Vishnu Bhavan on KG Road, Bengaluru, while searching for an elusive error down to the last paisa, that thwarted our cashbook balancing efforts. What a thrill when we could call it ‘eureka’ for the day, which often drifted into the late evening!</p>.<p>No ‘festive holidays’ break for officers (so hard to reject their leave applications as invariably festivals coincided with month ends!) while quite a bunch of the clerical and attender staff would wait for this string of holidays, even attaching a couple of days’ casual leave to enjoy the allowed maximum of six days at a stretch.</p>.<p>On the reopening day, especially April 1, it seemed all customers would congregate to check their accounts as if some ‘All Fools Day’ prank might have been played with them! In today’s computer era, I agree it’s possible but certainly not probable. Back then, hardly any occurred! Actually, being starved for cash many days in a row, folks would justifiably turn up for salaries and monthly expenses cash or to deposit the business takings of a festival weekend!</p>.<p>My busiest experience was at St John’s Medical College Branch where we serviced their hospital, college, The Indian Institute of Astrophysics, inclusive of their staff, and customers of Koramangala. As Senior Branch Manager from 1991 to 1993, every 1st of the month, especially after a cluster of holidays, my Joint Manager and I would be ‘stand in’ cashiers behind meshed windows, either receiving or doling out cash. The lakhs to be dealt with on that day would be beyond the handling capacity of a couple of cashiers assigned to the branch. Other officers would dish out tokens, pen entries in ledgers, update passbooks etc. till the closure of cash hours. There wasn’t time for toilet breaks, coffee breaks... Sometimes not even lunch! </p>.<p>Bank jobs cushy, did I hear?!</p>
<p>As a retired bank officer, I feel nostalgic about my days at a bank branch. </p>.<p>Some of them are especially memorable, such as the first working day of the new financial year or even of a month; half-yearly endings and the days before a public holiday!</p>.<p>These were the times when we’d be slogging till past midnight ‘closing’ our books, which literally were those hardbound massive ruled, columned books inscribed with painstakingly handwritten narration and numbers! Clerks were carefully chosen for handwriting ability as well as for mental arithmetic skills. </p>.<p>Everything was manually calculated and the passbook entry details were expected to be complete and legible. Hauling those ‘heavier than me’ ledgers, supplementary and the cash book could be very demanding! Heaven knows how we did not end up with hernias...</p>.<p>In my early years, I recall, we’d sustain ourselves on 2/3 or 6/7 coffees and <span class="italic">bhajji</span>s from the next door Vishnu Bhavan on KG Road, Bengaluru, while searching for an elusive error down to the last paisa, that thwarted our cashbook balancing efforts. What a thrill when we could call it ‘eureka’ for the day, which often drifted into the late evening!</p>.<p>No ‘festive holidays’ break for officers (so hard to reject their leave applications as invariably festivals coincided with month ends!) while quite a bunch of the clerical and attender staff would wait for this string of holidays, even attaching a couple of days’ casual leave to enjoy the allowed maximum of six days at a stretch.</p>.<p>On the reopening day, especially April 1, it seemed all customers would congregate to check their accounts as if some ‘All Fools Day’ prank might have been played with them! In today’s computer era, I agree it’s possible but certainly not probable. Back then, hardly any occurred! Actually, being starved for cash many days in a row, folks would justifiably turn up for salaries and monthly expenses cash or to deposit the business takings of a festival weekend!</p>.<p>My busiest experience was at St John’s Medical College Branch where we serviced their hospital, college, The Indian Institute of Astrophysics, inclusive of their staff, and customers of Koramangala. As Senior Branch Manager from 1991 to 1993, every 1st of the month, especially after a cluster of holidays, my Joint Manager and I would be ‘stand in’ cashiers behind meshed windows, either receiving or doling out cash. The lakhs to be dealt with on that day would be beyond the handling capacity of a couple of cashiers assigned to the branch. Other officers would dish out tokens, pen entries in ledgers, update passbooks etc. till the closure of cash hours. There wasn’t time for toilet breaks, coffee breaks... Sometimes not even lunch! </p>.<p>Bank jobs cushy, did I hear?!</p>