Kakinada to Hyderabad 1973-1977

Manager- Personal Banking Division- Kakinada

When I joined at Kakinada as Manager-PBD, the bank had been reorganized into different segments- Personal, Corporate, Accounts, Small Scale Industry, and Agriculture and depending on the size of the branch, each Division was headed by a Manager and the Branch Manager/Chief Manager was the overall head. Divisional Managers had reasonable freedom to act and take decisions.

I had a good team with me. The staff I remember who gave me total support were Rasool Khan who had excellent handwriting and pleasant manners; and Shankar, a very hard working Messenger who was devoted to me and Rafique Pasha. My top priority was to set high standards of customer service and in a period of 15 months the results showed that I had achieved this. The deposits of the Division doubled in this period and we received high praise from customers and Head Office. Mr. Khizerzai Nazeer Mahmood Khan was a Trainee Officer at this Branch. He hailed from Kurnool and met me again in Hyderabad in 1976-77. He was very customer-focused and gelled with my way of working.

I had the pleasure of meeting Janab Nasrullah Durrani who was 70 years old. He retired as Chief Engineer and held several important positions at State and Central Governments. He used to come after business hours for his banking. One day he came in his usual Tennis dress at 4 pm and said he was going to his Club next. After preliminaries, I asked him what his transaction was. He surprised me by saying he just came to see me as he felt relaxed after a chat with me. Thank Allah, he didn't make it a regular habit!

SBI had a pension scheme for retired employees and during the first week, I had these elderly gentlemen coming to draw their pensions. They used to look forlorn and lost in old memories, perhaps. I used to call them over to my table, whether they were Messengers or Clerks or Officers to enquire about their health and get their transaction completed as fast as possible. Shankar was ever ready to bring them a cup of tea without my asking as he knew my style of customer service. The retirees felt extremely happy to receive special attention and recognition. Sometimes my customers got caught up in my insistence on quick service. They felt they should be allowed to hang around and enjoy the general positive ambience.

We were provided with Bank’s accommodation which was fully furnished. Dad, Ammi and all the children stayed together. The first one was in SBI Colony, a little away from the Town center. One example of our good times here were the chess games we played against each other. The games against dad were interesting. We were asked to take back a move if we were attacking his queen or checkmating his King. We were not able to deny him this request.  He used to have a satisfied smile when we obliged. The next house was near a park and the landlady was Dr. (Mrs) Mary Chacko and it was close to dad’s office. We had a very good family time here too. It ended with the tragic and premature demise of Dad in Oct 1973. More about this later in a separate blog "Departures"

Ammi, Ejaz Khalajan in Dr. Mary Chacko's house 1973

Branch Manager- Amalapuram

When I reported at Amalapuram, I was 27 years old. The previous Managers were in their mid-40s or 50's. Some customers who came to see me thought I was the Manager's son and they asked for the Manager. I had to explain to them that I am the new Manager.

One of my regular practices was to spend quite some time walking about on the counters during business hours, greeting customers and checking if the queues were too long and if more counters needed to be opened. I used to give special attention to old men and women. I used to make them sit and take their cheques personally to the counter and get them priority attention. An old lady was a regular visitor every month, on Thursdays, to draw her family pension. One day, she stepped into my cabin and I asked her if there is any problem. She just approached me and came around the table to lay a coconut at my feet. I was surprised and asked my Dufedar what she is doing. He said she likes you and so she is offering a gift!! She had another coconut in her hand and Dufedar says she will now go to the temple to offer the second coconut to the deity there. I thanked her while returning the coconut and requested her not to bring coconuts and that I am just doing my duty. She once again went to my residence which was right over the Branch and gave the coconut to my mom who accepted it. I had to get Dufedar to convey to her to stop this practice.

While residing at the old SBI building, I was preparing to go to the office at 9 am when suddenly I felt a severe stomach ache. Within minutes it became so severe that I could not sit or stand and had to lie down in a fetal position with folded knees close to my chest. Dr. Raju was called in and he immediately diagnosed it as Appendicitis and recommended that we go to Kakinada for an urgent operation within 24 hours. I left for Kakinada along with Shakir and Ammi in a cab. Kamal mama was there working as Lecturer and Mehdi chacha came from Rajahmundry. We went to the private surgical clinic of Dr. William Prasad Rao, who was married to Dr. Swarajya Lakshmi, daughter of our landlord in Rajahmundry in 1960-62. Doctor said the appendix is ripe and we have to do surgery urgently as any delay may lead to rupture of appendix leading to Peritonitis. Next day, surgery was conducted. Mehdi chacha and Kamal mama were also allowed to witness the operation and I was given local anesthesia. I was able to see and hear everything going on and of course did not feel any pain. Doctor, before closing up my stomach, asked if I wanted to see my intestines.  I said in fun " Yes, please check for any cigarette butts". He showed the intestines and also the index finger length of removed appendix which was red and close to bursting. Dr. Swarajya Lakshmi showed this appendix to Shakir waiting outside.Thank Allah for the successful surgery.

Shakir, Ammi and Dadijan were with me before Khamar joined us after the wedding. Khamar recalls gentle reminders of Ammi that Khamar, coming from forest Officer’s family, should start eating non-vegetarian food. She was 100% vegetarian then. Shakir after bringing nice chicken, meat or fish, used to go after Khamar saying “ Bhabhi, Aap yeh sab khana dekho. Naito baad mein Bhai ku kaisa pakako khilatey”.  Khamar says she was getting used to being bugged everyday but all this persuasion seemed to have worked. Not only she eats most non-vegetarian stuff, she prepares very tasty dishes including prawns.

Ammi was head of the household. Dadijan was also with us. She was mostly with Dad at various places but spent a few months with Mehdi chacha, Masood chacha, Ruhani phuphu and Majima phuphu at various places. Dadijan was a pleasant personality, always very cool. She was very fair and people used to compare her to Queen Victoria for her physical appearance and her fair complexion. Only Dad and Ruhani phuphu inherited her complexion. Here is her picture along with me and siblings in 1961. She had jet black hair and all her teeth even at the age of 80 when she passed away in Akividu. Like old ladies of that time, she was habituated to Opium (Afeem) which she kept in a small 1/2" tin and took a small pill before bedtime. We were told that it gave them dreamless sleep. Opium those days was available in grocery stores like a medicine. I have seen old ladies in Akividu borrowing a pill of opium from other old ladies if their stock was depleted. 

Shakir was already working and used to visit often. Babu was with me intermittently while pursuing his studies. Shammi after her marriage in Kakinada in 1974, came to Amalapuram in 1975 for her first delivery (Seema).

Dadijan (Queen Victoria) with me and siblings 1960

Amalapuram was in the Godavari Delta area where huge amounts of gold jewelry are held by ladies. It was a common practice to borrow against gold from banks for short term loans which sometimes turned into long term loans. I found at this branch that there were many Gold Loan accounts marked “Deceased” and the Loan had been cleared. The Jewelry was to be delivered to the legal heirs only after proper legal documentation was submitted. Previous Managers were very strict about this legal process and though there was discretion for the Branch Manager to accept affidavits and personal guarantees instead of Succession Certificates from the Courts, they hardly exercised this power. I exercised my discretion freely and cleared many such cases.

Two instances come to mind. Once a family of 21 people, who were second generation relatives, came to sign for the delivery of the ornaments and two elderly ladies started crying when they saw the ornaments which were of large size, one waistband (cummerbund) which would easily weigh 25 tolas. They said they belonged to their grandmother and they are seeing these after 30 years. The second case was also a very old case and they had lost hope of ever getting the jewellery back due to lack of legal documentation. When they got back the jewellery after my intervention, they went out happily. I was entering my residence via the staircase for lunch, I saw a few of this group waiting for me and one gent was trying to offer me some money for clearing the case. I told him that I cannot accept any such thing. He was under the impression that no one clears such old cases without expecting some benefit.

We had business targets and this area was known for huge deposits from the rich residents. I had good business based on the great reputation we built up as a team and the excellent customer service. So my targets were really high. A few months, I could see that we may fall short by a few lakhs and my back-up customer was Minor Garu who was a wealthy merchant and I had great respect for him. I used to telephone him and he used to come personally to give me a fresh deposit to achieve the target. My stay here was for 18 months and the branch was nearly 50 years old, having started as a branch of Imperial Bank of India. When I took over, the deposits were about 60 lakhs after 50 years of existence. When I handed over the branch after 18 months, the deposits were nearly 1.2 crores. Loans and Profits also rose accordingly.

SBI started an initiative called “Innovative Banking” and the target customers were those who could not bring any assets to mortgage to the bank, too small to have accounts and balance sheets, entrepreneurs who did not know how to prepare business plans etc., I extended loans which were very small those days of Rs. 5,000 to Rs 10,000 with easy repayment plans. One strange case was the Imam of a local masjid. He came and reported that his salary was very low and he is not able to meet his family expenses. I asked him to think of any small business which can help him. He came back after a week and said that he can sell Hawai chappals outside the masjid. I loaned him Rs 5,000 under Innovative Banking and told him to repay in small monthly installments. After six months, I saw that there were no repayments coming in. During one of my visits to the masjid, I took him aside and asked him the reason for default. I also did not see any chappals being sold outside the masjid. He said he sold all the stocks, spent the money on the family and he does not have any money left. That was capital doing the vanishing act. I mentioned this to some of the well-to-do Muslims and they all collected funds for the Imam and paid off the Loan.

I had an excellent team to work with. Y. Srirama Murty was the Field Officer in-charge of all Advances and it was a busy desk. He had a Standard Herald and took me around the official visits to Industries and clients.  V.V.V.Satyanarayana was a handsome and tall officer performing the duties of Accountant. This seat was a busy one handling many duties and without an able Accountant, Branch Manager would be in trouble. VVV was a very cooperative officer who took responsibility without any complaint and I could depend on him to perform the tasks. P.D.V.Ramachandrudu and Raju, were senior staff and also active in Union matters. I used to anticipate their demands and used to call them over regularly to ask them if there is anything I can do for the staff welfare. I provided them a lunch room, Table Tennis and a separate toilet for ladies and such facilities. They were quite happy with the support I gave them. They knew that I had an understanding of unions and supported them in principle. P.D.V.Ramachandrudu was also an experienced officer and he helped me with many banking rules and procedures.

The Union held a demonstration on the instruction of their Headquarters and informed me out of courtesy and our good relations that they would resort to sloganeering in front of the main gate for 15 minutes before they start their work a little late. I said I am sympathetic to their cause. Just before they started the sloganeering, I stepped out of my cabin and joined them at the Main gate while they were shouting “Management down down” etc., The Union Secretary said I was the Management and I should not be with them while they are shouting. I said while I was among them, I was just a supporter of Union activity.

Satyanarayana (Dufedar) was a great support. He was attached to the Branch Manager and managed the team of Messengers.  To start with he used to sit on a stool right outside Manager’s cabin and close the door filtering the flow of visitors. Without his say so and my permission, no one was supposed to come inside. One of the first things I did was to ask him to move the stool elsewhere and keep my door open. Any customer could come in any time and meet me unless I asked for a closed door meeting with an important customer or a Head Office official or an Auditor. Though initially Satyanarayana felt disturbed and disempowered but in a short while, he understood my approach and cooperated very enthusiastically.

I was invited to join Rotary Club of Amalapuram. I attended their meetings and spoke a few times. The Officer’s Club was a well-organised club for all the Government Officials, Bankers and such. They had nice Tennis courts, Badminton and indoor games like Billiards. Shakir and Diwakar used to accompany me sometimes. Diwakar was Procurement Manager for ILTD, a leading Tobacco company and he was a regular visitor as a customer first and became a close friend. He later joined SBI and was Manager - Old MLA Quarters and other assignments. He was an active sportsman specializing in Cricket. He got married in 1974 and brought his bride to Amalapuram and we were the first friends he and Aruna visited after their wedding. Diwakar visited me at Vanasthalipuram in Feb 2014 with his family and this time with his grandchildren.

Amalapuram has a big population of Christians and a number of churches to service the community. Many domestic helpers and Ayahs come from this area to work in Gulf countries and send regular monthly remittances by Draft to their family members. The usual practice was to send these drafts for collection to Hyderabad or Mumbai which would take two or more weeks to realize. I changed the system as I knew that the demand drafts would never be returned for lack of funds as they are issued by big banks from Gulf. I instructed that these drafts should be immediately encashed as long the customers hold an account with us and send the drafts for collection subsequently. This was a great convenience for the dependent families and the word spread and I got a big chunk of such business and most of these clients were Christians.

My empathy with clients of different communities reached the Pastors and Church officials. When Missionary officials from USA and Europe came for visits, the local church official used to bring them to meet me and they used to thank me for the service. I was invited once to a big meeting of Christian Missionaries and when I arrived at the venue to show Bank’s support to the community, I was invited to the Dais and asked to speak. I spoke on the bank’s services for five minutes.

One of my regular customers was an old pensioner and I used to give special attention to old people. Sometimes I used to bring them to my cabin and offer them a cup of tea and get their cash or any work done fast. This used to make them happy. One month I noticed that this old gent hadn't come for his usual monthly visit. I enquired from my Dufedar (Head Messenger) and he brought me news that he was not well. I went to his house to call on him and ask him if he needs any help in the bank. He was very happy to see me.

An annual event in Amalapuram was the Puranas Recitation Competition for Brahmin pundits from all over India. Literally thousands of senior and junior pundits wearing gold armlets denoting their scholarship of vedas, stay for a week and participate in the event. The Department of Endowments and Charitable Institutions used to give them cheques drawn on SBI ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 25,000 or more for the top placed winners. The top winners were also presented with Gold armlets which they wore proudly. One day I saw a large group of these pundits waiting at the counters. When I enquired from the staff, they said they come every year and this rush to clear cheques lasts a few days. I saw an opportunity to help them by opening special counters with instructions that no one should wait for more than 5-10 minutes. At the end of the event, Satyanarayana, Dufedar came and told me that a group of senior pundits wanted to see me. I thought there must be a problem looming. I asked him to bring them in. The group of ten scholars came in and while standing in my cabin with the door open, they started reciting shlokas in a loud but musical tone for five minutes and all the staff and some customers came to stand outside my door and listen to this strange event unfold. When they stopped reciting which was echoing through the building, I asked them if they had any problem. The senior-most pundit told me that they never had such fast service and respect shown by the staff and specially coming from a Muslim Manager like me, they wanted to praise and offer thanks and bless me and reciting shlokas was their way of doing it. I felt honored. Staff were more thrilled as it was for them too.

Late in 1975, we moved out to a brand new customized building with a nice Branch Manager’s residence on the first floor and a terrace which was good for relaxing in the evening. The old building housed the bank for about 50 years and was old fashioned and had maintenance problems. The new building was completed and the shifting went on smoothly. I had to coordinate with Police, District Administration and Head Office etc. We held the inauguration function on the terrace and here is a picture. It was a spectacle for the town folk as all the branch staff walked a kilometer with trucks loaded with boxes of cash and gold and escorted by a big contingent of Police.

SBI Amalapuram New building inauguration. Minor garu sitting on left, Mr.Raju, Landlord on extreme right and PDV Ramachandrudu standing on left.

I was transferred to Head Office in Hyderabad in February 1976. The fond farewell by staff was memorable. But the enduring image I have in my memory is the actual departure from Amalapuram Bus stand. I booked tickets for all the family by deluxe bus to Hyderabad. There is no train service here as it is the middle of a delta region surrounded by rivers. Srirama Murthy picked me up in his car and we left the residence and he was driving slowly as many of the staff were following the car by scooters and bicycles. When we reached the bus stand, I saw some customers and friends waiting for me to bid farewell. Among them was a Pastor in a white gown who stood out. I was moved by this sight. As the bus moved away, the Pastor was blessing me by signing a cross behind the bus as I looked back. I thank Allah for all the love and affection shown by people and staff at Amalapuram. Wish I had a photo or a video of this.

While visiting Kamal mama at Kakinada in Oct 2013 and travelling to see Sultan khalsab at Akividu, we stopped over at SBI, Amalapuram on a Sunday. The security guard allowed me to enter after I introduced myself. The office has changed a lot, an AGM is in charge and the Manager's residence and the spacious terrace are now converted to office space.

Revisiting Amalapuram branch Oct 2013 (after 37 years)

I got married to Khamar in 1975 while I was in Amalapuram. More on this with some pictures in a separate blog.