Time & Tide

I was 20 years old when I got the order to join SBM before 7th Nov at C S Pura Branch. The only other clue was that the place was in Gubbi Taluk, Tumkur District, Karnataka. It was the year 1983 and I had passed out from college only a few months back. I had made a decent use of those months learning accountancy just as a well wisher had suggested since I had not studied the subject in college.  My mother had insisted that my father accompanied me on my first journey outside the safety of home in search of my destiny. It may sound cliched but I felt like a lost puppy. After an adventurous travel with no knowledge of the local language and the geography, we managed to reach our destination well after office hours on the last date for joining. Technically, my candidature had turned void but the manager did not want to lose the opportunity to have another working hand. He asked me to type my own joining letter in dim light at 08 pm and he suggested that my father and I stay in his hou...

  > As I step into the store, I hear someone asking me ‘Hello! How are you doing today?’. Surprised, I answer ‘I am fine, Thank you’. We exchange smiles! > While going on one of my evening walks, the man walking in the opposite direction gesticulates a wish aimed at me as if we have known each other for years. My mind races to strange thoughts like, ‘is he smiling because he finds the brown skin threatening?’. > While crossing the road, cars stop to let me go. When I let them go, they thank me! > The persons at the check out counter at my favourite Trader Joes engages in small talk with me and finds my Chicago Marathon tee a good conversation starter. I know about their lives too as they are curious to know about mine! > I love walking the streets of New York City when I go on my sight seeing jaunts there. No one pesters me to get on to the sightseeing bus or to buy something. Everyone seems to be in a hurry to do their own thing. No greetings on the street unlike in...

  My banking career was all about  targets and results.  Force of habit would be for me to take stock of my life by breaking the total number of years into six decades. 1 to 10 : I have sketchy memory of those years like everyone else. I do remember going for long walks with my father after dinner when I would ask him a lot of questions and he would patiently answer them. I remember the time when my mother was having a difficult time managing my twin siblings and me. I was four years old when they were born. The annual vacation trips to my hometown with my maternal grandparents and paternal grandmother showering all their love and attention is etched in my memory. 10 to    20 : I remember being very proud of being the best student in every class in school until I was in my 8th standard. I continued with the same school that awaited recognition from the CBSE. Without proper faculty, the whole of 9th standard was a washout and by the end of the year most of my cla...