Life is full of incidents. Incidents occur one after another at all times. One must have a long life , leisure and memory power to remember them. Looking back at life brings back to us either a sweet memory or a bitter memory or mixture of sweet and bitter memories. Here, I remember an incident of past. I am looking back to my life at Ranebennur. I was working at Ranebennur, Dharwar District between 1971 and 1973 as an accountant of a scheduled bank. I may forget Ranebennur but not my son Arun who was born there in “Hennumakkala Herige Aspathre”(Ladies Maternity Hospital ). He would not forget Ranebennur for he was born there.
At that time, I was young and was in thirties. In those days Ranebennur was a small place and was not much developed. Only State Bank of India and Corporation bank were having their branches there at that time. Branch of my bank was situated just opposite to Sangam Talkies in a building called “Badami Buildings “ on Railway station road in a big compound where my residential quarter was too situated. It was known as “Badami Chawl” The Chawl consisted of six residential houses. Half an hour before commencement of every show in Sangam Talkies of Bhagwandas Gupta, melodious music used to pour into our ears in the branch. Mr Bhagwandas Gupta was a man who rose from rags to riches. Ranebennur is approachable by train as well as road. By road it is off the highway called “Poona- Bangalore road about 45 minutes of journey from Davangere an industrial town. In between Davangere and Ranebennur, there is Harihara, a small industrial town on the bank of river Tungabhadra where famous Harihara temple and Kirloskers’ factories were located. On the way we also find Birlas Harihara Fibers now known as Grasim Industries at Kumarapatanam. Lorries ply through out 24 hours of a day on Poona- Bangalore road. Now vehicular traffic might have grown manifolds on this road as grown in all other places. Everybody is in hurry in this world. Public transport generally does not ply in time in India. After waiting for reasonable time for conveyance, one’s patience gets exhausted. He generally starts looking for alternative mode of transport. Lorries used to come to our rescue in those days. Carrying passengers on them is always an additional income to lorry driver and conductor, to meet their out of pocket expenses. Most of the drivers and conductors on these lorries have to be away from their families for days and they ply the vehicle even during nights too. As a result, many of them fall prey to all kind of vices. Additional income due to carrying passengers meets their extravaganza. Many of them were even found drunk while driving their vehicle. As a result of all we used to come across dozens of accidents on this famous highway which joins Bangalore an industrial, commercial city with Mumbai, commercial capital of India. Moreover, the drivers ply the vehicles at reckless speed. Though speed limits are prescribed in India nobody generally follow the same. Unlike in western world there is no radar system or any other system to regulate the speed of vehicles. There is no foolproof system. It is really dangerous to undertake journey by such transports. But there is an Urdu saying “garajku akal nahi” which means that urgency has no scruples. People take risk and travel by lorries because of their easy availability and I was no exception to it too.
Being, surrounded by cotton, groundnut, and chilies growing areas, Ranebennur was a commercial center at stone throws distance to Haveri and Byadgi bearing black soil. There were a few ginning factories at Ranebennur. Byadgi chilies are famous all over India. I cannot forget grape growing Motebennur, which was also in the vicinity. Devaragudda where there is a temple at the top of hill as the name suggests is also nearer to Ranebennur. Devaragudda was a good picnic spot in those days. People of Ranebennur and nearby places were very simple, kind and hospitable, intelligent and hardworking. They were so unassuming that it was difficult to distinguish who is rich and who is poor. People of Dharwar district bear the surnames like Menesinakai, Ullagaddi, Tenginakai etc, which are nothing, but names of vegetables whereas some have surnames like Jadamali, Anchimani, Hadpada, Bellada, and Kulkarni etc linked to their erstwhile professions of their elders. Ranebennur was not much developed in those days. There were no proper hotels and lodgings at Ranebennur during those days. As such until I brought my belongings and family I remember to have stayed in office building itself. Branch manager namely Mr.Rao was kind enough to provide me food at his residence. Fresh vegetables and other homely needs were not freely available at Ranebennur. There was no sandy at that place. We used to go to Davangere by train on Sundays to attend sandy there. Of course, we were having groceries requirements through M/S P.G.Gupta or K.C.Aggarwal at Ranebennur itself. Karnataka Vijaya Stores of Mr. Nadigir was our chit chatting place. This is all about place and people.
My bank was conservative in those days. As such there was not much lending at the branch. There were more deposits than advances. It was a good deposit center. Encouraged by good scope for banking Canara Bank, Vijaya Bank, Union Bank of India opened their branches between 1972 and 1973. Now a few more banks might have come into existence there. In those days most of the employees in my Bank were from South Kanara district. Of course peons Mr. Jadamali and Mr. Kulkarni were locals. Among clerks only Mr. Eli, and Mr.Pujar were from Dharwar district. Others were Pais, Prabhu, Shenoy, and Mallya etc. An old Muslim couple named Sabu and Bubu were working as sweepers at the office. Incidentally they were working as maidservants in my as well as at manger’s residence. They were one of the very a few honest, sincere workers that I came across in my life so far. Management of my Bank used to transfer in those days to places like Ranebennur employees who were engaged in trade union activities or those who were source of trouble to them in one or other way. The transfer to this hardship area was thus with twin purposes .One to punish the employee and another was to pool the problems at a place. Transfer of award staff was not frequent in those days. Whenever there were drains on the profits of bank, generally in that year there were a few transfers or no transfers at all used to take place.
One Mr. Pai was there for seven years. He was very smart guy. He had elephantiasis. I could not make it out for quite a long time. He was getting his pants stitched in such a way that it was difficult for one to notice elephantiasis on the leg He had an unmarried sister. He was living very affectionately with her. Everyday after office hours, he used to take her to walking. In those days his salary was meager and was less than Rs 500/-. During his seven years tenure, he saved sizable sum by leading life very astutely. He was jack of all trade. During nighttime he used to play cards but used to take care that he never loses money. During office time, he used to seek time to go out and that was to have a little arrack and according to him it was to take care of his asthma. He used to manage everything intelligently. Even at that small workplace all sorts of people were there. Mr. Pujar was a gambler and a chain smoker. On account of his bad habits, he misappropriated amount at a branch later and dismissed from the services of bank. Whatever their character and conduct might have been. They were all co-operative and helpful to me.
Rotation of duties is a must in Banking. In those days as well as even now clerical staff always likes to handle “cash” department in the process. It is a department fraught with risk but at the same time remunerative also. A cashier needs patience, presence of mind, confidence, efficiency etc. He or she has to make a number of huge payments as well as receive a number of huge receipts. He or she must not make either excess payments, or receive shorts. He or she should be perfect to the core in handling this department otherwise he or she would lose money. Moreover, his or her financial background should be good. In order to cover the risk only bank pays a special allowance to employees, who handle this department and which is substantial. Without mentioning about Mr. Madhukar Mallya my account of Ranebennur certainly remains incomplete. Mr. Madhukar was from a respectable family of Mangalore. His father was a popular teacher at Mangalore known to our executives. In those days recruitment of staff was mostly such that the family of the candidate was known to executives, directors etc at the corporate office.
Banking is a sector where financial integrity is always required whenever we entrust one with responsibility. Sri Madhukar where he is at present I do not know. He is not in the services of bank. Whether he left of his own or made to resign that also I do not know. But for the proximity of his father to the management he would not have continued for long in the bank. There is no doubt in me that he was intelligent. But it was perverted intelligence. He got married at a young age twenty-two years or so, a girl from an infamous family .It was a love marriage. He was extravagant. He was borrowing from the customers of bank to meet his extravaganza. This also requires, knack and tact, and he had it. He was a nuisance at his previous branch. Hence he was transferred to Ranebennur. He with such antecedents used his union affiliation for compelling the branch manager to entrust him cash work. He was counting and counting and handing over cash in late hours. Unless daybook is tallied and cash is counted and kept inside the safe we cannot call it a day in a bank. Mr Madhukar was making our day the worst. One day, it was 7 p.m. There was not much cash. Yet ,Madhukar was deliberately counting and counting cash. Patience of manager ran out. The manager took possession of cash. Manager on verification found hundred rupees excess in cash . It meant hundred rupees more than what should have been as per books. We made an entry in second scroll and kept the amount in suspense account of the branch. Normally anything found excess in cash as per procedure should be credited to Accounts Department H.O. Mangalore within a week’s time after making honest attempt at branch level to locate it. Excess cash is generally found due to making of short payment to customer or excess receipt from customer of the bank. Next morning one after another three people were ready with complaints. One was a Marwari. By and large, Marwaris are perfect in their deals. His complaint was that he had tendered exact amount for redemption of a bill and he had written the denomination of notes on the draft challan attached to it whereas Mr. Madhukar had come to his shop yesterday evening along with his wife and demanded Rs 100/- as short paid. Next was another customer of the bank who had sent money through his son after counting twice for paying into their bank a/c . He complained that Mr Madhukar collected Rs 100/- as short amount remitted. Third was from a customer who had been remitting amounts regularly through his servant who was with him for last twenty-five years and whose integrity was in no doubt at all. The customer reported that Mr Madhukar collected Rs 100/- as short remitted . Branch manager, got everything in writing and reported the matter to higher authorities. Here it may be remembered that there was excess in cash on that particular day. Further, we doubted whether his delaying cash was for planning to collect amounts from customers? A good lawyer wins a bad case. It was proved on behalf of Madhukar that he was legitimate in collecting amounts from customers. Madhukar came out unscathed to become an officer of bank and was more nuisances to institution than before.
One more incident that took place regarding Mr. Madhukar at that branch, I recollect. Mr. Madhukar was good, fast and accurate at work. Once he was handling loans department. Formerly, a separate account called interest receivable account was there in the bank. It was interest debited but not realized. Now that system is discontinued. Now interest is charged directly to loan accounts. There was also no system of treating loans, which are assets of a bank as performing and nonperforming. Of course, follow up of interest receivable account by sending notices, registered notices etc was there. Wherever, there was balance in deposit accounts like current a/c, savings bank a/c etc .of borrower, interest receivable was recovered by debit to that a/c. If the loan was against a deposit of the bank, interest payable on that deposit was set off from time to time invariably for recovery of interest receivable. Otherwise, there is every possibility of loan outstanding exceeding deposit amount. Whatever may be the security for the loan; borrower account should be monitored from time to time. Mr. Madhukar followed all laid down norms. Interest Receivable a/c was almost nothing. It was really a commendable achievement. Mr. Chandrappa was a depositor of the branch. His mental health was not good. He was undergoing cyclic depression. That is why members of his family got availed a loan against his deposit. Whenever, he was keeping well, he used to enquire about balance in the loan a/c and keeping the a/c up to date. Mr. Madhukar had an eye on this person; he started pressurizing this mentally ill person to reimburse interest in the loan a/c in cash to pocket it. He was successful in his endeavor too. Mr. Madhukar subsequently adjusted interest payable on deposit to loan a/c and as a result there was no balance in interest receivable a/c too. Nobody noticed this fact at the branch. Mr. Chandrappa regained his normalcy and recollected also that he had reimbursed the interest receivable a/c in cash and started demanding interest payable on deposit a/c. Mr. Madhukar, promptly called him a fool. Ultimately, relatives of Mr. Chandrappa had to threaten Mr. Madhukar of dire consequences to recover the amount which Madhukar had misappropriated.