Banking on Oneself

Sudha made it in the nick of the time to her branch that day. Avoiding her boss’s reproachful eyes, she rushed to open the vault along with the Teller. Once they took out cash and settled in their respective counters, she heard the front shutters pulled open to let the customers in.

As the restless customers walked in impatiently, she realized it was going to be a busy day. She welcomed Mrs. Menon with a smile and helped her to operate her locker after the requisite formalities. Mrs. Menon visited the branch at least four times a month and she always walked in as soon as the branch opened. Sudha often wondered how many functions she attended every month, so as to warrant such frequent visits to operate her locker.

She saw that middle aged couple walk in around 11.30 AM. As they both sat in front of her, Sudha could sense acute discomfort in the woman. It was as though she was quite uncomfortable in such unfamiliar surroundings.

The man said in a booming voice, “I would like to know the Fixed Deposit (FD) rates of your Bank.”

Sudha got busy explaining the FD interest rates and features. As soon as the man said he would like to proceed with the opening of an FD, she took out an application form and asked for the name of the applicant.

“It would be in my wife’s name Smt. Seema Devi. She inherited some money from her parents” the husband said pushing a cheque favouring his wife for Rs.50,00,000 towards Sudha.

Holding the cheque in her hands Sudha smiled at Seema Devi. She asked her politely what period she would opt for her FD.

“No use in asking her such questions. Though she is a graduate, she is all thumbs when it comes to such important money matters” her husband said chuckling away.

Sudha could see Seema Devi shrinking into herself at those words.

“It’s okay Seemaji. Even I was not aware of any of these matters, till I started working in the Bank” Sudha said.

On the insistence of the husband, the FD was made in their joint names, with Seema being the primary account holder. 

The couple left after a while with the FD receipt. During the half an hour of their visit to the branch, Seema Devi hardly spoke. 

After about a year, Sudha was surprised to see Seema entering the branch once again, this time accompanied by a younger man. Sudha could see that Seema had lost a lot of weight. She appeared even more distraught than she was, during her last visit.

“I am Anirudh and this is my mother Seema. She has an FD with your branch along with my father. Unfortunately, my father expired a month ago and we would like to know the procedure to …. ahem … make necessary alterations to the FD.”

Sudha could sense that he was trying to avoid saying “delete my father’s name” and appreciated his sensitivity in dealing with the matter in front of his mother.

Sudha expressed words of solace to both of them and went on to explain the formalities.

“Mama, is it okay, if the FD is in your single name”?

“Yes. It’s okay.” Seema replied.

As a surprised Sudha looked at her, Seema continued “Sudha mentioned earlier that she would help me with any queries I might have. Am I not right, Sudha?”

“She still remembers what I mentioned that day” Sudha reminisced as she smiled at Seema “Of course, Seemaji”.

Looking at Sudha in the eyes for the very first time Seema smiled back.

Turning towards her son she said “My son promised me that he would teach me all the things I should know to operate my accounts by myself.”

Sudha’s heart warmed up towards the lady. Pushing her visiting card towards Seema, she said “Seemaji, please do call me anytime you need help. I would be happy to help.”

Seema took the card and said “Thank you Beta” before she put it inside her bag.

Over the next few months, Sudha received quite a few phone calls regularly from Seema and then they tapered off. When Sudha called Seema to wish her on her birthday as per the date registered in the Bank’s records, Seema was pleasantly surprised.

Sudha asked her whether everything was okay since she had not been receiving calls from her in the recent past.

“Everything is okay Sudha. I am sure you would be happy to know that I started using the Internet banking for all my banking needs”.

“That’s really fantastic Seemaji.”

“I have been learning about Mutual Funds from my son. I may require your help in setting up an SIP.”

Sudha was beside herself with joy. She couldn’t believe she was talking to the same Seema Devi who had walked into her branch a couple of years ago.

Over the next few years, whenever Sudha called Seema to wish her on her birthday, she would give her a new update about what she was doing with her money.

The ultimate thing to Sudha was when she learned that Seema was preparing to appear for the mandatory exams in order to turn herself into a Mutual Fund distributor. Learning about it brought tears into her eyes as an image of scared Seema hunched over the table flashed in front of her eyes. She realized the truth behind the words “a financially independent woman can live life on her own terms, at any age.”