Most of us believe that we don’t need to go to a bank branch as everything we need to do, can happen online. And sometimes we even wonder why there are still so many branches of banks.
Well, I might have felt likewise, till recently, I needed to visit bank branches – few times and a few different banks, in fact. There were some personal reasons, but let’s not get into that.
Visiting a bank branch, and especially PSU banks, always leaves me with a lot of thought, a lot of insight about a social strata that we might not fully connect to, or be aware of.
There was this branch of the State Bank of India, in Govandi, Mumbai, that I needed to go to. A few times, recently!
And the visits left me shocked, staggered, humbled..!!
It was a small-sized branch. And from many years back, when I had visited the branch, I remember that the size was adequate.
But so much has changed since then! The branch was ALWAYS packed to the brim, each time I visited recently. There was a queue of people waiting outside and they were being let in, in small numbers, since there was no room for more people to go inside. Of course, India being India, these queues are not respected, so it was a huge crowd, and people jostling to go inside. Like there was some dole being given out and everyone wanted it.
(Well, to an extent, there WAS money from Ladki Bahini being given away, and which was ONE of the reasons for this rush!)
And inside the branch, there was some employee shouting and managing the crowd, asking them to stay quiet, asking them to queue up at the counters, as their numbers came up, and not crowd around! I could have easily mistaken myself to be in some mela or something!
Besides Ladki Bahini, the most common reason why many were coming in, was to get KYC done or have new address registered or a new phone number registered with the bank. These processes still require a personal visit and don’t happen online, I guess, and so many people have the need to do these changes, which explained the massive crowds!
As for the bank officials inside, I was amazed as to how calm they were, in spite of the huge crowds and everyone trying to get their attentions for some information or the other!
At this bank and at another PSU Bank that I had the need to go to, one more thing observed was how there was this one person in the bank who knew the exact processes and who had the longest queues of people at their counter, and who would calmly handle all the individual requests and keep getting work done! These are the critical pieces in the banks working model and who with their knowledge, their meticulousness, their calm ways of working, and their empathy to every customer including those from lower income groups, keep the banks going!
My admiration for these people went up many fold!
Yes, PSU banks or PSU organisations in general, are not particularly well known for their tech or their efficiencies etc. But it is also clear that it is many of these PSUs that keep things going for a very large percentage of Indians, and it happens on account of some of these critical and dedicated workers in the teams!
I had experienced similar dedication from an Air India official long back, when it was still owned by the government of India.
I had had a moving experience that I had shared many years back, from a visit to the Syndicate Bank, and I have had such experiences also at post offices and police stations!
I think all of these places are great to observe an India that we don’t know much of, and to appreciate some of these amazing and hardly recognised folks, who actually keep our big country going!
Random Musings 