MOMENTS OF INNER FULLNESS

(Moments of Inner Fullness shared by participants during Citizen SBI Programme on 11th February 2010 at SBLC, Guwahati)

This moment dates back as early as 1972 when I had not joined the Bank’s service and was studying in college and living in Kokrajar. In our locality, I found a young boy working as a cleaner in a lorry reading English newspaper. I was curious to know about the boy as to why he was working as a cleaner. He told me that due to poor family conditions, he could not continue his studies and had to take up this job. I enquired as to whether he would be interested in continuing his studies and appear for exams as a private candidate. During that time, I was also conducting tuition classes for children and managed to give the books to him. He took interest in preparing for the exams and cleared higher secondary examination also.

After that, I told that boy to look for some employment and he joined Indian Air Force. The boy had a desire to continue his studies further and went on to clear his graduation and also obtained a Post Graduate degree subsequently. After serving IAF for 15 years on contract, he came out and was looking for a job. He cleared the Bank clerical exams and now is employed as an Assistant in our esteemed organization. All these years he has been in touch with me and cherishes the relationship.

A simple act of helping a needy boy at the right time was able to bring about a change in his life and has transformed him now as a responsible Citizen of the country and also our Bank. This gave me greatest satisfaction and fulfillment in my life.

Sankar Lal Barai
Chief Manager
LHO, Guwahati
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In the year 1973, one Saturday evening after coming from the Bank, I was relaxing in the verandah of my house in a village near Kokrajar. At that time, I saw one person coming back from work totally tired and walking slowly. He was a family friend of ours and was working in Railways as a contract labourer on a daily wage of Rs.3 per day. I invited him to my home and told him to relax for sometime. During the conversation with him, I came to know that he was finding it difficult to run his day to day family affairs with his meager income and feed the family of five. I was working only as a junior clerk at that time in the Bank with 2 years of service.

I suggested him to take up some additional income generating activity and told him to buy a milch animal. The activity can be carried on by his wife and other family members when he is away at work and they can earn some extra income by selling milk. He was not having enough money to buy an animal which was costing around Rs.500 at that time. I told him that the Bank gives loan for purchase of milch animals and he can approach our branch. I also recommended the case to the Branch Manager who was very reluctant to sanction the loan and insisted that I should sign the agreement form along with the borrower and he should show the animal to him for inspection purposes. The loan was sanctioned with a condition that if that person fails to repay the loan instalments, it will be deducted from my salary and I agreed for the same.

The person was very happy to get the loan and went on to carry on this activity with sincerity and was also repaying the loan instalments regularly. Over a period of time, he was able to buy more animals and expanded his activity and became a popular milk man in that village. He was able to educate his children properly and all of them are well settled now and leading a happy life. The family is still in touch with me even though the old man is dead now.

The small act of helping a person using my position in the Bank was able to ransform the life of that family which gives me satisfaction and fulfillment even now.

Niranjan Debsarma
Chief Manager (HR)
LHO, Guwahati

( An example of a Citizen SBI who sympathized with the plight of that person from “Being” level and moved on to help using his “Functional” position in the Bank)