METAMORPHOSIS

At first people refuse to believe that any note-worthy / perceptible / discernible change can take place in them. After all what kind of and how much change can come in a person who is liked by all and who does just the right things?

But then un-thinkable happens all the time – there is always scope for more in every situation. 

Incidentally I am posted at SBLC, Dehradun presently. It was a Saturday and I was going to Delhi, by train that week-end, where my family resides. It was there that my cell phone crackled and a disembodied voice tried to say something to me. But it was either because of the static or week signal that the voice was not much clear. In normal course I would have forgotten about the call completely, as we all do. Aren’t we inundated with unsolicited calls which try to sell us everything right from right brand of biscuit to insurance and air-plane? But there was something in the voice that compelled me to take notice. For a change, I realized that the owner of the voice was ecstatic. He sounded very happy and contented. So when I reached home, I made a mental note to call back. Next day, on Sunday, I called the number and discovered that the call was made by one Sh. Kirpal Singh, Branch Manager, Ekeshwar branch (He is still there).  

Now, as he was not expecting me to call back, he was surprised. And then he also revealed the reason to call. He had called me to say THANKS!

Thanks for my being the facilitator of the group for program Citizen-SBI wherein he too participated. Thanks for having got an opportunity to attend Citizen-SBI. Thanks for changing his whole life! In fact he wanted to thank State Bank for all this. I was just an ambassador of the Bank. 

Now about Kirpal Singh - He is posted at Ekeshwar branch as Branch Manager. He is an ex-service man. He had never expected to become an officer in Bank on account of age factor. But as the luck would have it, the policy changed and so did his destiny. Diligent as he is, he cleared his exam easily and soon he was heading a branch.  

So, I was wondering as to what is it that he wants to share with me. He told me that although he was regarded as a nice person by all his acquaintances, deep down he felt nothing spectacular about himself, or others. Life was just going on.  

That is, till he attended program Citizen-SBI! 

It was during this program that he vouched to be a better person. He had wished to be someone like ‘Anthony’. He learned about the concepts of ‘positive contribution’, ‘Evolving Citizen’, ‘Being Level’ and ‘Transformative Contribution’. This left him engrossed in serious introspection. Now, this process was an internal one. So no one was privy to this. But the program did transform his philosophy of life. At feeling level some transformation was beginning to ferment. 

He has a widowed mother-in-law, aging & ailing. Kirpal used to keep track of her well-being. But one day, after the Citizen-SBI, he went to Mother-in-law, with her favorite flowers for ‘pooja’. It cost him all of ten Rupees. But Kirpal’s gesture made her eyes water with rush of emotions. She hugged him tightly which she had never done before. Kirpal was astonished! 

The magic did not stop there. He has some ailing, elderly customers in his area of operation i.e. in the proximity of his branch. After Citizen-SBI he started visiting those elderly people almost as a routine. The customers and their respective families were so moved that they have vowed to remain with SBI forever.  

The elder brother of Kirpal is a farmer. In earlier days he would have never found time to assist/guide/help him in his agricultural pursuits. But not so now! He has made it a routine to involve in his problems and provide solace/help/solutions. 

The life has taken 180 degree turn. Somehow, this brought a smile to me as well. I imagined him working in a field with plough and bulls/tractor! And I remembered the slogan – ‘Jai Jawaan! Jai kisaan!’  Kirpal had phoned me to share all these experiences. 

Now I know how metamorphosis takes place! 

 Contributed by SUSHIL BALA SINGH, Chief Manager(Training), State Bank Learning Centre, DEHRADUN