Page 24 - A Banker Down the Rabbit Hole

salary of a Lecturer of a Degree College was around Rs.750 per month in
those days. My salary was much higher than both these cadres if perks
of an IAS officer were not to be considered.

I now wanted to convey this good news to all friends and relatives at the
earliest and that I surely did. All friends expressed happiness that
ultimately I was successful in securing a respectable job with a lucrative
salary. Most of them were like me, from the lower middle strata of the
society. They asked me in chorus, "What shall you do with such a high
salary? Why shouldn't we get some part of it every month to enjoy a
bit? Perhaps they did not know the financial condition of my family. We
were under debt and I would be paying a good part of my salary, about
Rs. 500 out of Rs.1200 every month to repay the loan my parents had
taken to renovate the house. This was a face lift operation usually done
by middle class families, before the marriage of a son or a daughter.
Lower middle class families in India still have such common issues.

The Civil Surgeon dropped his stethoscope
At the time of joining the bank, I had to produce a Medical Fitness
Certificate for which I had to go for medical examination by a doctor of
not less than the rank of a Civil Surgeon. I went to the city Civil Hospital.
I presented myself before the Deputy Chief Medical Officer. He started
examining me. He had his stethoscope on my chest when he suddenly
asked me, "So, young man, what would be your monthly salary?" I told
him, "Sir, it would be Rs.1200 per month."

An extremely amusing thing happened. On hearing this, he literally
dropped the Stethoscope! I was still wondering in my mind whether it's
his reaction of shock or surprise when he told me in a slightly
disappointed yet complaining tone, "I would be retiring in next two years
and I get Rs. 1839 per month!" I still remember this exact figure as I was
also equally surprised to know the salary of such a senior and elderly
Government Doctor. He, meanwhile, perhaps realized that it was not
proper on his part to exhibit such a shock. He lifted his stethoscope and

A Banker down the Rabbit Hole | 21