The business of Banking. Part 2.

Keeping all this in mind and expecting a long to-do list, I approached the pnb branch in our campus. On entering the branch I asked in a counter. He pointed me towards a table. I went there and came to know that this a pay order of b-t-gunj branch and hence will be done from there only. I asked if something could be done from here, and got a reply that this is banking and not a joke that you can deliver cash just like that to anybody. Suddenly I felt that this instrument in my hand and my name written on it does not even establish me as the rightful owner of it.

Anyways I headed for b-t-gunj branch and arrived there after 30 min by taking a rickshaw. On entering the branch it looked nothing less than a fish market. People were moving here and there, most of them looking confused, so was I, long queues in front of counters and in most of them no one sitting on the other side. Well, by now I was getting a hang of the thing. I simply went to one of them who looked a little less busy and asked where can I en-cash a pay order. Without even raising his head from his file he murmured, “Counter no 2”.

The counter had some 50 people standing, most of them middle aged. I thought it will be better if instead of wasting some couple of hours standing in the queue and then coming to know that this counter is not meant for this job, I went straight to the counter. I asked him once. He didn’t reply. I thought he didn’t hear. I asked him again, this time a bit loudly. Same response, he didn’t reply. I didn’t know what was going on. So I asked him again. This time he raised his head and gave me a stare. And then went back to his work. 

But I didn’t get any reply apart from the stare. Now what should I make out of this? I thought, either it is not his job and I must head for some other counter. Or it is like, ohh my god one more customer, what is happening today, everybody who is entering the bank is coming for my counter only. The stare was confusing and I badly needed a word from his mouth, yes or no, to confirm anything.

In the midst of all this, a gentleman from the queue says, “why don’t come by the queue”? And then one more gentleman in front of him repeated the same words but with some angst filled in it. Unable to make out anything I went back and got in the queue. I asked an elderly looking person standing in the queue, thinking he must be an old customer and would be very well knowing about the counters and what they did. He replied affirming that yes I am in the right queue. I felt a bit relaxed that at-least the first stage of the process is complete, that is to find the right queue.

Ok, about an hour passed in the queue, I crawled for about 5 meters to finally reach the counter. I handed over the pay-order to him, thinking that 5000 bucks are now some seconds away from me. After inspecting the instrument for a minute he asked, “Do you have an account in pnb”?

I replied, “No”.

He asked, “Do you have any acquaintance that has an account in pnb”?

I replied, “No. and Where can I find a person now, who has an account in pnb”?

He said, “Then it cannot be done”.

I said, “Why”?

He said, “Because you need to have an account for demand draft to get en-cashed”.

I said, “But it is a pay-order”.

He said, “It is one and the same thing”.

I asked, “then what”?

He said, “I already told you”.

I said, “But I have my identity proof”.

He said, “That won’t work”.

I said, “Then what works here”, a bit angrily.

He heard only the last word.

And he said, “Next”. 

A fat person from behind shoved me out of the line as if he was waiting for this word to utter. I was out of the queue. After standing for an hour I was looking like a fool to have not got my job done. I tried approaching him again but this time, the persons in the queue were not gentlemen.

Seeing no way out I headed for the exit. Just before the exit a cabin and a nameplate on it came across my eyes. 

Mr. Vishwesh Thakur. 

Branch Manager. 

I peeped inside the cabin, there was no one.

I asked the peon sitting outside the cabin that where has he gone. He replied that Manager saheb hadn't arrive yet. I asked when is he going to come. He said, "Its time. now he will be here anytime". I looked at the watch, it was 11.25. Already i had missed my 11 to 1 class. So no point in heading towards hostel. I thought to present my problem to manager saheb, he must have a way out. I decided to wait.

Read the Part 3.