It is sure that a night will follow a day. Coming events cast forth their shadows in advance. A vigilance inspector stepped into my branch on 4th October 1995 to investigate the advances allowed by me in the 8 month period between February to September '95. The inspector spent four months at the Branch investigating the advances allowed in 8 months and submitted a lengthy report with wild allegations couched in very bad taste. The Bank wields the sword to injure, but the God that had been protecting me and saving me all through has bestowed me a powerful pen as my shield to defend myself. The same pattern ensured. Baseless allegations and lengthy replies point by point pleading the absurdity of all. Not satisfied with one attack, a second front was established in the battle against me. A parallel line was created by starting another vigilance investigation at my previous branch, i.e. Mysore Branch, where I worked three years before. The crusade against the powerful entrenched Zonal manager brought me a vast hoard of silent sympathizers in the rank and file of the Bank in Delhi and elsewhere. The investigation in Mysore yielded no fruits to the Bank authorities. Undeterred they fabricated a fresh charge sheet from out of the old inspection reports of Mysore Branch pertaining to my period i.e. 1988-89. This branch showed a loss of Rs.4 Lacs, when I took over in 1988. I turned the corner and returned a profit of Rs.60 Lacs in the year 1991. But in public sector you have to work for your own conscience and personal satisfaction, and not for employer recognition.

The Bank conducted a regular enquiry on the charge sheet pertaining to Mysore and on the day prior to my retirement i.e. on 29.6.1996 (Saturday) forenoon sent the orders awarding me a penalty of reduction in my scale by one increment.

Earlier I replied the investigation report pertaining to Tilak Nagar Branch and the Zonal office recommended its summary closure finding no substance in the allegations. A new Zonal Manager has taken charge recently and he allowed administration to sail on its normal oars. The senior manger DAC, at Head Office followed suit and put up notes accordingly, as per information I gathered. Time was passing fast and my successor arrived at BO.Tilak Nagar around 21st June, 1996, as I was to be relieved on 30th June on retirement/superannuation.

But it was a prestige issue and the top management did not want to yield gracefully. The Manager of the Zonal office was advised by the General Manager (Personal) around 22nd or 23rd of June 1996 to draft a charge sheet against me based on the investigation report of Tilak Nagar Branch. He also put up a note to the chairman for permission to proceed against me with a departmental enquiry after my retirement, keeping in abeyance the release of my retirement benefits. The order of the chairman was conveyed to me on the afternoon of 29.6.1996 at my branch, a special messenger carrying it and delivering it to me. I accepted the enquiry as I did earlier the other enquiries. But gloom set in my colleague employees at the Branch, who had arranged a cordial send off party for me. I consoled them and the farewell party by the staff went off very well, at the end of which my staff brought me and left at my house. A year afterwards when my matters were settled and I drew all my benefits from the bank, I invited my staff for a return party from me and all of them with family graced the programme.

Mr. Bannerjee (assumed name), the CVO of the Bank in 1996, like Oliver Goldsmith in his ' City Night Piece ', felt sympathy for me, but could do no help. It was "tenderness without the capacity to relieve". His tenderness without ability to help made him to feel sadder than anything I myself could experience and he exclaimed "when you are already in deep trouble, why engage yourselves in rehabilitation of a sick industry in your branch". The allusion was the steps initiated by me to nurse a sick unit and prevent the advance going bad in 1995 in my last Branch at Tilak Nagar, New Delhi. This account was included in the leveling of allegations against me in the 11th charge sheet. He (the CVO) is in a way correct, for if had avoided difficult tasks, and followed an easy, escapist or evasive line, Bank would not be able to get material in its search for issuing charge sheet. But then am I justified in drawing salary from the Bank for shedding responsibility that the job warranted?

The charge sheet relating to Tilak Nagar Branch was served on me on 29.6.1996. Head office could have preferred the pleasure to serve the charge sheet on 30.6.1966 on the last day of my tenure as a parting gift for my 39-year+ service at the Bank. But it happened to be a Sunday and though the Branch was working, the Head Office was closed.

The preliminaries were completed and the inquiry started and completed in October, 1996. But the presenting officer had extreme difficulty to submit his brief. It was submitted after considerable delay in December '96. The E.O. promised to submit his report within 15 days, but it was submitted after 4 months in April 1977. The GM (personal), who took active interest in issuing the two charge sheets in the last lap of my career was to retire on 31.03.1997, but before that he faced his own problems. Disciplinary proceedings were initiated at the behest of CBI against him, consequent on a PIL that was filed in Delhi High Court by the employees union representing the interests of the erstwhile nationalised bank that was merged with OUR BANK. He was not there in service in April '97 to deal with the Report of IO. The new GM (personnel) awarded a penalty of reduction by two increments. After this penalty I was then allowed to retire gracefully without further hardship and received my retiring benefits. On account of the two punishments my pension or salary were not affected, but I lost about Rs.50,000 out of my gratuity. The Bank deposits rates at that time were ruling very high at 13% for 3-year deposits and I was eligible for 1% extra as an 'honourably retired officer'. I invested my retiring deposits with the Bank for 10 years at 14%. I know well within a few years the rates are bound to come down substantially. Presently(2002 when this website was hoisted) it is 8.5% (plus 1% staff benefit and 0.75% benefit eligible for senior citizen i.e. in all 10.25% maximum) Thereafter slided down further to 5% p.a (senior-citizen + 1% for employees at 6.75%). But I continue to receinve interest at 14% and this is to continue upto October 2006. This is the way I could compensate myself for the loss of a part of my retiring benefits and earn for myself a mental consolation - All's Well That Ends Well.

After retirement I continued in Delhi up to 31.03.2000 and came to Hyderabad my place of permanent domicile thereafter. The chairman who enjoyed the pleasure of harassing me on the last lap of my retirement too had to undergo the crisis of destiny. He was to retire on 31.03.2000, but was asked to proceed compulsorily on leave a month during mid-January, 2000, pending initiation of action on him for irregularities noticed by the CBI. He is the second chairman to harass me. It is an irony of fate that I could retire gracefully, despite severe and prolonged harassment, but not either of these two chairmen or the GM, who all exited ungracefully.

Though I was unjustly punished I did not seek legal remedy this time. Harm was done to me on account of personal animosity by individuals. They wither away in the normal course. After serving the bank for 39 years I opted to leave carrying with me only the pleasant memories of my career. I did not want to tarnish my mind fighting with the Institution. This is my ambition and my readers should forgive me, if I sounded otherwise anywhere earlier in any part of narration and unintentionally shown disrespect to my Institution.

Few in the Bank would have secured simultaneously so many approbation and also such reprobation with trials and challenges, as happened to me. None in the Bank enjoyed several sympathizers and benefactors, within the rank and file as I did, while powerful adversaries at the top confronted me. Mr. Kshtrapal, the Manager in charge of D.A.C section of Personnel Division Head Office, who handled my first batch of charge sheets in 1980, told me during 1982, "Mr.Kannan I agree with you 100% personally, but I differ with you totally officially". Sympathy and support at the operating level and antipathy at the top executive level, this was the order of my social equations within the bank. Which represents "Our Bank", the extensive good or the isolated, but powerfully entrenched evil? I am known almost throughout India in the Bank, and when I visit the Bank branches now-a-days happy faces greet me with pleasant smiles and offer me courteous welcome. This is what I earned in service. The Regional Manager, Madras, earlier referred by me, used to laugh at me, that I do not know how to live in the world. Had I behaved properly I could have become General Manager in the Bank long back. I have no regrets for if I had become a general manager I also would have been a part of cesspool of that time. If you are a bureaucrat in All India Services, I will advise you to prefer to be an efficient and effective District Collector and have the satisfaction of serving your people happily, directly and visibly, than be a Chief Secretary of a State and dancing to the tunes of corrupt politicians doing nothing else concrete. These are value perceptions and they may differ from person to person.

If you are a loyal employee, very eager to maintain your integrity in service with your objective to serve your organization diligently with sincerity and devotion, but in your career, you face a situation, as I did, what will you do? If you do your duty honestly according to the norms prescribed by the Institution, while the interest of the Institution will be protected, you will be antagonizing your superior. He will not support you and will harm you, and if you carry out as per his wishes expressed verbally or indirectly, your conscience will not support it, as this may adversely affect the Institution's interest. You thus face a conflict between the upkeep of your personal integrity in service and the pleasure of adherence to the wishes of your superior. It is like the saying that if you speak the truth, men in the world will hate you, and if you utter falsehood, the gods in the heaven will not like you. You are driven to incur displeasure and consequential suffering in either way.

My own logic is that when you have to suffer in either direction, why not select the right alternative and accept the consequences, than to commit a wrong and carry a guilty mind eternally. Life has challenges and these challenges though appear as threats, do in fact afford unique opportunities to those that face it and come out it.

In the polluted environment of life that prevails today in most Public Organizations, this situation is certain to be faced by many public servants. Proximity to your departmental head and sycophancy or personal flattery made to amuse him appear as the easiest and surest passport for securing your quick upliftment, as against sincere and bonafide toil, which may still leave you stagnating at the same point indefinitely. But I will still advise you to be honest and do not choose the meaner path to get easy results.

It is a sad state of affairs that while employees and officers are able to organize themselves into powerful trade unions and make their voice heard at the highest levels of the government, they are not able to root out corruption at the corporate level. They do not even endeavour to expose the corrupt seniors by organizing and joining themselves and working through group effort. Trade unions look to the short-term interests of the employees, - to the pay pockets, allowances and perks they secure. They do not impress upon themselves the paramount need of the employees to secure a better career path and move upwards, or the need for the organization they serve to become growth oriented and clean, competitive and efficient.

For one thing, a trade union tries to go smooth with the top management and get major grievances resolved amicably through cordial personal equation. They do not want to break this communication channel and fight with the management unless core matters relating to their service conditions are at stake. Trade union aims for the employees' immediate interests and not for the interest of the Institution or not even for the long-term career interests of honest and merit-backed employees. They silently witness the Institution they serve getting slowly eroded and damaged by the weight of the wrong deeds of a few at the top management. But they do nothing to retrieve this situation.