6.1 My tenure of 8 years in SBI CC Mumbai was between November 1984 and November 1992, when my age was 32 and 40 years. It is a rare and pleasant privilege to have been posted at SBI's Corporate Office in Mumbai, closely working with local Staff and Officials of different levels from all over the Country. SBI had 13 Circles at that time (now 17 and after merger of all 7 Associates). Working of the Top Management and Central Board, Policy Making, Economic Research, Legal Decisions, Approvals of Circle proposals, Collation of all-India data on various banking matters, liaising with Central Govt / RBI / IDBI / SIDBI / NABARD / ECGC / DICGC and other national bodies is of paramount importance. Commuting to Office daily is a mixed experience for each one of us, irrespective of cadre. Knowledge of Hindi / English is sufficient and of Gujarati or Marathi would be of additional advantage. Bombay / Mumbai (M.S.)
6.2 Apart from birth of my only daughter in July 1985, I purchased my Bajaj two-wheeler in 1986, Flat in Hyderabad in 1989, Maruti Car in 1992, learnt to invest in Shares including that of SBI, and made a good number of friends from all over. I completed my Certificate Exam in Industrial Finance of IIBF in 1984, CAIIB in 1985, PG Diploma in Training & Development in 1992, part of PG Diploma in Computer Science in 1987 and two levels of Hindi (Official Language) Exams Praveen and Pragya held by GOI / SBI, all of which helped to move higher in my professional career in SBI and outside later. Having closely worked with Economists (Specialist Officers) of ERD helped me in carrying out some all-India studies and submit Reports to Top Management. I was also organising Seminars and delivered Guest Lectures at BTC-RBI, Mumbai SBI STC, Bandra and SBIRD, Hyderabad on various topics.
6.3 On the family front, Ganga's two elder sisters, Uma and Rama were also stationed in Bandra and Santacruz respectively during the same time. Their spouses Raja and Sukumar were working at ONGC and IDBI/SIDBI in senior positions. All their Children (Vanaja, Vandana, Vatsala, Giri, Sumathi and Deepu) were attending schools and grew up there. We all used to indulge in spending quality time during festivals and occasions. Navi Mumbai took shape just around 1988-89 and we used to frequently visit our relatives Mr Ganapathy of Reliance Industries and others.
6.4 One colleague in ABD of SBI Mr Uday Godse used to live in Goregaon West (Bangur Nagar) and was a good family friend discussing about old Hindi movies, stars and stuff as also taking excellent photos. One historical and unforgettable event I witnessed towards the end of my stay was the 1992 Scam, (Banking or Stock Market Scam) perpetrated by Mr Harshad Mehta of Bombay Stock Exchange, Harshad Mehta - Wikipedia which hit not only the market and banks but many top management officials of SBI and other Banks.
6.5 Living in SBI Officers' Apartments (Manish, Vidyanagar and Matru Chaya complexes) in Malad (West) was a wonderful / memorable experience. Officials from all over India including Maharashtra / Mumbai Circle lived as a community. Besides families from Hyderabad, we had some close friends like Pradeep Khosla (Patna), CL Khanna (Lucknow), Thampy (Bhopal) from other Circles too. Well-knit Andhra families, of course were that of N Sreedhar, BSR Prasad, TVS Murthy, TVLN Chary, T Appa Rao, PP Krishna Rao, for a variety of celebrations and support too. Chary suffered serious health issues and with timely support of the Bank and all well-wishers, survived and was promoted to Scale IV in 1991. Sreedhar got shifted from Personnel Admn Dept, CO to SBI Capital Markets and by middle of 1992, was selected as IBO and posted to our Toronto Branch. He moved with his family consisting of wife Mani and children Sudha and Stacky. Eventually, he quit SBI service as Asst Gen Manager and took up a new job and settled in Toronto, Canada. TVS Murthy and Vijaya were almost foster parents to our daughter Sravanthi (Sweety). We used to begin our day with playing Shuttle Badminton at 6 am, and then get prepared to leave for Office by Bus or Train by around 8.30 am to reach by 10.15 or so. Office routine was purely administrative, and lunch was at Mess and we return at 6 pm and reach at 8 pm. Saturdays were half-days but on almost all days, we used to have friendly meetings at home.
6.6. Work at Office was very professional. Your vast experience in the Circle either at Branches or Administrative Offices came very handy to handle the corporate culture from the angle of Top Management / Central Board. There was no difference in cadres / grades of Officers nor from which part of the Country you come from. Everyone used to think and display all-India or national perspective. Working or discussing with senior bosses was always a knowledgeable experience. Fear had no place in putting forth your views and interpretations taking into cognisance of pros and cons. My confidence level increased in travelling to other Circles for Study of Rural Branches either for ERD Study or accompanying Sri Solomon Raj, Dy Managing Director to Kerala and Lucknow on Official work. Great learning experience indeed.
6.7 The Indian Economy, Politics and Banking Industry was on move towards modernisation under the then PM Sri Rajiv Gandhi. Later part of 1980s witnessed emergence of new outfits like CRISIL, NHB, SIDBI, SHCIL etc., while NSE and SEBI were yet to emerge. Bombay Stock Exchange experienced an ugly Stock Market cum Banking Scam perpetrated by Harshad Mehta, called as Big Bull. Almost all Commercial Banks including Cooperative and Foreign Banks were involved in wrong investments in Stock Market and incurred heavy losses. SBI was no exception. Its main branch in Mumbai was the focal point during mid April 1992 but Treasury Department at Corporate Office was terribly affected. Several Top Management Officials heads rolled in these banks and financial institutions. Mr MN Goiporia was SBI Chairman (he was an outsider) and other seniors paid the price facing RBI enquiries.
6.8 For some administrative reasons, the Top Management of the Bank took stern decision to repatriate all those Officers with long stay in Mumbai. One after the other started leaving to their parent circles. In my case, I was to be posted as Chief Manager of Charminar Branch, Hyderabad, but due to delay in getting relieved, missed the opportunity. When in November 1992, I moved from Mumbai, Ganga and Sravanthi stayed back for completing the Academic requirements till March 1993. TVS Murthy and family came to our rescue in accommodating the two for three months, since I vacated the flat. To my utter disappointment and inconvenience, I was posted to Sangareddy branch in Medak Dt., which was 65 KMs away from Hyderabad. Branch was in good shape, thanks to outgoing CM, Shri TR Ananthan, Accountant and Staff Members. Shri T Appa Rao, my senior and friend in Mumbai was the AGM / Regional Manager and it was a mixed feeling to work under the peculiar circumstances at that time.
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