Devil in Pinstripes

by Ravi Subramanian

  The first few days for Chanda were eventless.

  ‘Go read this and come,’ Gowri had said after giving her some product and process manuals to read. The stuff was enough to keep her busy for the next three days. She took those documents and just when she was ready to scoot to the safe realms of the desk allotted to her, Gowri called her back. ‘And Chanda, if you want to clarify any doubts about anything, just walk up to Sangeeta. Chanda remembered her. She was introduced to her some time back by HR as the head of the branch network for western India.

  As Chanda left Gowri’s cabin, she smiled at his secretary, who didn’t bother to respond. Though that was not what she expected, she just shrugged her shoulders and walked towards her cubicle. The secretary immediately dialled a number and picked up the phone, taking it off the speaker phone.

  ‘She’s left,’ she whispered into the phone, and hung up.

  Within seconds, Sangeeta was up outside Gowri’s room. As usual, the colours of her clothes were similar to Gowri’s. As soon as she entered the area outside Gowri’s Cabin, walking awkwardly in her two-inch long spikes . . . err . . . stilettos, she took off her NFS ID card from around her neck and simultaneously pulled out the ID card which had the name of the old company (the name of the company prior to being acquired by NYB and prior to it being rechristened NFS) and hung it around the shoulder. Using the old ID cards was prohibited. Everyone was formally told to use the new ID card, with the NFS branding and logo. Sangeeta too used the new ID card at all times, unless she was with Gowri. She knew that Gowri was very emotional about it. In fact, Gowri had hung his old ID card along with a copy of his old visiting card on the soft board next to his table.

  Gowri’s secretary saw it and smiled. Sangeeta winked at her, ‘Gowri will like it this way . . . thanks for calling me after that bitch left.’ And she made her way into Gowri’s room.

  ‘Gowri, why have you hired a product manager?’ This was basically a very loud echo of her insecurity.

  ‘What do I do? These bankers want to come everywhere. Our company is a dharamshala. Aditya called up and asked me to hire her. Her husband is one of Aditya’s pappus.’

  ‘You should have refused to hire her.’

  ‘Don’t worry. We will keep her here for some time. She will feel so frustrated that she will quit on her own. For how long can she stand up to us? Ha ha!’ and then both started guffawing. The plotting game had already begun. Chanda had no clue what she was up against.

  ‘I can see you are still using the old ID card.’ Sangeeta’s efforts bore fruit when Gowri asked her this question.

  ‘Ya Gowri. Don’t all of us miss our old company? These NYBankers have come in and screwed our company. One day you should start a company and all of us will join you. Together we will create a new company . . .’ she paused for effect and then added in a dramatically serious tone, ‘under your leadership, Gowri.’

  Gowri’s chest swelled a few inches. ‘Yes, of course. We must. We must. We can’t continue to serve these bastards for long,’ and the bitching continued.

  Having an overwhelming personality like Gowri, had its own share of effects. It naturally led to a number of clones rising up in the organisation. Sangeeta was the best example. She aped him in every manner. She was a female Gowri and she was also one of Gowri’s closest confidantes.

  ‘How was your day?’ Amit asked Chanda, that night as he walked in and dumped the keys of his Ford Ikon on the side rack. Last year, he had sold his Maruti 800 and bought this sexy black Ford Ikon. Doesn’t your vehicle have to keep pace with your career’s progression?

  ‘You first settle down. Take your laptop off your shoulder. I will tell you.’

  ‘Okay, I am waiting,’ and he walked off to change into his track pants and the oldest most comfortable T-shirt he ever owned. It’s funny but true – you just can’t get rid of some T-shirts even if they cross all limits of social embarrassment if displayed in public! They are just so damn comfortable! Ten minutes later, he joined his wife in the kitchen, where she was stirring up some fresh veggies for dinner.

  ‘Was just about OKAY,’ said Chanda as if speaking to the frying pan.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘No. It’s just that I thought the place was too cold. Maybe after years at SCB, joining this place was quite a change. Probably I am reading too much into it.’

  They settled down for dinner and the discussions moved away from NFS to other routine stuff. ‘Let’s go out for coffee,’ Amit proposed, to which Chanda readily agreed.

  ‘What time do you have to leave tomorrow?’ asked Amit as Chanda was locking the door.

  ‘Have to be there by 9 a.m. That’s what the letter says.’

  They got into the car and made their way to the latest Barista – a new coffee bar that had opened up close to their house in Bandra.

  ‘Arre, I forgot to tell you. Vikram might be moving.’ Vikram Oberoi was the head of branch banking and Amit’s boss. He too was very close to Aditya and in fact, both Aditya and Vikram had played a role in retaining Amit when he had expressed a desire to move to GE.

  ‘Where to?’

  ‘Don’t know?’

  ‘He is the one who along with Aditya prevented you from moving to GE.’

  ‘I know.’

  ‘And what about the promise to make you a business manager?’

  ‘Don’t know. I will ask him when I see him. Anyway it was Aditya’s commitment, not Vikram’s.’

  ‘Ya, but again, he too played a part in retaining you.’

  And the discussion moved on. They returned quite late at night and quickly got into bed. They had to leave early the next day.

  Chanda was in office bang on time. She was the first to get in. Only the cleaners were shuffling about doing their daily routine of cleaning desks and watering the ornamental plants.

  Manish Kakkar was the next to come in. He normally came in early. When he saw Chanda at her desk, he walked up to her and wished her. In a sense, it was Chanda’s first week in office and Manish wanted to welcome her into NFS. By nature, Manish was a nice guy. So taken in by Gowri was he that he preferred to live in his shadows rather than take him head on. From his perspective, conflicts were avoidable. Hence, he tended to be seen as a guy who was very much in Gowri’s control.

  A few souls walked in next. The office started filling in only by around 9.45 a.m. And then, the king walked in. Gowri came in around 10 everyday. As he walked towards his office, he saw Chanda, with her head buried in reading the manuals. His secretary was around. The tea came within two minutes. Everything was going on as per the norm. And then, he did something which he normally wouldn’t do. He opened his cabin door, and told his secretary, ‘Call Chanda.’

  The secretary did as was asked and Chanda was at his door step in the next two minutes.

  Gowri didn’t speak but just gestured with his two fingers without looking up when he heard a knock on his cabin door.

  Chanda walked in. Gowri didn’t look up. He again gestured with his two fingers asking her to sit down. His eyes focused on the laptop screen. After about five minutes he looked up at Chanda. ‘Hi.’

  ‘Good morning sir.’

  ‘Morning.’ No smile on his face yet.

  ‘Have you finished reading the manuals I gave you?’

  ‘Not yet, sir. I have read through one of them. There are two more to go through.’

  ‘When I was your age sweetheart, I would stay up all night to read whatever I had to.’ Five hundred pages of manuals in one day was a next to impossible task and he expected her to have read the entire set? It was not fair. He was trying to be tough on her. Chanda was taken aback by this. She did not expect this on the first day.

  ‘If you haven’t read it, we cannot have a meaningful discussion. Have you had an opportunity to sit with Sangeeta to understand the process flows?’

  ‘No sir.’

  ‘Young lady, this is not a bank. Definitely not NYB. Here, if I tell you to do something, I expect it to be done.’
r />   ‘Sure sir. I will do it today,’ said Chanda as she got up to leave. She was nearly in tears.

  ‘Sit down. I am not through yet.’

  ‘What does your husband do at NYB?’

  ‘He is the branch manager of Mumbai Fort Branch – the largest branch for NYB in the country.’ Gowri had consciously avoided asking her about her family when she had met him for an interview earlier.

  ‘Happy with his job?’ Having put her on the defensive, Gowri was generally trying to strike up a conversation.

  ‘Ya, he is. But . . .’

  ‘But what?’

  ‘He has been worried over the last couple of days.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Vikram is moving.’

  ‘Who Vikram? Vikram Oberoi?’ Chanda just nodded in response.

  ‘Why? Where?’

  ‘Apparently, he is moving to ING Vysya as the retail head.’

  ‘So he is moving out of the bank?’ After a brief period of silence,

  ‘That’s interesting.’

  ‘Who is taking his job?’

  ‘Don’t know. That’s why he is worried. Wondering who would come in his place?’

  Gowri leaned back in his chair, his head extended and resting on the top end of the chair. He stretched back, even as his hands moved up and his palms engulfed his face. He seemed to be thinking about something. After a few seconds of silence, he got back to his normal posture and looked at Chanda. Clearly, he was thinking of something else, ‘Is this public knowledge? I haven’t heard of this earlier.’

  ‘No. Vikram mentioned this to Amit as he is very close to him. He plans to formally tell everyone else the next Monday.’ Monday was four days away.

  ‘Okay. Thanks. Read these manuals and let’s chat again tomorrow. Don’t kill yourself. If you can’t finish it today, it’s fine. We are not in any tearing hurry are we?’ and he smiled at her, probably for the first time, as he waved her away from his room. Chanda couldn’t help being surprised at this sudden change of heart.

  Gowri’s fingers couldn’t wait for her to leave the room, before they picked up the telephone and dialled a number. After a short ring, it was picked up. ‘Kakke, thoda aana mere kamre mein.’ It was Manish Kakkar at the other end. He was dying to share the news with someone else. Manish Kakkar’s room was two cabins away, but Gowri always called him to his room, rather than walking across. It kind of set the protocol right for other employees. They would infer on seeing Kakkar in Gowri’s room that he was probably the junior of the two guys – though this was far from the truth. He was just the less complicated and more amenable of the two.

  ‘Yaar, bade kaam ki cheez hai yeh!’

  ‘Kaun?’

  ‘Chanda! She is damn useful man.’

  Seeing a blank look on Kakkar’s face, he continued, ‘She knows everything that is going on in the bank. Well connected. Good that we hired her. She can now give us inside information.’

  ‘Why? What did she tell you that got you so excited?’ Kakkar was too smart and quick to realise what would have happened.

  ‘Apparently, Vikram Oberoi is quitting.’ Gowri was excited. Kakkar didn’t know Vikram and hence couldn’t understand why Gowri was jumping around at this piece of information.

  ‘So?’ He was wondering how it impacted Gowri.

  ‘Idiot! Vikram Oberoi is the head of branch banking at NYB. His job is up for grabs.’ The look on Kakkar’s face didn’t change. ‘Why can’t they give me that job?’

  ‘Aaah . . . but they will not give it to you.’ The dismissive tone in Kakkar’s voice was evident.

  ‘And why would that be?’

  ‘You are too junior. They would be looking at someone who understands that business.’

  ‘No harm in trying, my friend.’

  Gowri was extremely ambitious, wanting to quickly rise to heights unseen of and unheard of in one’s career. He could go to any extent to ensure that his aspirations fructified. Today, in Chanda, he found someone who could give him the fodder needed for his competitiveness. She could give him information of what was going on in the bank, and based on that, he could position himself accordingly.

  ‘But I thought you hated NYB. You could not stand NYBankers. What has changed now?’ Kakkar couldn’t resist a swipe at Gowri.

  ‘Arre yaar, they need people like you and me to go there and help them change into an organisation that we want them to be. The problem is that today they are not like us. We can help them become like what we were before they acquired us. What say?’

  The public façade that Gowri put up was one that portrayed him as someone who hated the bank. People from the bank were not welcome into NFS. And if someone did come in, Gowri would make life miserable for them. He was GOD in NFS and he wanted to remain that way. However, heart of hearts, he harnessed dreams of working in a larger business in a larger organisation. The bank provided him with that platform. A move to the bank as a business manager could do wonders for his career and he knew that. However, this public pretence and animosity towards NYB employees was necessary to keep his status intact in the finance company.

  The tit-bit that Chanda had inadvertently dropped in front of Gowri, had given her an unexpected break. It had shattered the outcaste image that had been given to her, thanks to her linkage with the bank.

  ‘Why the hell did you tell him about Vikram’s move?’ Amit was furious when he heard about this at dinner.

  ‘Don’t know. It just came out. And after that I couldn’t retract.’ And then she added. ‘Do you think Vikram will get upset?’

  ‘No. But as long as your boss doesn’t tell everyone that he heard it from you, it should not be an issue.’

  ‘But you know what? After he heard this, he softened up towards me. He was very nice to me after I told him this.’ Chanda had noticed his changed approach.

  ‘He is not an idiot you see,’ said Amit as he got up to wash his hands. Chanda didn’t understand. Amit, however, could see through. He had heard enough stories about Gowri. They were a part of NYB folklore now. Chanda hadn’t heard much of him as she had come from outside. She was just about to become one of the characters in folklore.

  2002

  NYB FS, Mumbai.

  The relationship changes

  The coming Tuesday was Gowri’s son’s birthday – time for Gowri’s entire team to join together in the celebration. Gowri’s wife had organised a birthday party at Khar Gymkhana. Chanda was invited too.

  ‘Knock, knock,’ Gowri’s morning mail-responding ritual was interrupted by a knock on his cabin door. He looked up and then broke into a big smile. The entire Mumbai sales team was standing at his door. Leading them was a horrifically dressed Sangeeta. Clad in a long skirt, which did precious little to hide her rapidly expanding waistline and an old kurta, she looked straight out of the Cinderella story. Only the part that she would be playing was that of the witch!

  ‘Happy birthday Arjun!’ she screamed or rather squeaked in excitement and the entire Mumbai team followed in unison. Chorus of ‘Happy Birthday Arjun’ echoed in the air. Arjun was Gowri’s son.

  ‘What crap?’ would have been anyone else’s reaction. Not Gowri. He believed in being obsequious and loved whenever someone indulged in any sycophantic behaviour. His smile only got wider as he got up and walked to the door and accepted the huge bouquet of flowers that the team had carried.

  Chanda was sitting on the lower floor. It was a reasonably small office and hence tremors from any commotion in one part were clearly felt in her space. She was wondering what was going on and decided to go and check for herself.

  On Gowri’s second floor office, Sangeeta had organised this show to appeal to Gowri’s self-praising tendencies.

  ‘Back to work, team,’ she announced the moment the chorus had died down. Almost as if they were waiting for her instruction, the team disappeared.

  ‘Thanks Sangeeta. Come, come. Come on in,’ Gowri offered.

  ‘What time are you leaving today Gowri?’ and almost as
an afterthought added, ‘Why did you come? You should have taken an off today. ‘

  ‘It’s work Sango. Has to get done, right?’

  ‘What commitment Gowri! If only my team had half the commitment as you, we could have doubled our business last year itself.’

  ‘I know Sango. But you more than make up for them.’

  ‘I don’t know Gowri, what ails this new generation. They are not prepared to work at all. Look at this woman Chanda.’

  ‘What about her?’

  ‘Hardly works Gowri. Two days into her job and all she does is gossip on the phone. Doesn’t interact with anyone. Very snooty she is.’

  ‘Hmm . . .’ Gowri didn’t react.

  ‘Ask her how much of the reading she has finished?’

  ‘Yes I will.’ Sango was surprised. This was not the way Gowri normally responded. Such conversations would normally elicit violent reactions from him. Not this time. ‘Maybe he is distracted in thinking of Arjun’s birthday,’ thought Sangeeta.

  Another knock on the door disturbed the two of them and they looked up.

  ‘Hi Chanda! Come in,’ said Gowri with a big smile.

  ‘I heard all the commotion and decided to check for myself, what the issue was. On the way, these guys told me and I suddenly remembered. I was wondering why they were wishing you. They should be wishing your son, right Gowri?’

  ‘Ha ha! That’s Sango for you. She always overdoes these things.

  What say Sango?’

  ‘Good joke Gowri,’ Sango retorted with a constipated smile.

  ‘Chanda, give me a minute. Sango, is there anything else we need to discuss?’

  ‘Nothing major Gowri. Just wanted to speak with you on the payout structure for our direct sales agents (DSAs). I had mentioned this to you last week itself. Standard Chartered Bank has hiked their commission payout and so our DSAs are leaving us to join them. Yesterday alone, I got three calls from our DSAs in Ahmedabad.’

  Direct sales agents were agencies engaged by various banks and finance companies for acting as conduits between them and the customers. They help find customers, sell the loan to them and bring them to the finance company. They are normally compensated on the basis of the quantum of business they help the bank or finance company to generate.