If God Was A Banker Read online

  He stayed awake for a long time, thinking about Sundeep's point of view. There was significant merit in what he said. For long, Aditya's office had resembled the sets of Yes Minister, the popular British soap. But finally someone from outside had come in like a whiff of fresh air. He will go a long way, thought Aditya, as his eyes closed involuntarily.

  It was 4.00 a.m. when he slept. As a consequence, he overslept and was late to work. Normally, Aditya would leave early in order to beat the heavy morning traffic. Today, however, he was late and had to contend with twenty-five extra minutes of driving through the maddening Mumbai traffic.

  When he reached office, there were three messages from Brian Close waiting for him. 'What's it about?' he asked Natasha when she gave him the messages.

  'Don't know. I asked him, but he wouldn't tell. He seemed quite easy and had even dropped in once to see you. He requested that you call him once you get in. Didn't seem to be anything urgent.'

  'Thanks. How was dinner, sweetheart?' He was surely teasing her.

  'Was very good. In fact, Sundeep couldn't stop singing ballads about your conversation with him last night.'

  'Good. An intelligent young man he is. A bit arrogant though.'

  'Can you please line up dinner for him with me on Saturday? At my place.' Natasha couldn't hide her disappointment. She was looking forward to dinner with Sundeep on Saturday, but now her boss had usurped him. She didn't say anything. Her look said it all.

  'Well, if I have upset any plans that you might have already made, may I invite you to join us too.' Aditya was too perceptive.

  'Also check with Brian, if he is free. I will drop in and say hello.' Aditya walked into his room while Natasha dialled Brian's extension.

  'Mr Brian on his way to see you.' Natasha breezed into Aditya's room and announced. The very next moment, Brain walked in.

  'Aditya, I must tell you this. At the dinner last night, I met these two young recruits—Swaaamee and Kaalpaanaa. Very bright guys. I had an interesting conversation with them. While I was speaking with them, they mentioned that we should not launch credit cards without building a service infrastructure. Instead we should launch other quick revenue generating products. Quite interesting that they should mention car loans. They were emphatic that we should stay away from credit cards till we have strengthened our branch infrastructure and service delivery channels. I found that discussion quite intriguing. Couldn't wait to mention it to you. It is worth your while to have a chat with those blokes. Not sure, but something tells me that we might have missed a trick or two.'

  Aditya couldn't hide his surprise. 'Brian, it is quite a coincidence that you should mention it now. Around the same time yesterday, I had a chat with a guy called Sundeep and he had a similar view. So taken in was I by this discussion, that I couldn't cut it short and attend your address. But yes, I will speak to these guys as well.' He then buzzed Natasha to join them.

  'Natasha, will you please ask Swami and Kalpana also to join Sundeep for the Saturday night dinner with me.' Natasha nodded.

  15

  Aditya's home was a 20th floor penthouse apartment in a posh sea facing apartment complex on Carter road in Bandra. Huge by any standards, it covered 4,500 square feet. The sprawling living room alone could play host to over a hundred people. It had three seating bays, with carpets imported from Afghanistan providing comfort for the feet. Antique furniture brought in from the villages of Tanjore gave it a rich feel. Many visitors to his house often wondered how Aditya stayed here all alone.

  Aditya had separated from his wife Mandira after twelve years of marriage. Not many people in New York International Bank knew about his wife or had met her. The separation, which happened over two years ago, when both of them were in the US, was bitter and financially draining. Despite that, Aditya had enough to last him a lifetime. The talk was that after he joined New York International Bank, Aditya had little or no time for his family, and slowly both of them started drifting away. The fact that they had no children didn't quite help either.

  He had a cook who stayed with him. He had taken good care of him for over a decade now.

  Kalpana was the first to arrive, followed by Sundeep and Natasha. Natasha had picked up Sundeep on her way. Swami was the last to arrive. Unfamiliar with Mumbai, it had taken him some time to locate the building.

  Aditya was a great host. Natasha helped him and played the role of a good hostess to the core. This was the first time that any new recruits had been invited to Aditya's house for dinner within a week of their coming on board. Something had to be different with these guys.

  'Where's your drink, Sundeep?' Natasha asked. 'I will just get up and fix myself one,' he said. Sundeep didn't need any invitation for booze.

  She turned to Swami, 'Where's yours?'

  'I do not drink. I will have a Thumbs Up.' Those were the days when Coke and Pepsi had not re-entered India. Thumbs Up and Campa Cola dominated the soft drink scene.

  Everyone looked at Swami as if he was from a different planet. He was embarrassed. 'I have never felt like drinking,' he said.

  Aditya sensed his discomfort and quickly changed the topic. 'So Swami, your parents are in Chennai?'

  'My mother, sir. Dad passed away when I was two. He died of cancer.'

  'I am so sorry, Swami,' said Aditya. 'Your mother must be extremely proud of all that you have achieved in a short while. I would like to meet that lady one day.'

  'Thank you, sir,' said Swami. He couldn't take all the adulation. All this embarrassed him.

  Meanwhile, Sundeep was ogling at Kalpana. She was wearing a red top with a plunging backline over a pair of Levi's. Sundeep couldn't take his eyes off her. She looked stunning. Ever since Kalpana had started spending time with Swami, she had been ignoring him. Sundeep was getting a bit worked up on that. Whole of this week, he had been trying to ask her out for dinner and she had been constantly putting it off.

  Natasha was constantly observing Sundeep. In a world of middle-aged pot bellied bankers, Sundeep was one young dude she was looking forward to. She had spent hours getting ready, trying out numerous outfits before she settled on one, and Sundeep was not even looking at her. She was looking forward to this night, but it seemed to belong to Kalpana. She had offered to pick up Sundeep, despite the fact that the place where Sundeep stayed was out of the way for her. Sundeep was very quiet all along the route. He could sense the widening chasm in his relationship with Kalpana. Natasha tried to cheer him up. She flirted with him, but the normal Sundeep was missing.

  'You seem to be lost somewhere,' said Aditya. 'Is everything fine?' He was looking at Sundeep. Natasha was not the only one who had noticed.

  Once he had everyone's attention, Aditya started talking about the plans for New York International Bank. 'Brian and I had separate conversations with you on the launch of our bank's retail business. All of you had some interesting thoughts. The purpose of tonight's meeting is to brainstorm and lay out the broad priorities for the launch. Global HQ wants us to be self-funding in three years time. That is, we will have to generate the required investments from our profits in three years time. Natasha will take notes.' The preamble was set. This was followed by a long and arduous discussion. It was good that none of them had to go back to their families as they kept no track of time. Sundeep, Swami and Kalpana battled it out with Aditya on the product sequencing of the launch.

  All three were very passionate about what they felt. Aditya was playing a smart game. He contested even those points of view that were not divergent from his. He played the devil's advocate. He questioned every simple logic. He made sure that they thought through every option and every consequence of their actions. It was five in the morning when they called it quits.

  Sundeep was completely drunk. The adrenalin rush of the discussion had kept him going. The moment it was time to pack up, he couldn't take it any more and collapsed.

  Aditya called for his cook, 'Ramu Kaka, please take him to the guest room and leave him there. He can fin
d his way back to the hotel tomorrow.'

  'It's OK, Aditya. I will drop him at his hotel,' said Natasha. Aditya just smiled and nodded.

  Ramu Kaka helped Sundeep get into Natasha's car. Natasha then drove towards Sundeep's hotel.

  Swami and Kalpana left together. Both were sober.

  16

  Kalpana and Swami decided to take a walk on the beach. The mild chill in the winds, the lonely stretch of the early morning beach, a few joggers strolling around, and the mild roar of the waves dying on the beach made it a very romantic setting. They found a clean stretch and settled down.

  A young boy with a kettle in hand came running to serve some tea. Swami looked at Kalpana and she nodded. A couple of rupees exchanged hands, and Swami and Kalpana got two kullars (clay cups) of steaming hot tea.

  'Have you always been so shy?' asked Kalpana.

  'I don't know,' said Swami. 'But why?'

  'Did you ever have a girlfriend?'

  'Never,' said Swami, his eyes riveted on the sand.

  'Why?'

  'Never found one. And I don't have the personality that women look for these days.'

  'Rubbish. Don't lie.'

  'Well, Kalpana, I couldn't afford one. Taking care of my family and meeting my basic expenses never left me with any money to spend on girlfriends. So I stayed away from them. Women don't like paupers for boyfriends, do they?'

  'This woman does not mind a pauper for a boyfriend,' Kalpana said. Swami, for the first time, moved his eyes from the sand and looked up. Kalpana was smiling.

  He did not know what to say. The visit to the cafe last week was the first time in his life that he had gone out with a woman, and here she was already proposing to him. He was too stunned to react. This had never happened to him. His eyes went back to survey the sand.

  'Swami, ever since meeting you, the one thing I have admired about you is your humility. Anyone else with even half your intelligence would be screaming from the rooftops, stinking of arrogance. But you are different, Swami, and that's the reason why I like you. If there is anyone I have met so far, with whom I feel like spending the rest of my life with, it's you.'

  Swami looked back at her, at a loss for words.

  'You need not give me an answer right away. You can think it through. We can remain good friends till then. We will remain great pals even if your answer is a no.'

  Swami was listening. He was confused. All this was a bit filmy for him. He did not know what to say. He had a mother and a sister to provide for. His sister had to be married off. True, he too had started liking Kalpana, and looked forward to spending time with her. But this was too fast for him.

  The fact that Kalpana was a Rajasthani and from a very well off family was not making matters any easier for him. What will his mom say? She had lived her life for him. It was payback time. How could he be so selfish now?

  Swami knew that Kalpana was the kind of girl he would like to take home to his mother. But she was a Rajasthani. His mother was a conservative South Indian. What would she think of him?

  He did not want to say no. His heart wanted to say yes. Yet he couldn't. Kalpana understood the turmoil going on within his mind. She put her arms around him and held him tightly. 'Come, let's go. My heart is lighter, now that I have told you what I wanted to. I will not bring it up again till you want to. I will wait for your decision.'

  They got up and walked silently next to each other. They would have hardly walked two hundred metres, when Kalpana felt something moving next to her hand. She was startled and looked to her left. A smile came to her lips. It was Swami. He was clumsily trying to hold her hand. When he finally managed to, he looked up and smiled at her. They walked back hand in hand. Swami had made his decision.

  17

  Natasha parked the car in the porch of the hotel where Sundeep was staying. The doorman helped her carry Sundeep to the room. Both of them carefully put Sundeep on the bed. Sundeep had passed out and had no clue what was happening. Natasha gave the doorman a twenty-rupee note before he left, closing the door behind him. Natasha looked at her watch. It was 5.30 a.m. She didn't feel like leaving, as she didn't want to leave Sundeep in this state. Had she fallen for him? Of course, she had!

  She plonked herself on the sofa in the room and switched on the TV. She surfed all the channels and settled on an old Hindi classic that was running on one of the hotel channels. The next thing she knew was someone shaking her, asking her to get up. She had fallen asleep while watching the movie. Sundeep had gotten up and was surprised to see her sleeping on his sofa.

  'What are you doing here? I was waiting there for you all night,' said Sundeep pointing at his bed.

  'Very funny, Mr Srivastava! The least you can do is thank me. You were drunk and out of your senses when I brought you here,' said Natasha. She was not upset with Sundeep for his comment. Sundeep smiled. 'Thank you, sweetheart,' he said and kissed Natasha on her left cheek.

  It was Sunday morning. There was no pressure to go to work and hence both of them were very relaxed. Natasha taunted him about how he landed in bed last night.

  'What about Kalpana?' asked Sundeep.

  'Swami went to drop her home.'

  Sundeep's face shrunk. He was not too happy about the budding relationship between Swami and Kalpana.

  'Any plans for breakfast?' Natasha's question brought Sundeep back to reality.

  18

  Aditya was in office very early on Monday morning. He was thinking about his discussion with Sundeep and Swami on Saturday. Retail banking was new in India. Experienced talent was in short supply. He had tried to go out and hire from competing banks. He had been unsuccessful. No bank had enough people who knew how to run a retail bank. He had the option of getting in expats from US to help set up the business. But that was an option he didn't want to consider, as it would render the project a non-starter. The expats would apply an American solution to an Indian problem. He knew that this would only lead to more heartburn, frustration, and complete failure of the project.

  And here were two young men with the energy, the will, and the commitment to drive this new initiative for New York International Bank. While they had thirty-six other colleagues who had joined with them, these two guys were different. Their intellect was far superior, and their understanding of business complexities supreme. These were people who could earn the respect of their colleagues in no time.

  Yet, they were untested. Should he take a punt on these two guys? Would it work, or would it bomb? He couldn't make up his mind. The organisation had approved a plan to launch credit cards in the first quarter of 1987. These two prodigies were recommending that they launch retail loans before anything else, and, heart of hearts, he agreed with them. Why not challenge them with the loans business while someone else goes about launching credit cards. It would at best prepone the launch of retail banking in India. They could, irrespective of what Swami and Sundeep did, go ahead with the cards launch in March 1987 as planned. He required an organisation buy in for this. Brian had to be on his side.

  'Natasha, get me Brian on the line,' Aditya's voice crackled over the speakerphone.

  Natasha called back within thirty seconds: 'Brian on the line, sir.'

  Aditya spoke to Brian at length about his plan. The conversation went on for over thirty minutes. Brian's room was on a floor above Aditya's. 'Aditya, why don't you come up. Let's talk this through and close it,' Brian said.

  'In a minute, Brian.'

  Aditya disconnected the phone and ran. He did not want this break to disrupt his thought process. When he stepped into Brian's room, he was panting.

  'Relax Aditya, relax,' this statement from Brian irritated him, but he didn't say a word. After all, Brian was his boss.

  The discussion was extremely animated and lasted another forty-five minutes. 'Thank you, Brian. I will ensure that I am on top of this. It seems to be the right thing to do. I will also ensure that there are no surprises in this before your successor is in place. I have lots at stake,'
said Aditya as he stepped out of Brian's room.

  19

  Sundeep and Swami were in their second week of training. Mr Sawant, the training head of the bank, was taking a session on 'career progression.'

  'Excuse me, Mr Sawant,' Natasha knocked on the door of the training room.

  Sawant excused himself and came out of the room. 'Aditya wants to meet Sundeep and Swaminathan, ASAP,' said Natasha. ASAP meant As Soon As Possible, and Mr Sawant, an old hand, did not require anybody to tell him that when Aditya said ASAP, he meant NOW.

  When Sundeep and Swami walked out of the training hall, both thought: 'Now what?' Natasha had disappeared and hence they couldn't even ask anything. They were nervous. 'I haven't done anything wrong today. Hope it is not about my passing out on Saturday night,' said Sundeep.

  'If I understand Aditya correctly, he wouldn't have pulled us out of a training programme for that. And why me? If he wanted to speak to you about Saturday night, he should have called you and not both of us.' Swami had a point. But that couldn't satisfy Sundeep. He was tense again. He was beginning to wonder why he was getting tense every time Aditya called.

  'Come in, boys,' said Aditya as soon as he heard the knock on the door. 'Natasha, can you please organise some coffee and join us. This is going to take some time. And before you come in, please get Kalpana also to join in.'

  Swami and Sundeep gave each other blank looks. They were wondering what the hell was going on. Natasha came in. The coffee came in another six minutes, around the same time that Kalpana joined them. All this while, Aditya was doing his mail and hadn't spoken a word. This was adding to the suspense.

  'OK guys,' said Aditya, getting up and moving away from his IBM notebook. 'I have something interesting to talk about, and if you guys are ready, we can start.' Everyone in the room looked at each other, then at Aditya, and nodded in unison. No one spoke.

  'I had a chat with Brian. I mentioned our discussion on Saturday night. He has agreed to a change in the launch plans,' he announced. 'We will no longer launch credit cards in this market. We will first launch our loans business and then decide what we want to do next.' 'Fabulous,' everyone said at almost the same time. This was turning out to be their first strategic victory ever. Everyone's face lit up.