Manjeri Sojourn.

Manjeri.

I strained my eyes to look across the road.  I could see an old man making tea in his own stall.  4 am in the morning, it was hard to find anybody out here in Manjeri. I was waiting for Kailash Uncle to call me up so that he could get me a lodge where I can sleep peacefully. I was emotionally disturbed. I was cursing my fate like an angry fan who shouts at the oppostion team's player. Sometimes I even showed middle finger to my fate whenever something went unprecedented. The whole sequence was going in my mind.   Few minutes later Kailash Uncle showed up paved me way to  his offfcial room in the Manjeri Medical Hospital. He is a Doctor.

I sat in the chair and he lied down on the bed which was supposedly a patient's bed. Who gives a qualm when nobody is watching.  I was so exhausted my eyes closed sooner than I expected. When I opened my eyes he was ready to go, asked me for breakfast and he dropped me off at a lodge which is known by the name 'Tourist Home' here in Kerala. Three hundered bucks per day, oh boy I was surprised. Hang on, I wasn't anymore in a city. "Dude, wake up you are now in a semi-urban/rural area." Then I paid off my advance and met Kailash Uncle for the last time as I didn't know he would be transferred soon.  All I did in the Tourist Home was slept.

Let me give an introduction of Manjeri. It is not big as much as it seems but too crowded. Population density would beat Sensex points anyday. Hardly 3 kms in each direction you go and you are done with Manjeri. It is situated in Malappuram district. I have no freaking idea why there is no double 'l' and why a double 'p' in the Malappuram name. When I went out in the evening I saw Muslims everywhere. Yes , it is a muslim domianted area. Possibly 90%. Masjids nearby, people wearing dhotis (Kerala Culture has it, I am talking about DHOTI) and women cladded in burqas.  Dosa was three time a day meal for me. Everything else was a not edible for me. Why? The sole reason is they were cooked in the same oil which I suppose to use it  on my hair.  Somehow later I did not give a shit about it. I started eating and did not imagine that I am eating sombody's hair or head.

Enter the branch:

One fat, bulky madam around 55 was busy working. I noticed her first then a slim girl with curly hair and almost my height was a young one. Madam showed me where the Branch Manager was.  Arun Ghosh was the name. Ghosh surname denoted a Bengali guy.  A little satisfaction crept into my mind. Atleast somebody would be there in my branch to converse in Hindi. But it wasn't. He is a Malyali.  We had our initial conversations and then he checked my IDs and the joining order. Everything was ok. He was worried about the fact that I might be an impostor. I went back to the lodge then rested for a while. My MIcromax phone sucked so badly that already I was in an alien world, nobody to talk to,  I was cut off from the social networking and messaging sites too. I have no idea how i had spent the whole first week in Manjeri.  All  I did was read The Deccan Chronicles and watch The Times Now channel and sleep. I was so lonely, couldn't ask to go back yet I had another option to join United Bank of India. Indian stereotype mentality- Bro, go for SBT, it has a State Bank tag in it. Screw UBI.  After all it wasn't my permanent job. I had decided before joining SBT what I've to do. Hence SBT or UBI, doesn't  matter.  I came all the way to Kerala just for parents' sake. First week in Manjeri I used to call up my parents and say "UBI gave home postings", I got a stupid place.

Slowly things started changing. I got one flat to stay. Thanks to my Branch Manager. He was so super cool in approving my allowances and providing me lease accomodation all by himself. I felt like I'm his younger brother. God had blessed me in this area amidst loneliness.  One day Ramesh from Nalgonda district, a Telegu guy came up for house. I offered him immediately without a blink of an eye of hesitation. He was extremely happy and he was feeling more alienated because he had never visited any place outside Hyderabad.  After a week I went to Kochi for my orientation programme and that week  I felt like  "WOW, I finally found water on planet Mars". I made good friends there.  Vaibhav, Debashish, Mayank and Shunswrang Brahma who is now one of my closest buddies in SBT.  He is leaving SBT this Jan 13th. Posted in Tiruvenmelli, Tamil Nadu. We shared our thoughts.  Well, I don't want boast but I can mingle with any person irrespective of their ethnicity. One night we did drink Blenders Pride in the balcony of SLC which was facing the Lulu mall.   It was then onwards I started making friends. I was in a whatsapp group where I was never active at all.  No wait, I wasn't an introvert, I just didn't get interested. But  staying alone in Manjeri pushed me to talk to most of them in the group. They were posted to different branches different regions. I knew only Avinash and Lagnajit. Slowly I started mingling and made friends very soon.  Although Ramesh was staying with me, our interests never matched.  Let me cite an example. He loves to watch all the masala movies (Telegu) where The Hero is always invincible and can beat the bad guys till he chases them off of Earth.  HAHAHA . I had left that thing way earlier. I was more and even now, more into critcially acclaimed movies and a few TV series. What I see is just for a specific niche people. I don't watch all those cliched scenes where Hero is always the good guy and is the Lord of entertainment movies, repeatedly. Recently I bought a HDD and my roommate was totally pissed off. When I came back loaded, it was only full of movies which he would never see. Actually he may die in the midway if he watches my collection. I was added to this 'SBT Hindi Bhashi group'. Strictly 'Hindi speaking men' as it said.  Guys were abusing the Mallus anytime I clicked to see the messages in the group. Of course we don't like the way Malyalis live. Their culture, food, language and thought process upto some extent was different from us. Hence everybody was pissed off and moreover the rural postings pissed them off more. I was too pissed off but I didn't want to show my wrath simply by abusing or sending blashphemous messages.  Rather than resisting the Kerala chapter, I started accepting everything that came my way rather and expecting nothing. To certain extent I was happy. When you expect nothing and you are given Mumbai posting, definitely that elates you. Yet, I'm content with Manjeri. I don't like to show my emotions that is the reason I keep everything going in my mind. I have accepted the fact that HRD might post us anywhere they want. I am ready to go.

Bangalore trips:

Well, thrice I have been to Bangalore in this 6 and half months. Meeting with old buddies and schoolmates is the best thing happened to me in the past few months. Once at Sheetam's place next one at Deb's and the third one was an awesome one which I stayed at a hotel with my own homies. Last one was truly memorable with Buniyaad, Pritam and Amit. These are my homies. I also had a very good time with them in Dec while at home. Bangalore is simply love.

Well these were not just the places i visited in the past six months. I went Wayanad first with my roommate on a bike. It is a very nice place to visit. Its crowded with tourists especially from North. Soojappoora falls is awesome. Second time I visited this place was with Avinash, Sumit, Anurag , Ankita and Ankita's friend who came all the way from Delhi, Arpit. Except Sumit all the others name begin with 'A'. Funny isn't it?

Good four days, trekking to Chembra  and a dive at the Soojapoora waterfall made the weekend lovelier. From there on I too started travelling with recruit-mates. We are known by the name Probatinary Officers.

In November I had been to Goa with Farid and Deb. Pre-planned. I loved the place and please don't assume Goa means babes and drinks. It wasn't the reason I liked it.  The other reason might be The Russians? Hell no. I think it would be an ideal place for a couple too. I saw one couple when I was at the bank of the ocean, hugging each other and stood without saying anything for a while. I felt that they must be feeling the serenity and must be sangfroid in the beautiful place: sunset at the beach.  Goa sojourn went well. It is a distinct place from other places.

Last trip with my fellows was Kodaikanal. Fourteen members, horribly big group. But big group denotes more chaos and less co-ordination. But you know what more the members more the chaos, it might turn into a memorable one. It was the first ever that I boozed with girls. Please don't assume I am so un-urban. I made a good deal of friendship and I was the bartender for the night. I and Jeet were truly enigmatic in the boozing spirit. Unadulterated shots guzzling down.

Avinash,Anuradha , Monika and Srinivas were the other booze members. Ankita, Sumit, Pratiksha, Pooja and Rahul were the Magic Mushroom eaters along with pot. Akhilesh, Anurag and Vaibhav were no-doers.  They were like our parents, guiding us. HAHAHA

I, genuinely, had a good time with all of them. There was another pretty girl ( please don't assume why pretty and why others are not. I better be considered a racist than a lover) Her name is Tanu Bali.  I got to know her from the same whatsapp group where I was the most socially inactive.  She is a great writer.  Her area of expertise is horror. I have read many good write ups in the horror genre written by her. I loved most of it. In the meanwhile I started talking in messages and we became very good friends soon.  I used to send her messages almsot daily knowing that it is not a good thing to do. Of course we were friends and even now but I felt like more into it. Let's never discuss 'it'. The previous it, why and why. We are still good friends now and she has been posted from Jaipur to Mannar, Alazpuzha. She was a bit scared and didn't to lose her own mentor. It was last night I tried to calm her down and help her look forward to accept the incoming things and Kerala  makeshift. It's really difficult for girls in settling down here in rural places. The biggest problem is the language. I hope all goes well for her.

I really have discussed almost everything but not my branch. MadhaviKutty, the senior most person in our branch is a very bulky person. She is overweight which makes her very lazy at times. Even obesity is the biggest concern for her. She has given me a lot of banking knowledge and I feel very thankful for it. She loves her grandchild very much. Most of the times I've noticed her indulgence into watching videos and photos of her grandchild. She takes leaves too much. Although she is going to retire within a few years she is spending her leaves lavishly. I adore her like a son. Nayana was the recent recruit in clerical cadre. She was fast in keyboard. Arun Sir liked her beacause she was swift in everthing he asked for. But when it came to asking questions, she made weird faces. I had lot of things to know and she was sitting beside me in the cubicle arrangement pattern. I used to ask her and she used to answer hesitantly. She married revently when I joined and now she has been transferred back to her home, Kasargod. Live a happily married life. Arun Sir  was the most jovial person in the branch. I think I had the opportunity to work with the most coolest BM ever. Yes, to all POs out there.  He is a socially active person. Either in person or virtual media. He used to share with me his extra marital affairs  and I used to get surprised all the time. I am 25 and single, failing to have a date. He is 42  and married, with a rocking life and many girlfriends. Take a bow.

Chechi. She is the substaff of Manjeri PSB branch. She use to clean and do other daily works of our branch. She is diminutive in height, very soft spoken and I will never forget her last words "Nala Kutty", in English "good boy".  I felt good when leaving the branch, surely I will miss all of them and the branch itself. I will never get such a good branch and cool BM , ever. Whereas all other POs were disgusted by the branch conditions I was extremely happy and content. My branch is a new one, inauguarated in 31st ,Dec 2012.  It has three Air Conditioners, WiFI ( which I consider essential for myself) and other basic things too which are common in every branch.

During the last three months one HeadCashier Manoj Sir joined our branch. He is an ex-serviceman. He speaks Hindi fluently and is very concerned about his cleanliness and food, like the military people do unlike civilians, sluggish. I used to ask him about his incidents realted to any bombing or firing and he even shared a great deal of it. He was bascially an instructor in Indian Army.  On the pen-ultitmate day I was surrounded by every member  of my branch. Its generic everywhere that you speak about others and others about you, Each on of us had our chance to speak up and while parting ways, Manoj Sir gave me a brotherly hug which I felt how much they have been attached to me,  It was an extremely amazing experience which I have had through the six and half months,

At first when I was posted in Manjeri, I used to resist anything that came across even go mad and shout at parents for not letting me join UBI( United Bank of India) because UBI was offering home postings. Slowly I have learned how to adapt to changes and now I think I am accepting whatever comes across because expectations is nill, I might get my third branch somewhere in far flung places of Kerala or Tamil Nadu.  And the fear of getting that is none. I feel really happy about it and as you must have heard a phrase "If life gives you lemons, make lemonade out of it".

I wouldn't go for lemonade but I would definitely try to score and explore.