When Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced demonetisation last week, there was a frantic rush in most households. Many homemakers and mums worried about getting their monies exchanged and stood in bank lines and ATM queues for hours.
But there were many mums and wives who were on the other side, making sure that Indians get their due.
These were the bankers who worked tirelessly and continue to do so. One such wife shared her emotional and very real story about how the new policy has affected not only the men, but also the women in the banks.
Featured in the Humans of Bombay page, Mumbai-based banker and wife shared her ordeal and some shocking details about black money in the post. Her post is also a reminder of the millions of mothers and wives who are now working tirelessly to make this process simpler, sacrificing their time with their young children and family.
"I was shell shocked"
“I’m the manager at a bank. On 8th November, I was working a bit late when my husband called me and said, ‘how did you not tell me that 500 and 1000 Rupee notes are getting scraped’ and I was shell shocked. None of us had any idea what was going on…we just knew it was huge," she begins.
"So we went into work the next day, preparing for the days to come but no amount of preparation could fully prepare us for what was coming," she added as she began explaining what happened next.
Women, wives and bankers became part of the dirty circle
Dash explains how she and many bankers just as her became embroiled in cleaning up the muck that black money created.
"People’s view of the whole situation was limited to the lines they saw outside the bank, but what was happening behind closed doors was entirely different. We became a part of the dirty cycle that runs in this country," said the banker.
She explained how the money that had been stashed away for so many years smelled rotten and banks had to issue masks for the safety of their employees.
"On one end there were chaiwallas, istriwallas who are queuing up to deposit their hard earned money but on the other end we're receiving black money that had been stashed away for years possibly and all this cash smells like rotten leather to the point where every one of our branches has ordered masks for the cashiers — that’s how unbearable the stench became! From fights breaking out and the police intervening to educated people storming our offices and violently asking us for money — we’ve dealt with it all," she explained.
She also revealed how she came face-to-face with a defaulter who had over 300 crores, and what she did next!
Continue reading to see what this wife and banker said about how she dealt with threats she received from many.
It's a dirty business
"Just the other day a builder who’s had an account with us for many years, came forward to finally pay us an amount that he had defaulted on a Non Performing Asset. When we had chased him for months to pay up, he had defaulted but all of a sudden he came forward! He has over 300 crores in black money, but before this he claimed to have none at all — that’s how dirty the business is," she said.
The banker also shared how they have had to deal with many people who resorted to blatant threats.
"Don’t get me wrong, i’m not complaining about what has happened — it’s a revolutionary move that will only strengthen our country and I completely understand what the common man is going through as well, but what can we possibly do? There’s only so much cash we have, and only so many people who can attend to such a large population," she said as she began explaining about the threats.
"What’s ridiculous is how people are behaving— they’re treating us so badly. Just 4 hours ago I received a call from a man from a place called Nanded who screamed at me non-stop. He went on yelling, blaming me, cursing in Marathi and I’m sitting there just wondering what I could possibly do and we’ve received dozens of such calls each day. Not just that, but the threats have also come. We get calls from people who are politically endowed and threaten to ‘send media to expose us’ or to ‘create a scene’ if we don’t move money — I mean when will we learn?" she asks.
"There's only so much we can do"
Explaining how this change has affected the bankers, many of whom are mothers and wives who are now working overtime to ensure a smooth process for all Indians, she says, "We’re bankers — there’s only so much we can do! We’ve hardly slept these past few days, we’re not taking any weekends off…in fact most of us haven’t even exchanged our own 500 Rupee notes because we’re trying to help others first."
"This is for the future"
Expressing the spirit of most bankers who are working tirelessly in this situation, she explains how everybody is travelling in the same boat and why we must come together to fight corruption together!
"Our banks are losing money on interest and there’s already enough chaos…do we really need to add to it? We’re all in the same situation, we just need to sit tight and understand that steps are being taken to aid the process — this is for the future of our country and the least we can all do at a time like this is have patience and believe that everything will stabilise soon. And for heaven’s sake, stop trying to use more corrupt methods to get out of an already corrupt situation…we don’t need any more of it!” she says.
Hats off to all the bankers, men and women, mums and dads, who are working tirelessly to clean India off black money. More power to them!
Read: Mums, here's how you can exchange your 500 and 1,000 rupee notes
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