Banking Woes

I had to take a Demand Draft urgently. It was the last date to apply for something and I needed it immediately. So, I didn’t go through the online mode of ordering a DD, which will be delivered at your door step. Even otherwise, I belong to the old generation thinking and like doing things offline. So, I reached the bank at 10 A.M. It was closed. The timings were from 10.30 AM to 4.30 PM. People were already waiting outside for the gates to open. I joined the hordes of people outside. As soon as the clock struck 10.30, the doors opened, and everyone moved forwards. It was like witnessing a human mass flow in a particular direction. There were four counters and serpentine queues formed in front of each. I felt a little lost. I approached one lady, who looked like one of the staff.  I said that I wanted to get a DD issued. “Fill the form and pay the money,” she said, handing over a form. I had to get a DD issued for an amount around 2 lakhs. Since I didn’t have the cash, I decided to first withdraw money from my account.

                Here starts my journey. I wrote a cheque on my name and waited patiently in one of the queues. After 20 minutes, my turn came. I handed over the cheque. “For amount above one lakh there is another counter,” she said. I went to the designated counter. Thankfully, the queue was short. Actually there was no queue. People were huddled outside a room. Inside the room, a lady was disbursing the cash. After 20 minutes of waiting, I realized that she was never going to call me. So, I jostled with the crowd and made my way inside. She took the cheque and handed over a receipt. “Get this signed by the officer in the last counter,” she said. I went to the last counter and again stood in the queue.  A stern looking man was seated. He signed the receipt and kept it with himself. “You can go, I will send it,” he said. I did not want to wait any longer. I politely suggested that I could take it with me. However, he didn’t agree. Having no choice, I went back to my place outside the door. Some boy came and handed over a few receipts to the lady. Eagerly, I pushed my way forward and went inside the room. “Your receipt hasn’t come. I will call you,” she said. Resigned, I went outside again.

                Finally, she called me inside. She first counted the cash using the currency-counting machine. Then she manually counted all the cash. It took her nearly fifteen minutes to verify my passbook, count the cash and hand it over to me. I took my hard-earned cash and came out. Then I took the receipt for DD and filled it. The bank now became even more crowded. I stood in the queue again, waiting for my turn. My legs had started to ache. Last step, I told myself. I will finish it soon and can go home. My turn came after an agonizingly long wait. The stern man (yeah the same one who signed the receipt) looked at me and said, “For DD exceeding fifty thousand rupees, we accept a cheque only. No cash.”   I was at my wits end. I enquired as to what could be done now. I didn’t have enough balance in my account to write a cheque. The only alternative left was to deposit the money again and then write a check!! I took a form for making a deposit. Deposits above one lakh had to be made to the lady in the room. The same procedure was followed for making the deposit. Handover receipt, take signature of stern man and deposit cash, which was counted meticulously yet again. It was Saturday and the bank closes at 1.30. It was already 12.30 pm and I had to hurry to get the DD.

                After making the deposit, I approached the stern man. This time the other people in the queue let me approach the counter directly. He took the cheque and the DD form and asked me to wait. After half-an-hour, he called out my name and handed over the Demand Draft. Phew!! It was 1.00 PM. Mission accomplished. All these days, I thought it was hard to earn money. But I realized that encashing my hard work was also hard work!!