What a day !  Early in the morning, in the gym, Rajiv, an IT executive,   complains of lack of time to complete some urgent information for his boss. In office, Sharmaji complains of inadequate AC arrangements in this hot summer.  Shankar complains of repeated computer breakdowns. And despite a solid lunch spread yesterday in our Office Lounge - Green Salad, Dahi Vada, Butter Milk, Dhokla with two chutneys, Chole-Bature,  Veg. Pulav, Kulfi  (Don’t envy - I take only fruits, salad and a sabji), Shuklaji complained of mild stomach ache due to absence of roti and sabji in the menu ! Some of us even feel the salary is not commensurate with the services rendered by us. Why should we complain about the job we are doing, about the institution we serve? We are in a particular job because we are destined to.    And having settled for a job, we ought to give our best despite certain complaints/grievance we have about our work place. 

With these thoughts, I could not help recalling some of the jobs I had been into and the lessons associated with those.  I remember that the first job (I guess I can call it so) I undertook was fetching water for our neighbours from the street pipe located some 250 metres from our home.  Those days piped water connection was not available in our locality.  We were in a rented house and apart from the house owner, there were six tenants.  Our neighbours, the Gounders, being elderly couple were finding it difficult and one day, casually, we helped them.  Later on, on their request, we (me and elder brother) agreed to fetch them ten pots of water for 10 paise per pot daily till they migrated to their village some two years later.  Though my mother refused to take money for this, the couple prevailed upon us and thus my first earning was Rs.1.00 per day or Rs.30/- per month.  I was studying in 8^th standard. This was something which took care of our small needs like buying roadside snacks, pencils, occasional movies etc. And what a sense of pride it gave!

Two years Iater, Sharada Chechi, our family friend, requested us to take tuitions for her children.  Having settled in Coimbatore from Mumbai, ours was the only family in that locality with around 300 houses, who knew Hindi.  The first fee I received was Rs.10/- per month and with two students initially, the number steadily increased month after month and I started handling home tuitions. Soon, my brothers and sister also joined me.  Those were bit difficult days for us since dad was out of job and so, these tuitions were a boon for us.  I continued to take tuitions for the next 10 years till I had to leave for Kolkata, my first posting in RBI.  This tution experience brought me in close association with children and good interaction with so many families and over a period time, created a passion for teaching. 

As soon as my 10^th exams got over, as was the practice those days, I enrolled for typewriting and shorthand classes.  The fees of Rs.40/- was quite a big amount, but I somehow managed to remit it.  Seeing my enthusiasm, the owner of the Institute, Kandasamy Sir,  made me a sort-of-Office Boy there and my job was to distribute papers to the students, take attendance, clean the typewriters, keep record of fees, etc.  Besides offering me free classes, Sir started paying me Rs.20/- for my services ! In minimum period, I cleared the Higher Typewriting exams. Sir also deputed me for the State Level and National Level Speed competitions where I won prizes. This was the time when I learnt the basic administration and accounting work. 

Side by side, I also worked part-time with a Homoepath Doctor, Dr. Nair, for two hours, whose clinic was close by the Institute.  The job was basically to open and close the clinic, keep the room in order.  The job provided me chance to interact with patients and appreciate their conditions.

With computers slowly entering into the market, I was desirous of joining some computer course.  In Coimbatore, there were only a 3/4 firms which offered the course.  I responded to an advertisement and came to know that the fee was Rs.500/- for a one year course on Computer Appreciation and BASIC course.  It so happened that the owner of this firm, Shri Narendran, a Chartered Accountant, was related to a common friend and after a serious talk with me, decided to train me absolutely FREE and give me all practical skills! Thus for the next few months, I was with the firm doing basic data entry operations, mainly pay-roll entries, stock records, filing, income tax work, etc.  Needless to add, it was a great learning phase for me and at that age, I could have reasonable understanding on basic work in any office.

Having completed 18 years and being influenced my several films on unemployment, especially K.Balachander's film - Varumaiyin Niram Sivappu (The colour of poverty is red), my next task was to get into some government job even at the cost of studies. Before I turned 19, I was selected as a Clerk-cum-Typist in Indian Overseas Bank and with God's grace, landed up at the bank Regional Office just three kms. from my home. The next 5 ½ years, I did not work, but slogged like a donkey there, typing and typing , mostly five copies, throughout the day. My hands and chest would ache on many days, typing copies of complaints and inspection reports. Being young and goodie-goodie (even now!), all important and urgent work was thrust upon me. There were days when I used to feel depressed because I could not attend my evening classes. But then, the environment provided me with really a great experience since in those five years, I learnt almost entire work in ALL departments. Besides typing work, I took the initiative to look into the office notings, back papers, relevant files, etc. While my friends posted to branches were struggling to clear the CAIIB (exams for bank employees), I could clear them with ease due to this exposure. Besides, I had the company of some great friends who took care in shaping and motivating me.

Later in 1988, I entered my present job, the RBI – joining the bank as an Officer. The innings so far has been fruitful and exciting. The postings across different places gave me and my family wide experience. Each department in our Bank is unique and gives ample opportunities for customer service and public service too. Working conditions, pay, etc. have improved fantastically over the years making me feel very special about the organization. Life thus goes on, with a sense of pride of having done justice to the organization. NO COMPLAINT, NO WORRY !

Each job is important; there is nothing like good or bad job. If one looks upon his job as God (Work is Worship), he is sure to enjoy his work place. So let us cheer up and forget those irritants that come in our work place at times – inadequate AC, absence of ambience, not-so-good infrastructure, delayed promotions, transfer hassles, a few uncomfortable colleagues, lack of pantry facilities, the distance factor, odd timings, bad bosses, etc. and so on… There are pluses and the minuses everywhere. Even doing own business has lots of problems. Life is not a bed of roses. Instead of feeling that we have to work for the organization, we should think I AM WORKING FOR MY FAMILY… That would make a difference and help in giving our best.