It was probably early 1974 when I got called for State Bank of India’s (SBI) Probationary Officer’s interview. Because I sort of botched up my M.Sc. exams my plan of graduate studies in the U.S was not looking likely. I had been teaching in colleges for a couple of years. Meanwhile, two of my M.Sc. classmates who were also trying to go abroad and were actually quite brilliant academically, started appearing for bank tests as a backup. So I thought, “What the heck, if these guys are applying I might as well too” (These friends actually ended up as Professors at American universities!)
I did get called for interviews a few times. But I went for these interviews with zero preparation. I really had no idea then how banks worked and what the job entailed. Those days there were no coaching centres and such luxuries. Even if there were, I doubt I would have tried them, because I was not very serious about a banking career. Very naive of me, I guess, but I did not see any others preparing either. Added to that there was the fact that I was (and still am) terrible at interviews. I do not have a quick mind. I usually need time to formulate my answer. This of course does not work well in interviews.
Anyway, there I was at the SBI interview, at the Local Head Office building at Parrys in Chennai. A little bit in, the question came
“You already have a job, why are you applying for this one?”.
“My current job is assured only till the end of this academic year. Also this pays much better.”
(The pay was more than double).
A little bit of laughter
Then someone else asked me what I knew about the working of banks. I honestly said I did not know anything except that you could deposit your money in the bank and earn interest. I think in later times my interview would have concluded there.
One of the interviewers was a distinguished looking gentleman in a dark green suit, (I do not know why I remember that detail). I learned later that he was one Mr. Kaiwar, a retired Indian Civil Services officer. He asked:
“So what are your hobbies?”
“Tennis, reading..”
“Reading? What do you read? Harold Robbins?”
This was said a little disdainfully, I thought. Harold Robbins used to write these potboilers which were bestsellers. Though I was a voracious reader somehow I had never read Harold Robbins.
“Not really”
“What then?”
“Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, Wodehouse..”.
At the mention of Wodehouse he stopped me and asked.
“So how many Wodehouse books have you read, 5, 10?”.
“No, more like 50”.
The Loyola College library had more or less all the Wodehouse books, and having spent 7 years there, in the hostel, I had pretty much read all of them.
“Really, are you sure?” sounding sceptical.
“Yes, sure”
With a glint in his eye he asks “Tell me then, who or what is the Empress of Blandings?”
I said “It is a pig belonging to Lord Emsworth.”
He burst out laughing. And from there on the interview went like a breeze.
Wodehouse, thank you!
(Sunil Korah is a 70 year young cove, a benevolent father of 3 and a doting grandfather of 7. He retired from State Bank of India after 30 years of service. He is now simply enjoying the quintessential retired life, reading, watching sports and movies and occasionally dabbling in computer programming as a hobby. His neighbours have by now got used to his habit of singing in the shower, thereby offering some respite to the loony doctors in the area who no longer receive urgent requests to visit his abode. His permission to re-blog this post here is gratefully acknowledged.
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