Griha Lakshmi

VOW, 2009

'Dad, it's a girl.'

My father's immediate response was, ' Congratulations! Lakshmi has graced your home.'

His remark brought back fond memories of the time my wife first entered our house after marriage. 'Griha-Lakshmi has come to your home, ' quite a few matrons said to me at the time.

They were of course referring to Lakshmi, consort of Lord Vishnu, Goddess of wealth and fortune, depicted always as a golden woman sitting or standing on a lotus flower while two elephants bathe her with water from jars. Besides being the divinity for material prosperity, Lakshmi is also the Goddess of moisture, of earth, of health, of long life, of offspring, and of family.

She is variously known as 'Padmasambhava' (lotus born), 'Padmastitha' (standing on lotus), 'Padmavarna' (lotus coloured), 'Padmarshi' (lotus eyed!), ''Padmavru' (lotus thighed!!), Padmini' (abounding in lotus), and 'Padma Malini' (adorned with lotus garlands).

So you can imagine I was pleased as punch with the matrons for letting me know that my wife was a 'Lakshmi'. Well of course, today, if the fact that I am blessed with a daughter and that I am in reasonably good health is any indication, then my wife is indeed a Lakshmi, a 'Padmavru'!  'Lotus thighed', in case you forgot. However, in other departments, especially the wealth and fortune sectors, I'm still waiting for her to perform some big miracles! The advent of my second Lakshmi, my daughter, still doesn’t seem to have helped much.

Therefore, this Tihar I will be praying real hard, as millions of others will surely be doing, to the Goddess in whose honor we celebrate the 'festival of lights'. Me, and at least a million others will be pleading with the Goddess to step into our homes. To welcome such an esteemed guest we shall of course have cleaned our abodes thoroughly and we shall decorate it brightly with lights twinkling everywhere. People like me will be praying for a change in our fortunes and those who already have been blessed with good fortune will no doubt be praying that it is redoubled. Or, even tripled. Why not? Lakshmi, if she so desires, can do anything.

This of course is something lazy guys like me will be doing, but wiser people will be worshipping Lakshmi in more result oriented ways. And here one must declare that nowadays it is the Lakshmis in our homes who are surely the wiser in such matters. Among the Lakshmis, 'Griha' or otherwise, those that work in banks (and let me tell you, that's plenty as plenty can be), have a definite advantage. Surely, working day in and day out in an environment reeking with money is bound to have a 'rub-on' effect.

And, if so, one would expect such Lakshmis to be really 'money savvy'. But, no, seems there are exceptions and since they are after all exceptions, let's first talk to Shishu Joshi who has been working in the marketing department of Lumbini Bank for the last four years. One would have thought women like Shishu would be cagey about the bucks, seeing that even her husband works in a bank like herself and all that, but 'I never save,' she says emphatically. Of course it could be that she doesn't need to, being filthy rich and so on. It happens to the lucky few. 'Maybe,' is her terse reply.

On the other hand, Chayya Malla at the customer service department of Nepal Investment Bank, is more of the 'money savvy' Lakshmi we expect to find among working women today. Proud mother of twin boys she says, ' I don't like to be extravagant in my spending and would advise others to spend wisely too. Specially young people.'

Although her bank doesn't have any special schemes for women as such, she informs that students, male and female, can avail of their E-Zee Student Account Scheme. 'They can open accounts with us with a minimum balance of only Rs.2000,' informs Chayya, ' They get 2.5% interest and a Visa Electron Debit Card.' There's added incentive. NIBL along with Bhat Bhateni Super Market has a 'swipe and win' scheme going on where the debit card comes into play.

NIBL was 'Banker of the Year' last year, and surely Chayya is proud of that. So must her colleagues in customer services be, seven of whom are women and one is, yes, you guessed right, that breed getting to be rarer and rarer in banks, a 'man'. So, how come women seem to have practically taken over banks?

'Yes, there's more of women in departments like retail banking, customer services, remittances and marketing, ' agrees Chayya, ' But that is probably because women have been found to be more hard working and efficient.' Also more loyal? And more trustworthy ? 'Yes, yes, of course,' Chayya is sure. 'Men seem to be more opportunistic as far as professional matters are concerned.' Additionally, it goes without saying that women are by far the better looking of the species and seeing that banks have to present their best face to lure the public inside their parlors and all that, well you get my point?

Anyway what can one expect? Banks are after all supposed to be the abode of Lakshmi. One such Lakshmi is Sharmila Pradhan who has been with the Bank of Kathmandu for the last nine years. Sharmila emphasizes that money is something to be valued and invested wisely. So she suggests that small investors open saving accounts at their bank. ' We have the 'Sajilo Bachat Khata' in which a minimum balance of only Rs.1000 is enough to open an account,' she says. ' So during Tihar, people can start accounts with us even with small amounts.' She feels this should help many women to cultivate the saving habit that is so necessary in these uncertain times. Atta boy, only if they would! Sorry, forgot I was writing about 'money savvy Lakshmis', not necessarily money saving ones.

At the Nepal Industrial and Commercial Bank, young Munni Rajbhandari works in the central accounting department. She's unmarried and has been with the bank for only a year. 'Working in banks is one of the first preferences for women, ' she says. Why?  'Well, facilities are good. We get to work in a secure environment.' And, 'Yes, we are insured and have staff accounts in the bank.'

Is it true that women working in banks usually end up marrying bankers? ' No, I don't think so, ' says Munni.

Her bank is pushing a special scheme called Life Savings Account in which minimum balance required is Rs.50000.00. It's a nice enough scheme offering varied services like free life insurance, gold coins to lucky winners every quarter and special discounts. Tihar is always an auspicious time to start such schemes and surely the bank is looking forward to savvy women taking advantage of the same.

Namita Dixit is the Relationship Manager at Nabil Bank in Kantipath. She's married with two kids. Her husband's an engineer. But that's not as important as the fact that her mother in law is an assistant head master (should it be mistress?). ' By the time I return home from work it's already seven most of the time,' she says. 'That's why having a family that is understanding is so very important to me.'  Doubtless, having a mother in law who also works helps.

Namita thinks that investing in treasury bonds is wise since it's safe and keeps earning interest with time. 'Money shouldn't be kept idle.' Her bank like most other banks does not have any special schemes especially meant for women. 'Why should there be?' she asks. ' There is no gender bias in our bank. Even at work there is no difference in the way women and men work.'

When can we expect to see women CEO's in banks? 'Well there already are a couple of deputy managers, who are women,' she informs. ' So, maybe in the near future?'

Our Lakshmis seem to be at home working in banks. And none more so than vivacious Sushma K.C., the Assistant Relationship Manager in the Customer Organization Division of Standard Chartered in Kantipath. Pretty as a picture and as enthusiastic as a sparrow, she holds big responsibilities that include looking after accounts of customers associated with diplomatic bodies and INGOs. She seems determined to go all the way up in her career and says, ' we work almost twelve hours a day.' She has two daughters and her husband is an engineer.

So does this have an adverse effect on her family life? 'Not at all,' she says. ' We should learn to make use of time. Anyway, we have two days off every week to spend with our families.' She seems to be disciplined and pretty energetic for one who has such long working hours. ' We have to take compulsory leave for two weeks every year. And of course there is the annual leave.' Her bank seems to take special steps to keep its employees motivated and well balanced.

' Yes, we have regular training on sales, service, customer relations and so on.' Is it that our Lakshmis are so happy in their work that they don't mind working long hours?

Sushma agrees, ' Yes working in a bank like this one is really nice for women. Pay is quite good and there are plenty of facilities. We also get to avail of various loans at low interest rates.' Starting pay for interns start at Rs.8000 and for executive positions at Rs.15000 and the loans can be of various kinds such as for housing, vehicle and education.

How does a girl go about getting such a dream job? ' Well all banks take in interns throughout the year. Right now there are four interns in my division.' How are interns selected? ' Their selection is mostly based on their educational background.' Besides this, executive level positions are also advertised for from time to time where degree matters as does experience.

Howsoever the case may be, those lucky ladies who do enter the portals of Lakshmi's abode, will surely find themselves at home. It is indeed true that banks are happy abodes for our Lakshmis where work is a pleasure and satisfaction, a sure thing.