Old will always be gold for them

Vijay C Roy in Chandigarh

For city resident Durga Parshad, last year was very special: his 100th birthday celebration coincided with the 100th foundation day of the State Bank of Patiala — “his bank” — since 1936. The merger also took 

LD Khanna down memory lane: he joined the bank as an officer in 1947.

“The SBP is so close to his heart,” says Durga Parshad’s grandson Sameer Goyal, “that even if he wants to open an account, he’d prefer State Bank of Patiala, Sangrur branch.” 

“Such has been our bonding that I never dreamt of closing or shifting my account,” says Parshad. As a former Punjab government servant, Parshad draws pension from the SBP branch, Sangrur. “I don’t know much about the merger, but I do hope it will be good for the employees.”

For Khanna, the merger is a moment to remember. “The success of the bank and its seamless merger must be a proud moment for the management. I am happy I started it from scratch and helped the bank to build its reputation,” says Khanna. He was the first probationary officer to have joined the bank in 1947. The other two officers who joined with him quit after serving for a few months.

Khanna was a topper in the commerce stream and completed his graduation from Hailey College of Commerce, Lahore. He joined the bank when managing director, Sardar Mohan Singh, persuaded him. Khanna was appointed as development officer later and is responsible for physical expansion of the bank. 

“When I joined the bank in 1947, it had 20 branches. I helped in opening nearly 680 branches across the country in nearly four decades of my service,” recalls Khanna. When he retired in 1986 as general manager, the bank had 700 branches. During his stint, Khanna completed his CA ‘II’ B and LLB.

“I visited the locations personally and worked on the modalities for hours so that bank branches come up at places where it should get the right business. Customer service was our prime concern,” says Khanna.

He also grappled with designing part of a branch. “I was planning to open a branch in Chennai at White Road, but the staff was unwilling to relocate as they questioned the size of the premises. So, I redesigned the furniture — a table could also be used as a bed and a cupboard as receptacle for keeping things of daily use. When I shared my proposal with the staff, they agreed to relocate!”

Khanna is proud that many of his recruits have risen higher than him. One of these recruits was cricketer and Punjab minister, Navjot Singh Sidhu.