Banking days at remote Seegur

JUST after earning a bank promotion in 2001, the authorities bundled me off to a remote village branch at Seegur. The ‘difficult centre’ branch was godforsaken: lacking basic amenities, hotels and bus transport. To reach it from Bengaluru, I had to use three modes of transportation — a train ride to Mysuru, a bus journey to Periyapatna and culminating with a trip by a local van. The mangy vehicles are a sight for sore eyes and ply between Periyapatna and nearby villages. Drivers cram them like a can of sardines, and more often, one had to travel ‘cattle class’, with farm animals and poultry birds giving company.

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Rural folks treat bank officers like demi-gods. They welcomed me with garlands and namastes. Day one of my innings coincided with the ‘ooru habba’, or village festival, which takes on a festive air. Colourful bunting and stalls spring up and music rents the air. The locals adorn the village deity with a new sari, besides venerating and offering non-vegetarian fare. The celebrations end with a gluttonous feast where the entire village takes part.

Seegur is a picturesque hamlet famed for its tobacco cultivation and small wildlife. The banks, which have a tie-up with the tobacco board, extend credit to tobacco producers. The board recovers the monies and remits them to the banks after the auctions conclude. I had never seen a tobacco leaf earlier, and their enormous size fascinated me. I selected a giant-sized blade from a field and packed it in my travel bag as a souvenir. ‘Lady Nicotine’ and rural banks have dramatically transformed the lives of peasants in these parts and created many a rags-to-riches story. Tobacco auctions are a time for celebrations, fantastic food and drinks.

One had to watch out for deadly snakes and scorpions that abound here. It was frightful to find scorpions hiding between ledger sheets. Snakes sought to bury themselves under heaps of firewood or hay. The creepy-crawlies slithered into the branch at night, but the attendants nonchalantly picked them up with a long bamboo pole and deposited them in the safety of a bush.

A cobra always warmed itself near the branch generator during the winter but slithered away on sensing us. Peacocks and peahens made regular appearances. The nights turned magical with fireflies and glowworms lighting up trees and bushes. Jungle fowls that scampered through the thick foliage surprised us with their presence. Their small-sized eggs were rich in proteins, and I regularly ferried them to Bengaluru.

The Virajpet forest nearby was a favourite haunt. We escaped here on weekends to see elephants grazing in the wild. Branch attendants would get busy collecting elephant dung, which served as domestic fuel. The lake beside the branch would burst its banks during monsoon and submerge the road.

A rural posting, no doubt, comes with its trials and tribulations, but is nevertheless enjoyable, too.