Check out 16 Return-To-Work Programs In India For Ambitious Women Like You!
This was one of the lines of a lesson in our English textbook in my class 7 or 8, which was written by Stephen Leacock (I think the title of the piece was ‘My Financial Career’). The short story talked about the author wanting to open an account in a bank, goofing up big time and ultimately deciding to save his silver in a sock at home.
Ever since I read the story, I have been fascinated by it…I wonder how, how exactly the author could take away MY story and put his own name on it 😉
Trust me, at the age of 28, everything in a bank/ life insurance office/ loan office, etc RATTLES me…I just can’t think straight! When I was in college, I used to help out ma and pa with their banking in terms of giving the PPF or withdrawing some cash (ATM cards were still not used at our household!) or perhaps getting the pass book updated (The elderly relatives still don’t trust the internet for banking!)
Anyways..so I used to find some excuse to take my cousin along and so my work used to be done..because she was her father’s daughter (my mama‘s daughter) and knew exactly what to do in a bank. I would just pretend to be the six-month-elder-to-her sister and act as if I WAS taking her everywhere…
Soon I got married…married into a family where handling finances is their middle name. My FIL, SIL, hubby and MIL..all of them are pros…well so that was to my advantage because whenever hubby would wear out his patience, FIL came to my rescue, explaining things to me….
I am zero at banking or handling finances…in a lot of responses to IHM’s tag, I have noticed the ladies reporting to be the financial experts of the house..well not me..I live up to my gender expectations..I am a big ZERO in finances, money management, or even counting money.
I have the unique record of counting and recounting and re-re counting Rs. 10,000 in 100 rupees notes for almost half an hour in front of the teller, while he made me stand aside and got done with about 10 customers in that time :(:(
I definitely get rattled in a bank or an insurance office. Ask me to go fight the tigers, I will do it, but facing a banker..nah, never!Either I forget why I went there, or I fill up the wrong form or ask for the wrong information, or just sit tongue tied in front of the ‘personal banker’ wondering why the hell did I come here in the first place. Whether it’s opening a new account, asking for updates on the phone, changing my mode of premium payment or just simply even opening my locker, I tend to goof up and its big time goof up..
90% of the times, my hubby does the work of calling up the call centres and asking for the relevant info..but at times when I have to do it, he actually holds up placards to prompt me the next answer correctly!!! and I tend to make MISTAKES despite that…
I get unnerved, don’t ask me why….it just scares the hell out of me. I tend to forget important documents (Hubby is always always ready with a check list when I have to go on my own somewhere related to money or finance or premium), or I forget to ask the most important question in the entire conversation..or just simply get into the wrong office! (yes I have done that as well….)
I so agree to Stephen Leacock when he says ‘Everything in a bank rattles me.’ It does…totally does..only in my case it includes banks, financial institutions, loan offices, insurance offices…well the list goes on…just give me a pair of good socks this Christmas..you know what I will use it for!
R’s Mom is a working mother in Mumbai trying to balance work, home and baby. Learning the ropes of new motherhood and wanting to spend more time with baby. Running to catch up with read more...
Stay updated with our Weekly Newsletter or Daily Summary - or both!
Neena was the sole caregiver of Amma and though one would think that Amma was dependent on her, Neena felt otherwise.
Neena inhaled the aroma that emanated from the pan and took a deep breath. The aroma of cumin interspersed with butter transported her back to the modest kitchen in her native village. She could picture her father standing in the kitchen wearing his white crisp kurta as he made delectable concoctions for his only daughter.
Neena grew up in a home where both her parents worked together in tandem to keep the house up and running. She had a blissful childhood in her modest two-room house. The house was small but every nook and cranny gave her memories of a lifetime. Neena’s young heart imagined that her life would follow the same cheerful course. But how wrong she was!
When she was sixteen, the catastrophic clutches of destiny snatched away her parents. They passed away in a road accident and Neena was devastated. Relatives thronged her now gloomy house and soon it was decided that she should be married off.
Being a writer, Nivedita Louis recognises the struggles of a first-time woman writer and helps many articulate their voice with development, content edits as a publisher.
“I usually write during night”, says author Nivedita Louis during our conversation. Chuckling she continues,” It’s easier then to focus solely on writing. Nivedita Louis is a writer, with varied interests and one of the founders of Her Stories, a feminist publishing house, based in Chennai.
In a candid conversation she shared her journey from small-town Tamil Nadu to becoming a history buff, an award-winning author and now a publisher.
Nivedita was born and raised in a small town in Tamil Nadu. It was for schooling that she first arrived in Chennai. Then known as Madras, she recalls being awed by the city. Her love-story with the city, its people and thus began which continues till date. She credits her perseverance and passion to make a difference to her days as a vocational student among the elite sections of Madras.
Please enter your email address