The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Bank officers' association celebrates silver jubilee

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Oct 14, 2005

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Bank officers' association celebrates silver jubilee

Staff Reporter

H.S. Krishnaswamy Iyengar, a founder, felicitated

BANGALORE: As the State Bank of India crossed the 200-year milestone this year it coincided with the silver jubilee of the SBI Officers' Association of Karnataka.

Celebrating the landmark occasion, the association on Thursday felicitated H.S. Krishnaswamy Iyengar, one of its founding fathers, who is today better known as a columnist and writer, apart from being a repository of Kannada culture.

Milestones

SBI Chief General Manager R. Sreedharan, who was the guest of honour, said there are two more milestones that the association could be proud of the Hubli module of the bank has crossed the Rs. 5,000-crore mark, while the Bangalore circle has touched the Rs. 20,000-crore mark in turnover.

Memories recalled

Mr. Iyengar, who was one of the moving spirits behind the creation of the association after it was hived off the parent body headquartered in Chennai so that SBI branches in Karnataka could form their own association, and promote Kannada, went down memory lane to the Vijayadashami Day in 1980.

"It had seemed like a daring thing to do, and many people were angry that the bank's officers were being divided on the basis of language. But I am happy that the management soon realised that this was about emotional and cultural bonding, and since then, it has actively encouraged and promoted the use of the regional language among the staff."

Coming from a State that has given us seven Jnanpith awardees, Mr. Iyengar said, it has been great to see officers dispense a bit of culture and all the fine things that Kannada stands for, while managing money for its customers.

The association is involved in many social activities, and to mark the silver jubilee, many activities were conducted. Schools were adopted, homes for the aged and institutions were given support, and over Rs. 5 lakhs was spent on all these activities.

Formation of association

Association president G.D. Nadaf and general secretary Shantaraju spoke, recalling the days when plans were drawn up to create their organisation to look after the interests of the officers and to help deliver services effectively.

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