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Holding her own
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INTERVIEW Ranjana Kumar, Vigilance Commissioner, on how she made her mark in a male-dominated world
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RIGHT CHOICES Ranjana Kumar
Breaking new ground is nothing new for Ranjana Kumar. Whether as the CMD of Indian Bank, which she turned around completely coming out with flying colours as the first woman to head a public sector bank or as Chairperson of NABARD or in her current a
ssignment as Vigilance Commissioner, Government of India, she has always made a mark in a world that is still male dominated.
“I am not a super person. I am just an average woman who prioritised her choices,” she says.
NABARD’s success
Looking back at how microfinance (NABARD did a lot of work in this area) changed the lives of rural women she says “The self-esteem and confidence generated is amazing. But there were apprehensions in the minds of men about what would happen if their wives went into business and whether they would be neglected. Pardon me for saying this but this happens among the educated classes too. The concerns of women are the same everywhere — that the children should be raised well and the husband should be in the best of health. The challenge is to balance the two having a financial income and not be seen as someone who neglected her family.”
Cutting to the present day when life for the urban working woman is tough without the support of the joint family which has often forced them to opt out of marriage or put off starting a family she remarks that “its not a very good development. Some kind of assistance is necessary from the extended family but it should not come in the way of their lives. More often than not its not a conflict between the in-laws and the couple but one between the couple themselves. Both partners will have to make some sacrifices — often one person a little more. Some goodies have to be given up like taking leave only when someone is unwell and not for one’s relaxation. Marriage can never be taken for granted — this is what I have learnt in my life. You should keep contributing to cementing this relationship and you must do it happily.”
A long distance marriage was also part of Ranjana’s life.
“For a large part of our marriage my spouse and I have been living separately. Now you have all these low cost airlines which are a boon for such couples. Distance never came in the way. It just needed to be attended to much more. I hardly socialised... If in the course of my work I had to, then yes. I didn’t look at as a sacrifice. I would rather spend my time writing a letter or picking up something my children would like.”
Do some working women hit the peak in their careers a little late because of the home-family balancing act?
“They must decide how far they would like to go. Look at me I am 62 now.”
SUDHA UMASHANKER
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Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Mangalore
Puducherry
Tiruchirapalli
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
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