Greener Pastures

Some thoughts never fade away. I remember when I joined the Bank in the early 70s, one of the problems I faced was that I turned out to be underweight. The Doctor recommended re-examination after 3 months. I was told that failing to show improvement in weight would result in postponing confirmation in service and in extreme case, termination of service. The golden rule in this case was the decision of the Bank's Doctor was final.

To improve the weight, friends and colleagues suggested many easy tricks. Sum and substance of most the advice was to eat and eat more, which anyway, I was doing. But the other part of advice, that of doing exercise was not in my agenda, except running for the local train and bus and walking the distance from the station to the office. This last leg of journey daily would often result in a run, as most of the days, either the train was late, or if the train was on time, I happened to be late. Other than this running for train and brisk walking to reach office in time, I was not doing any exercise worth mentioning.

Bank would have allowed even medicines to improve the health, but I was generally averse to take any medicines, as in those days, I saw a doctor only when I could not postpone the visit any further.

On re-examination of my weight, after 3 months, it did not register any significant improvement, and doctor again recommended re-test after 3 months. Most of my colleagues had passed the medical test even at the first time itself and those who were unsuccessful cleared the same by the second chance. I was little worried to receive the note staying that I need to be examined again after 3 months. This time some of my colleagues came with more suggestions.

Someone suggested that I go for a Insurance policy through the assistant to the Doctor, as it was the Assistant who recorded the weight. He had an agency in his wife's name and he could get many insured from the Bank itself, looking at the number of such underweight candidates. Another suggestion was to go for drinking many glasses of water and eating bananas. I decided to go for this suggestion. I remember one of my uncle had told the same thing in a different context to my grandmother when she asked for some financial support to tide over a difficult time.

The time was after the Government implemented the policy of land for the tillers and those who were not farming the land like us; suddenly found that they have no grain to feed themselves, as people stopped parting the agreed share of the produce to the landlord of their produce. We were a large family of nine people, including one uncle, one cousin sister and we three brothers, two sisters and mother and grandmother. My grandmother had the responsibility of finding where withheld for the meals and that was the reason, she met this particular uncle, who while declining to part with any amount of money, advised us to drink water and tighten our belts. My grandmother stoically took the advice but many times she said that we the children will one day earn enough and take care of the needs.

Coming back to the medical test, I did not register the required weight, even after consuming half a dozen bananas, the third time around. That had only one effect, that of increasing my cold, as it was during winter time. As it is, I am allergic to cold and eating so many bananas, worsened my condition for one week. I decided never to go for such gimmicks. I passed the medical test at the fourth attempt, registering a slight increase in my weight and the Doctor must have hesitantly decided not to recommend a further examination, after three months.

But my problem did not end there. I gradually put on weight and now I can say that by the time I turned forty, I had a paunch and I was overweight, by the same standard set by the said doctor. And now my worry is the increasing weight and perpetual cold.