Valued beyond money

Passbooks seem to have come up against a wall due to ATM cards, but there is nothing plastic about them.

In fact, in dog-eared passbooks scribbles and squiggles are an asset. Apart from money, they contain an account of one’s hard work, patience and foresight. A mere look at them is quite reassuring. This I came to know in my school days. A teacher who was in charge of our class would ask us (me and her son, who was in the same class) whenever she wanted to deposit money in the bank. We would take a wad of notes, duly counted, and the passbook, and march to the bank in a free period. Since the bank was nearby, we would return soon. On seeing us, she would invariably ask: “Where’s the passbook?” Then she would stop knitting, and get lost in her world, thumbing through the passbook. She would spend time on her calculations, sometimes reflecting a sense of gain, sometimes displaying a sense of loss.

Was her obsession with the passbook wrong? It wasn’t. In our small worlds, this booklet occupies a big space. I realised this in Jammu, where I had taken a personal loan. Since I kept increasing my EMI regularly, I was always curious to know the balance. But I wasn’t given any passbook. So I had to keep making enquiries.

That’s not the only time I was troubled for the want of a passbook. Once I rummaged through my father’s documents, looked for a passbook in the entire house, but couldn’t find it. Then I called the bank manager. “What’s the account number?” he asked. “I don’t remember,” I said. Since he was known to our family, he assured me that he would help me out.