Conference under Pipal Tree

In 1972 Shri Prakash Lal Tandon took over as Chairman of Punjab National Bank. He was a professional manager and had been chairman of Hindustan Lever Ltd and State Trading Corporation. He had been visiting professor of management to many international universities. 

He was tall guy with reddish complexion with hair swept back and curling at the ends at the back of his neck. He would walk briskly carrying his briefcase walk up the stairs to his cabin on second floor instead of taking a lift reserved for top executives.

While he settled down in his new job in pnb he unsettled the working of the bank! And for good. He gave a corporate look to the bank by having a logo, uniform pattern of branch layouts, re-organised head office into various functional divisions. 

Large number of transfers of executives took place. After several visits to the branches, he declared that bank needs managers with black hair not without hair or with white hair. This needed faster promotion policy which required discussions with unions etc.

He usually arrived in head office in a blue coloured Fiat car with extended ceiling. This car remained parked under the Pipal tree during the day. One morning he came out of the car immaculately dressed in whites and shiny black shoes. From the branch out came Comrade Gautam Dev Gupta Special Assistant. At that point of time Com Gupta was perhaps president of workmen union of Delhi. 

Both of them shook hands and started chatting. In contrast to Shri Tandon, Com. Gupta had a bit darker complexion, flowing black and silver beard with a jhola on his shoulder & leather chappal on his feet. 

The chatting went on for good twenty minutes. Meantime curious faces of branch staff were watching both the Chairman and the Special Assistant chatting under the Pipal tree. Though eager to know about the discussions, nobody disturbed them.

That was in 1973. Till my retirement in 2011 never saw such 'conference' of a CMD with a SA under the tree again!

That's where we meet