39 years. Countless cities. One incredible journey.

June 2026

As I enter the last leg of my service of one more year to go for retirement, I pause to celebrate a milestone close to my heart, the completion of 39 wonderful years with the Bank. Not with a sense of ending, but with a heart full of gratitude and a soul rich with memories.

They say a career is what you do. I say, a career is who you become.

Over these 39 years, I didn't just work across this great nation. I lived it. From the bustling lanes of Kanpur to the never-sleeping streets of Mumbai, from the sun-soaked south to quiet small towns, every transfer was not a disruption. It was a discovery.

I have woken up to chai in the heartland of UP and filter coffee in the south. I have been swept up by the relentless energy of Mumbai — a city that never lets you slow down, never lets you give up. I have celebrated Holi in Kanpur, Pongal in Tamil Nadu, Ugadi in Andhra Pradesh, Navratri in Gujarat, and Durga Puja in Bengal. Each city, each culture, each person left a mark that no transfer order could ever erase.

But the journey was not always glorious.

There were postings I didn't choose. Moments of self-doubt no appraisal ever captured. There was ignominy that stung, and glory that humbled. There were failures - real ones, painful ones.

But they never bogged me down.

Every stumble became a stepping stone. Every setback, a setup for a stronger comeback. I learned early that it is not the failure that defines you — it is how swiftly and gracefully you rise from it.

To our visionary Founder Sir Sorabji Pochkanawala — your values were the compass I never lost.
To my respected Seniors — you shaped me far beyond the job.
To my dear Colleagues — you made every city feel like home.

Completing 39 years is not my achievement alone. It belongs to every person who stood by me — in the good times and the hard ones, in the moments of glory and in the shadow of failure.

The best journeys don't end — they transform.

India taught me banking. But Banking taught me India.

Grateful for every mile. Humbled by every lesson. Proud of every scar.

First posted on LinkedIn.