Free The Bankster (Ravi Subramanian) by Ravi Subramanian Page B

This was the first of many such instalments, meant to take care of the expenses incurred in educating villagers on the impact of the nuclear plant, mobilizing their support, transporting them to the protest rallies and managing politicians. Krishna’s hands were massively strengthened by the contribution from Jaya’s NGO.
    By the time the rally ended, amidst a mammoth gathering of the people of Devikulam, a protest for a clean life was re-ignited—the war against the nuclear plant intensified.

8
    GB2 Offices, Mumbai
    July–Sept. 2011
    Vikram forwarded the e-mail from Tanuja to all his cluster managers. It was a list of all the management trainees who had been allotted their respective branches. When Nikhil got the mail, he scanned the list from top to bottom, looking for one name. . .and there it was. . .at number eight, Zinaida Gomes— Bandra Cluster.
    ‘Yaaaay!’ he exulted softly. As per the mail, not only was Zinaida allocated to his cluster, she was posted to the Bandra Branch, right under his aegis. He had to share his excitement with Anand. Picking up the intercom, he dialled Anand’s number.
    ‘Yaar, she is going to be in our cluster!’
    ‘Who, boss?’
    ‘Zinaida, you dickhead. She has been allocated our cluster.’
    ‘Wowwww. That’s wonderful. Is she the only one, or there are others too, boss?’
    Nikhil suddenly realized he was so thrilled about Zinaida’s allocation he hadn’t even bothered to scan the list for other names. ‘Wait. . .wait.’ After a long pause during which he reopened the email from Vikram, he replied, ‘One more. . .some idiot from Rajasthan called Kalyan Rathore.’
    ‘Great. So two of them.’
    ‘Yes. And as per this list, both of them have been allocated to you. Let’s plan Zinaida’s role. I will talk to you in the evening.’ Nikhil hung up. He suddenly realized he was too excited about Zinaida’s assignment, a fact that he had revealed to his subordinate. Anand, when he hung up, wore a wicked smile. ‘It’s always nice if the boss likes someone from your team. You can use them to get things done,’ he said to himself, as he stepped out of his cabin and headed to the restroom. He splashed some water on his face, combed his hair, tucked in his shirt and walked out of the branch. He was getting late for a call.
    The meeting was in Taj Lands End, a favourite venue for all Bandra branch meetings, primarily on account of its proximity. It was a mere ten-minute drive from the branch and was the only five-star hotel in the vicinity. Anand was meeting the accounts officer of the US Embassy in India. Harshita Lele, his relationship manager who handled all the large value accounts of the branch, was keeping him company. Vidur Jagtiani, Nikhil’s counterpart for the South Mumbai Cluster, had set up the meeting. He was to accompany them, but something had come up. Everyone these days has started behaving like Vikram , thought Anand, when Vidur’s secretary called to convey that Vidur was stuck at work.
    Three Americans were waiting for them; Harshita identified them the moment they walked into the lobby of Taj Lands End. She had met one of them earlier.
    ‘Good afternoon, gentlemen,’ said Anand, slipping out a visiting card from his shirt pocket and handing it over. ‘I run the Bandra Branch of Greater Boston Global Bank.’
    ‘Very good afternoon.’ The American held his card with both his hands and handed it over with the slightest bow. Anand looked at the card that read ‘Tim Cook, Director, Financial Control’. ‘Meet my team,’ he continued and introduced the other two. They were inconsequential, a fact Anand figured out when neither of them made an attempt to hand over their visiting cards to him. Tim was the one driving the discussion.
    ‘As you are aware, we currently have all our accounts with your bank in South Mumbai. In the next sixty days we will be shifting our consulate from Breach Candy to Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC). Have you seen our new