The Last Entry into My Fathers Bank Passbook

Account This last photo was taken by a Proffessional photographer of  Russian origin specially invited for family shoot in 1994.

As I continued sifting through old papers and documents for my blog, I spent more time examining my father’s Punjab National Bank passbook. He had maintained this account since the 1950s, and every entry seemed to tell a story of a different phase of his life.

When he shifted from Panipat to Jangpura, Delhi, he transferred his account to the Punjab National Bank’s Jangpura branch. The passbook faithfully recorded decades of his financial life, but one particular entry touched me deeply.

 My father’s last transaction with his bank Account.

He himself went to the Bank Branch and self withdrew ₹10,000 before leaving for USA. Just before leaving for the United States in February 1991, my father visited the bank and withdrew  ₹10,000. Around ₹6,039.56 remained in the account, perhaps with the intention of using it later. Looking at that transaction today, I realized that it was probably the last banking transaction he ever carried out in India and perhaps the last one of his life.

fortune On his last trip to his farms, my father takes a breather right in the middle of fully ripe crop ready for harvesting.

On watching my father walking proudly through his lush, productive fields, my sister Bhagwant smiled and remarked, “Papa Ji, you become a young man again whenever you walk through your fields full of crops.” His face would light up with pride, and his energy seemed to return, as if the land itself gave him new life.

Within three or four weeks of arriving in America, he developed a severe urinary infection that led to urinary retention. Since he had no medical insurance at the time, my in-laws took great care of him and admitted him to the local hospital. As soon as I learned of his condition, I rushed to America by myself to be with him and help care for him in the hospital. 

The urgent journey became a turning point in my own life. I left behind my Senior Class I officers position with the Government of India, never to return. In doing so, I knowingly gave up the security of my government service benefits, including a lifelong family pension, gratuity, and life time  medical insurance for me and Harvinder. It was one of the most significant and difficult decisions of my life, but at that moment, my father's health and family needs came before everything else. However, destiny had a for greater fortune in store for me 

Harvinder and our son, Shivpreet, joined me a little later after he had completed some important school commitments.

As I held that old passbook in my hands, it ceased to be merely a financial record. It became the final chapter of my father’s journey in India, a silent witness to his last preparations before embarking on the voyage that would take him to a new country and, unknowingly, into the final phase of his life.

Sometimes, an old passbook preserves far more than numbers. It safeguards memories, milestones, and emotions that remain alive long after the transactions themselves have ended.

A Precious Discovery from My Fathers Hand

​Me and My father in 1957

Yesterday, while cleaning my old office steel Cabinet where I had kept many of my important official papers over the years, I came across a treasure I had completely forgotten about.

Most of the old visiting cards and outdated papers had outlived their purpose, so they were discarded. The cabinet was thoroughly cleaned and handed over to Gobind, who wanted a safe place to preserve his university textbooks, mathematics books, homework, drafts, and working papers for future reference.

At the same time, Shivpreet was reorganizing his own growing collection of books. Being an avid reader, he is constantly adding to his library, along with several beautiful coffee-table books that had accumulated in our family room. Harvinder gently reminded us that the collection had become too large and was making the house look cluttered. It was time to organize everything before future guests arrived.

As I continued sorting through old files, I found several forgotten bank passbooks. One by one, they brought back memories of banks where we once maintained accounts but had long since closed them; Syndicate Bank, Punjab National Bank, State Bank of India, and Punjab & Sind Bank etc.

Then came the real surprise.

My Dad also writes ‘Sital’ in brackets, being his birth name by the Pandit through Hindu mythology at the time of his birth. I am not able to decipher why he mentioned his birth name here.

Among them was an old Punjab National Bank passbook from our Jangpura branch. As I opened it, I found a beautiful handwritten reference note signed by my father, S. Vasdev Singh. In his neat handwriting, he had recorded a few important details like like Locker number 331 for me lest I forget it by my usual callousness.  Most touching of all, he had asked me to write down a specimen of my signature, reminding me that if I ever forgot my usual signature, the bank officials could create unnecessary problems if the signatures did not match. I had promptly stamped my signatures.

There, beside his own handwriting, was my specimen signature, carefully preserved.

Holding that document in my hands was an emotional moment. It was not merely a banking record; it was a father’s thoughtful guidance, preserved on paper. His concern for even such a small practical matter reflected the care with which he looked after every aspect of my life.

The note is dated 1981, almost half a century ago. Time has passed, banks have changed, and accounts have been closed, but my father’s handwriting has remained as fresh and meaningful as ever.

I am sure my siblings and their families will enjoy seeing this priceless little document. It is a simple piece of paper, yet it carries memories, affection, and a father’s blessings that no passage of time can erase.