Banking on sign language for cheques and balances in MP

Twenty-year-old Sharad Pande, who can neither speak nor hear, doesn’t have to struggle to operate his account at the Vijaynagar branch ...

Twenty-year-old Sharad Pande, who can neither speak nor hear, doesn’t have to struggle to operate his account at the Vijaynagar branch of Bank of India. The staff here have learnt the basics of sign language and are all out to help these special customers.

It began mere as an experiment with four savings accounts six months ago and the bank now has more than 50 customers, most of them students of a school run by Anand Service Society for the disadvantaged like Pande.

“All mothers initially use signs to communicate with their children. And I am a mother,’’ says Madhubala Mehta, an officer with the bank.

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“They (disabled) don’t repeat their mistakes and don’t push their way through demanding special attention like some normal customers do,’’ says cashier Prabha Marathe. While Marathe is learning more signs, her customers have learnt to operate the ATMs.

Mehta and Marathe are looking forward to attending a formal course at the school. They learnt the basics at the bank from Gyanendra Purohit, who runs the school along with his wife Monica.

There are times when a written word is needed for communication. “No bank was ready to entertain them so we decided to go the extra mile,’’ says branch manager S K Chaudhary.