POETRY CORNER: A Witness to Courage

The Flag in the Snow — For the Employees of Jammu and Kashmir Bank

Khurshid Ahmad Akhoon

In valleys where winter writes
its verdict in white silence,
where mountains close their doors
for three long, breathless months —
there walks a banker.

Not merely an employee.
Not merely a name on a roster.
But a keeper of trust
in the farthest corners of hope.

I have seen them.

In Warwan, Marwah, Machail, of Kishtwar,
in the high ridges of Poonch,
across the frozen deserts of Ladakh,
through the silent villages of Kashmir,
and the scattered hamlets of Jammu —
where even survival hesitates,
they never did.

When snow buried roads in meters of silence,
when people migrated to safer lands,
when phones fell mute
and electricity surrendered to darkness —
one door remained open.

The door of Jammu and Kashmir Bank.

They left their homes
before dawn could gather courage,
cutting through snow with weary steps,
reaching office in time —
as if time itself waited for them.

No complaint.
No applause.
Only duty —
and something far greater than duty.

I have seen them cook in isolation,
wash hands in freezing streams,
light lamps against endless nights —
and then sit at their desks
balancing ledgers of resilience.

And still,
their annual reports asked gently ruthless questions —
How many cars financed?
How many deposits gathered?
How many housing loans sanctioned?

Numbers never knew
what those footsteps endured.

When militancy darkened the skies,
they reached office.
When floods swallowed streets,
they reached office.
When curfews silenced cities,
they reached office.

And when COVID turned human breath into fear,
when people fled from one another —
they walked towards responsibility.

I have seen border branches
where bullets stitched the air
and bombardment shook the ground —
but ATMs stayed alive,
services stayed breathing,
because someone chose courage over comfort.

I remember my own youth —
walking from Kandivali to Andheri
with water rising to my throat
in relentless Mumbai rains.
I remember walking from Ghata to Bhaderwah
through six feet of snow at nine in the morning —
alone,
because duty does not wait for company.

And I have seen the women of this institution —
rising before sunrise,
nurturing children,
caring for families,
completing endless household duties —
and then stepping into offices
to chase defaulters,
to build business,
to hold the institution steady.

Grace at home.
Strength at work.
Uncelebrated warriors.

This is not employment.
This is not service alone.
This is passion —
something above passion.

An oath unspoken,
a flag held high
not by fabric,
but by faith.

Through snow and storm,
through bullets and virus,
through isolation and evaluation —
they stood.

And as Cluster Head,
throughout my years of service,
I witnessed this truth:

In the remotest corners of our land,
where the state seems distant
and survival uncertain —
it is the employees of Jammu and Kashmir Bank
who keep hope operational.

Hats off to that spirit.
Hats off to that courage.

For in every snow-bound morning,
in every curfewed night,
in every silent, freezing branch —
there burns a quiet flame.

The passion of the employees
of Jammu and Kashmir Bank.

(STRAIGHT TALK COMMUNICATIONS EXCLUSIVE. The author is former Cluster Head at J&K Bank)