General Secretary
The sporty Indio
As the title implies, the introduction of Com Balachandra P M, General Secretary of All India Union Bank Officers Federation is sketchy and patchy without sports. The life of Com Balachandra P M, fondly called as “Bala” is quite covered in the famous quote of Fred DeVito “If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you”.
Challenges are great opportunities in disguise and without challenges there won’t be any opportunity to evolve. “Bala”, a trade unionist, the leader of bank officers trade union movement is a candid and pious soul on the surface, but a valiant & spirited sportsman inside. In his words, the challenges & obstacles posed by his sports life has shaped a daring trade unionist in him. Bala was borne in Mangalore, a coastal city located between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats mountain range of Karnataka, India. Mangalore, the land of mesmerizing & amazing beaches is famous for diverse culture & challenging sea sports. He was born on 10- March 1965 to Late Dr. K.R. Nambiar and Late. Smt. Shantha. R. Nambiar, as their only son.
“Being unique is better than being perfect” was a quote that inspired him the most in maintaining an individuality own his own. During his academic journey he developed a passion for sports & was inclined to games & athletics which gradually turned to power lifting and weightlifting arena, and the journey of a successful sportsman was flagged off. With his commitment and dedication, he broke the junior national record of Power lifting at the age of 19, in his very first National power lifting meet. He truly and sincerely believed in the philosophy that the body achieves whatever the mind believes. He worked on his mind as much as he worked on his body. Bala is a social being who is happier & better when connected to people. He considers his friends as his second family. And obviously he is blessed with a huge friend circle in his trade union life & his personal life. The apt & opportune motivations from his friends abetted him to achieve all his desired results. He started his professional career when he was recruited by Union Bank of India in Sports Quota and he joined his banking service as a clerk in the Mangalore Main Branch on 1986.
Union Bank of India constantly supported and extended him all the facilities for the entire sports career acknowledging his outstanding performance. He was religiously doing his workouts and sports practice for 6 hours a day for which the bank permitted a staggered time for his service. With his hard work & dedication he won multiple medals in the State, National & International championships, Bank Sports board, Interbank competition, Bank Olympiad etc. Because of his remarkable performance, both in his banking career & sports bank promoted him as Asst. Manager. On his promotion Bala moved to Bangalore in 1994, the garden City of India. Unfortunately, on August 1998, he had a major knee injury attempting a lift in the Inter bank championships held at Mumbai. This was a selection trails for National Championships of 1998. Though he was physically hurt and was bedridden for 6 months, Bank supported him significantly. Along with the support of his friends and with his untiring willpower, he could repeat the same performance after the major accident & he continued his sports career till 2008 bringing laurels to the bank, an indefatigable journey with courage & perseverance for a continuous 25 years from 1983 to 2008. Bala has represented all the category viz Junior, Senior and Master in his sports career. His achievements are substantial to the Bank sports field. He has represented the country and secured medal even in Asian and World Powerlifting Championships. He was a Qualified National judge in the field of Powerlifting too. Like in sports, he keeps his goal and focuses sharp to meet the Branch Targets also.
In Banking, he is a good performer and a team player. He leads his team and support them to meet up to the expectations of the bank. As a Branch Head his commitment and teamwork were exuberant that he met all the set targets in Shimoga, Union Loan Point, Rajajinagar and RT Nagar branches. After he was elected as the General Secretary of Karnataka Unit, he moved to Service Branch, Bangalore as the Branch Head. He, and his team discharged a good service to meet the branch expectations and also the customer expectations. Currently he is posted at CMS Branch Bangalore. He believes that the people whom you choose to surround you makes all the difference. He is lucky to be connected with many seniors and peers from the Bank. Mr. Ravi Shetty, who was our bank officer and a sportsman, ignited the idea to get Bala into the trade union movement for the his transparent, daring and administration capabilities. Com. Harish Padiyar, the pioneer leader & the then General Secretary of Karnataka Unit accepted Bala to the trade union world and started grooming him as his successor. Bala’s attitude to be a team man dovetailed with his commitment and dedication, rendered him a distinguished personality, pitching into the hands of Com.Debasis Ghosh, the former General Secretary of AIUBOF and Former President of AIBOC. He believes that “Dada” is a true mentor & guide who had the vision to accept the qualities in Bala. On May 12th, 2019, at Pune Bala was unanimously selected as a President of All India Union Bank Officer’s federation. On December 28th, 2019, at Delhi he was elected as a General Secretary of our federation as a successor of Com. Debasis Ghosh. As there is a saying, think less and live more, talk less and do more, love less and care more so that the life is always beautiful. Com Balachandra PM is a man who literally preach and practice this all through his journey so far.