UP bank where 'Ram Naam', not cash, is deposited

There is a bank where bags and bags of notebooks lie packed with words 'Shri Sita Ram' written into them. The sacred words are not only in Hindi or Sanskrit but also in Urdu and Arabic.

The International Shri Sita Ram Naam Bank in Mani Ram Ki Chhawni locality of Ayodhya offers no interest but promises full return on the day of judgment.

Established about 20 years ago, the devotees here deposit the name 'Shri Sita Ram' in red ink on the notebook provided free of cost by the bank.

The bank management claims that the number of notebooks deposited with them is in crores.

The notebooks are taken by the account holders who return after months or years to deposit the filled-in copies and take new ones.

The bank also offers a facility to send and receive copies by post from various destinations in India and abroad.

"Scribbling 'Shri Sita Ram' has always been a popular way of remembering the lord. One need not go to a temple. A businessman can do it sitting in his office, an office-goer can do it at his desk whenever he gets a break and a housewife can do it while doing her daily chores," said Mahant Ram Das, the chief priest of Nirmohi Akhara.

"We have deposits of 'Shri Sita Ram' in Urdu, Arabic, English, Gujarati and Marathi and the account-holders could be bureaucrats, businessmen, rickshaw-pullers, labourers, homemakers or social activists. They hail from all faiths. This bank has got branches in the US, Canada, Nepal, Poland and almost all states of India," said Mahant Punit Ram Das, manager of the bank.