Pious Indians bank on holy deposits

y Alka Pande – Fri May 6

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – In a bank with no security gates, guards or locks, deposits from thousands of customers from across India are stacked on shelves, protected from theft by the grace of God.

In a cramped room in a small house in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, Ram Ram Bank offers no interest or loans, but has around 5,000 customers who flock to deposit documents bearing God's name.

"There is no need for security as there is no fear of any theft," said Lovelesh Tewari, who founded the bank 25 years ago.

"People feel better by writing God's name as it becomes a medium to release their pent up frustrations and eventually the faith makes them work toward their goals."
The bank's customers scribble "Ram," the protagonist in the Indian mythological epic Ramayana, on pieces of paper as many as 100,000 times and deposit them in the bank. Ram is also known as Rama.

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