Black Money!

Our bank finally had some cash, so we got our hands on some old used dirty looking 100 rupee notes.

Looking at the soiled notes, Aloka (having heard her agitated mom going on and on about the issue for the last 2 days) turns to me and says "Is this black money mom?".

We laughed for a good five minutes, confusing the poor kid even more.

Parallel Universe!

Part 1: 

What are educated Modi fans reading that is so different from what I am reading? What are they seeing in their cities and towns that is so different from what I am seeing? What life experiences makes people spew words like "slight inconvenience" and "nation building" in the face of this totally bungled unplanned operation?

We must be living in parallel universes.

Part 2:
Honestly, I try to read what the people, who believe the whole demonetization thing is right, share. I try.

There are these articles on the deep profound progressive thought behind the act, which will result in the betterment of everyone finally. I read these articles with an open mind that is willing to believe that there is something profound that I, as a layperson, am missing. After all, I am no economist.

But then, I am jolted by a stronger thought that does not require me to be an economist, but just a sensitive kind human being, which I am sure I am.

Deep profound acts require deep profound minds to have thought them up. Can I believe that of the current government? In the face of the cruel jokes and farcical PR dramas and total lack of empathy for the pain faced by our people, can I believe that there is something profound at the back of it all?

No, I can't. Sorry I can't.

Tales from a Parallel Universe!

Once again, it's me with another WTF post from a parallel universe.

Local taxi drivers have no business. People are avoiding going anywhere unessential. Those who must take a cab have only 2000 rupee notes. No change for the transaction. So, no business.

Simple hard working people being hit badly. Yeh rozi roti ka sawaal hai bhai. Thoda soch liya hota.

Kanto's Problem!

I woke up this morning to some loud noises coming from downstairs. It was our gardner, a 70 year-old hard working man, talking to my mom and cursing the great man. Our gardner is hard of hearing and talks rather loudly, so I could hear it all. I will spare you all the details of what he said about our great PM because that's not the point of this post.

His son got married on the 8th, and he hasn't been able to pay the village folks who cooked the dhaam food, played the band, and put up tents etc. He owes 40k to them but has no way to pay them. They, in turn owe money to their staff and shopkeepers from who they arranged the supplies.

The entire fabric of rural India is based on cash. My gardner can't write them a check, assuming he has a bank account and a check book and finds someone to help him write a check, because many of those he owes money to don't have bank accounts. Everyone needs to work on their small farms right now to grow their wheat crop and don't have time to stand in bank queues to open accounts, or deposit checks, and navigate the system- just to withdraw small sums of money everyday.

It is the person at the very bottom of the chain who is most distressed and in pain.

Point to note- I stayed upstairs and did not influence or incite him. I didn't have to. The system is doing that just fine.

Have you tried operating an ATM in another language?

Have you tried operating an ATM in another language? 

In Singapore once at an ATM, I selected Malay as my language by mistake. Despite having used that ATM a thousand times, despite the language being readable due to the familiar script, I froze. I cancelled the transaction hurriedly and logged in again in English.

Now can you imagine having to operate an ATM when you can't read any language? Empathise empathise. Please.

Sheer Exploitation

This morning, I stopped at the construction site near our house and asked a few workers standing on the first floor of a new apartment building if they were all okay. They grinned and said no salary all month. I asked how they were managing and they said that the contractor gave them "kharcha" (expenses) so they were not starving.

The contractor gave them 2000 rupees for the entire month and have been eating with that. But no money has been sent home because the money is enough just for their subsistence.

Each person earns 300 rupees daily. So, they have received about a fifth of what they are owed. Can you imagine receiving a fifth of your salary any month? Will you accept it without a fight, in the name of patriotism?

That they still smile and continue to work is not an expression of their desh bhakti, but of years of oppression and helplessness, and consequent resignation to their fate. It is also a result of their lack of understanding of their basic human rights. The unorganized sector is unorganized. They have no unions or leaders to speak for them.

This is sheer exploitation. Not by their contractor, who is a mere pawn too, but by the government and its supporters.

What are you Doing beside Complaining?

I wrote this in response to some comments- almost directly to those people, but some people think it is self praise. I am embarrassed if it appears like self praise. That is not the purpose.

Quite a few people have asked me what I am doing to help the poor whose suffering I keep writing about. What is the big deal in going on and on about the issue and criticizing the govt and spewing negativity. Let me answer that.

• First of all, I am writing about those who are invisible and insignificant to most. Giving a voice to the voiceless is a big deal.
• By sharing what I see, I am showing the insulated what is invisible to them. Showing someone what they can't otherwise see is a big deal.
• I am not just forwarding what I read. I am writing original stuff too. I am a writer. Try being that. It is a big deal.
• To write, I engage with the village folks. I enter their houses and they enter mine. I am breaking barriers of class that have existed for a long time. It is a big deal.
• In engaging with them as fellow human beings, I am living my principles of equality and dignity for all human beings. No lip service but actual action. It is not a big deal for me for I am like that only, but try doing it yourself. It will be a big deal.
• If this is all too up in the air, and not concrete, here are some other things I have done since Nov 9th. I helped fill out forms for people standing in the bank queues. I lent money to those in crisis. I advised the uninformed about the ever changing rules. But most of all, I have taught village kids to be kind to each other and to empathise with the less fortunate, so that they won't ever have to ask anyone doing what I do "What's the big deal?".

Is that enough?