I am caught in dilemma. Some times I feel that I have nothing much to write or say. Some times I feel I have plenty of things to enumerate for the sake of fun, personal satisfaction or for the benefit of few who read my blog. After all I lived quite few years in this world of jugglery . As a hobby I usually inspect the back cover of any book I read or lay my hands upon . It so happens that I end up knowing the publisher, place and price and business paradigm of printing and publishing that book. Barring small pocket sized books of spiritual nature which carry no price tag and their price often is quoted as "Amulyam" (Priceless) it is the case with many.
My book in hands has already attained an old manuscript status by turning brown and brittle with small holes devoured by insects, indicating careless handling of pages would ring it's death knell.My eyes blurred at once looking at it's price. The book's price was humble Rs 1.50 NP. Were there any day in the past where a printed book of 100 pages would cost just a rupee and odd? I don't find anything worth buying in the market except Cadbury Eclair for Rs 1 as on this day. Even beggars are unhappy to receive a coin of one Re. now a days. Many old timers take a flight to their days when asked to compare the prevailing market rates with old time prices. All look like fables to the children imagining a chocolate full of box for just Rs.5 and a cream biscuit packet selling for just 25 paise or 50 paise. I could not help flying to my times when I saw that book. It took me to recall my olden days when annas were just then transforming to NPs, miles into kilometers.
I was just in the primary school when my grandmother chose to present me with "Papidipinde" ( an ornament which adorns middle path of hair) as I was one of her countless grandchildren. Each one got some thing or other as a gift by way of money or gold ornament. My mother inspected all the twenty gold shops in the town with hefty amount of hundred and fifty rupees in her hand in the town to select one "Papidipinde". Yielding no result finally it was made to order. My mother's friends banged their chest looking at the price of Rs, 130 per sovereign( 8 gms.)
What were those days like ? I really wonder. To day we are emptying gunny bags to buy an ornament with gold hoovering around Rs. 31000/- per one tola( 10 grams).
Though I never frequented shops for consumables I remember Rice being sold for Re.1 per kilo and edible oil for less than a rupee per KG. But all that was not heaven. How much an average individual was earning ? Pathetically it was hundred or it was less than hundred sometimes. Tiled houses were yielding rent of twenty rupees a month and single storied building not more than Rs 40 a month, portions being half of that rent. I knew all of it not surprisingly.
Rice rose to Rs.5 when my children were growing up and shot up to Rs. 25 in no time. Veggies which were sold Rs 3 to 7 in the wake of millennium are being sold for 50 or 70 now. It took them thirty or forty years to reach double digit but no time to change the fore digit with a gallop. Certainly this shoot up is not in correlation with incomes. The more they go up the more people are in search of an extra buck often leading to unethical earning and restructuring familial responsibilities and bonds.
While double digit inflation is hitting every day people's life it effects the governments the least. Criminals and their collaborators get a fine Rs 3000 for a rape and a million dollar scammer is made to pay paltry Rs 50000 fine. Rs 100 for jumping the signal Rs 200 for parking in no parking zone . Unofficial hundred bucks for driving without licence and zero for not knowing driving despite licence. While enforcement is the big problem low penalties are still bigger problems. When a coffee sells Rs. 50 who is afraid to throw couple of thousands for violations ? I have not seen any one getting imprisoned for 30 or 40 years for any sort of crime in India, albeit funnily our govt. claims David Hardly's 40 years imprisonment was less. Collect Rs 2000 for signal jumping and 5000 rupees for wrong parking half the traffic problems are solved. When banks are increasing their service charges proportionately why govt stumbles to keep pace with the flaring inflation? A big question in my mind peeps. How much they would have collected for signal jumping in those days? One anna? Were there signals in those days in the first place? How much would be for wrong parking? What parking? How many cars were there on the roads? I still remember roads are lone privilege of people, the only other intruders being rikshas, but car was a rare specimen. What a heaven it was really with no emissions, honking, and pollution, road being exclusive property of humans and cattle !!
No comments:
Post a Comment