“Amma, Amma,
aiyo, aiyo, my money is worthless! I was looking from the kitchen while you
were watching the news on TV and I could understand what that PM saar was
telling. What Amma, from midnight our Rs.500 and Rs.1000 notes will not be
accepted anymore? Amma, what to do? I have been keeping only these big notes in
my cupboard to make one nice Fixed Deposit soon. You know this is my practice.
You told I must save. I like to do it my way. To collect the cash for many
months, and then keep in one Fixed Deposit Receipt Amma. Before that I like to
count my money every time Amma. I like the touch. Then only I feel some safety!”
Restoring my
veteran care giver elderly housekeeper’s peace and tranquility was a herculean
task as I had to explain to her the whole reason behind the diktat, assuring
her money was still legal tender, could be exchanged or could be deposited just
as she’d planned earlier. However it was hard to assuage her anxiety and
persuade her to avoid rushing to the Bank the following day. Somehow I
convinced her to wait instead for at least a fortnight for the situation to
settle, and then solve her own issues tranquilly when the staff would recover
from the onslaught, find sufficient time to deal with her needs, hopefully having
recouped their depleted energy and equanimity from the inevitable stress and
demands they would have faced through the exchange exercise.
I can share
that my heart slipped many beats too and landed me in a panicky state when I
heard the declaration. This, due to being aged and disabled having accumulated as
a ‘security blanket’ to expend on exigencies, some considerable higher
denomination ‘moolah’ myself; as also
taking into account that I am a ‘once a month’ user of bank service, a non user
of plastic cards and significantly because the Bank has long ago stopped
dispensing smaller denomination currency notes. Thoughts as to how to tackle
the situation plagued me immediately, owing to my circumstances of lack of both
ability and mobility, as I knew there was no fear ahead but only a looming
logistics jam to face, which would entail many trips to the bank owing to the
limit imposed on withdrawals and exchanges per day. Problematic for people in my plight as with
the daily wage earners and poor uneducated non bank account holders that are
countless lakhs…
However what
cannot be cured for those who are law abiding, must be endured for the sake of
ridding our economy of black money deviously disappeared or bundled up galore
in places and spaces we’d never imagine existed! I hail the move if it all
tumbles out as expected. Trust our own efforts made at great inconvenience to
our bankers and to ourselves, to get our bits and pieces replaced with ‘crisp’
replacements go not in vain as we comply with the Prime Minister’s Exchange
Bucket Challenge aka black money
eradication surgical strike…
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