Love in the Time of Demonetisation
Mitron, I want to eliminate dishonesty.
The catch phrase that shook the nation off guard and jostled it into an overnight state of chaos.
Naturally the first thing I did was call my boyfriend. Chilling in my PJs, I was too shaken to be comfortable and too comfortable to be shaken to my feet.
“Hey! Have you seen the news yet? No 500s and 1000s”, I screeched in panic.
“Yes, I have. I am on my way to the nearest ATM.”
“Oh, I needed cash too but..”
“Don’t worry, I will withdraw for you!”, came the swift reply.
We’ve known each other for several years but what was to come were some of the best days of our relationship during the worst financial state of affairs in the country.
For one, my boyfriend always, ALWAYS took the effort of standing in long ATM lines for me. I swear, in the last 50 odd days I have visited an ATM only once. He’d promptly go every few days and withdraw for me as well, without my having to say a word. And the next thing you know, he’d be at my doorstep, spent from having stood in the line under the blazing sun for hours, clutching dearly the wads of notes he just withdrew.
I’d usher him in and offer to fix him a quick snack.
These were utterly romantic moments!
There were times he did it without me asking him to, which was quite sweet actually. I’d like to believe that love is understanding the unspoken, and that was precisely what was happening. I had various reasons to not make time to stand in an ATM line, like work timings or scary big lines or sheer bad luck. But he always made the time to do it for me, to ensure I didn’t have to go through an unpleasant experience.
Then we gradually moved to the 2000 note phase. You’d imagine the misery would reduce with the number of notes, but the lines stayed as long as ever. But what was worse was getting that single pink note exchanged for 100s. If you want to buy anything under even 300 bucks, good luck going anywhere with that note. You will be shooed away like cattle from vegetable carts.
And my man in shining armour would go again and fetch the change and would never tell me about the 7 stores he shifted before he got it or the many abuses that were hurled his way.
I don’t know if there was any specific reason why he made sure I didn’t have to do it. But he did, always, and that was heartwarming in more ways than one.
I had endless questions!
How do I pay for gas? How the hell am I supposed to run down and buy a kilo of onions from the roadside Aunty? What about paying for autos?
“Paytm Karo!”, he said matter-of-factly “I can’t believe you are this ignorant!”
And then with swiftness he took my “smart” phone and downloaded Paytm, installed Uber and showed me the wonderful world of online grocery shopping! (Let’s give you a little perspective okay? I am technologically challenged to a level where you’d wonder how I exist — I know! But I was doing just fine up until Modi decided to mess with my simple lifestyle.) We sat that evening and ordered all the things I thought my limited cash stash wouldn’t permit, including gas. Turns out gas guys accept Paytm! Groceries arrived the next day, I booked an Uber linked to my paytm account and even ordered food online! What a breeze!
I can tell you this, the patience with which he taught me technology to avoid monetary inconveniences was something alright! All my life I have survived with just necessary knowledge of technology (read Whatsapp, Facebook and Shazam). I have never felt the compulsion to know or learn beyond, nor did I think that day would be here this fast. I am also a fiercely independent woman and in all honesty, on all other days, I would not let him run these errands for me. But this helplessness at the time, did teach me to bank on him and that it was okay to do so once in a way. He was not in the least bitter about it. And even though I know I could have figured this out myself, it was nice to have him right beside me, guiding me so effortlessly.
The horrific money days are behind us, well almost. But my love for him has renewed over the past month.
Nowadays, after a clubbing night, when he says Shall I book the cab, I lovingly counter it with Let me get it this time!
And I book a cab linked to my Paytm account and my man smiles at me with admiration (I know it is admiration).
