Enough With The Margarine, Let's Use Oil Instead

Last month, auto rickshaws across Mumbai were on strike for a couple of days, leaving us with no option other than to travel in the BEST buses. I was entirely frustrated over the thought of waiting endlessly in a serpentine queue for the golden opportunity to travel in an overcrowded bus. Imagine my surprise when an unfilled double decker bus arrived at my stop, within minutes of waiting in the line and reached me home in an equally less amount of time. To add to my surprise was the fact that I could not, for the life of me, remember the last time I had regularly travelled by a bus.

I think it was during my college days when I used to travel by this service on a daily basis. I had no other choice. My parents gave me pocket-money of Rs300/- each month, with which I had to manage all my expenses except the cost of a second class monthly railway pass. Everything else had to fit into that meager allowance which I received. Not only did I manage to fit in all my expenses within this budget, but I also saved a little every month to spend during my birthday. So I managed travelling to college, snacks, birthday gifts, outings everything in just Rs300/-. Could even fit in a weekly bite at McDonalds within this amount.

Today, with that amount, I would not even be able to survive till mid-week. I mean, inflation is at its highest, we have to keep up with times.

But I wonder, is it inflation affecting my expenses or is it me?. Travelling by bus is an option I have long since given up. Its only auto rickshaws, A/c buses, first class railway coaches, A/c cars which I deem fit to travel in. Leave alone the travelling; there are the other so very important expenses on eating out, movies, shopping, fuel, extravagant gifts etc. We feel we are justified. We work so hard, 5-6 days in a week; we can afford to pamper ourselves.

Then comes the global recession or the economic slowdown or the credit crunch - call it whatever you like. Everyone is stumped and baffled, not knowing how to cope with the job cuts, the slack in bonuses and promotions, reduction in the size of the inflated pay packets. Everyone around backtracks, cost cutting measures are being dished out, celebrations are low-key, malls are less crowded, Diwali is less noisy, buses are used more often than autos. And suddenly, Rs300/- does not seem that small an amount.

Marie Antoinette was once famously accused of saying about the residents of Paris that were hungry, that if they had no bread "let them eat cake".
Well, if she were alive today, she would have said "Enough with the margarine, let's use oil instead"