The Rupee Balloon

For every hard working employed citizen living in India, the cold hard blow of inflation just cannot be evaded. With salaries left far behind, everyone weeps about bloated prices…

From simple veggies all the way to real estate and beyond, our beloved rupee seems to take it all in its stride. But is it really the market lines that deduce these prices? Or is it the local distributors all in for quick money? Where do we draw the line between profit and daylight robbery!?

Let’s face the fact; everyone including me wants to make a quick buck. No one is ever satisfied – even the rich will STRUGGLE to become even richer. Its human, its expected.

Leaving the earnings aside, what fascinates me the most is how differently people spend their hard earned income. Consider this real life scenario – Coming from a typical Indian middle class family (assuming a common background here), you go out with your friends for a fun movie to the usual multiplex :

Getting there – Variable (usually Rs.20 upwards)
Ticket Cost – Above Rs.80
Popcorn Cost – Rs.25-40
Drinks – Rs.20-30

Total approx = 150+ per person.

After the movie, a round of coffee at a near by joint, shelling out another 40-100rs. After it's over, it's all worth it. That’s a small price to pay for such a lovely evening of fun, right?

Now, I would like you to picture your maid standing in front of you, asking for her monthly charge for cleaning your house. Why is it that the Rs.450-500 you would be paying her pinch you so hard? Is it because we don’t appreciate her hard work? I don’t think so. Suddenly, for that split second, that Rs.500 note seems to weigh a lot heavier than it really is.

Its not like we do not realize the value of money, it just the way different people hold the same Rs.100 note in their hand and wonder how they would go about spending it. The very same note could enter a coffee shop’s cash drawer or could buy a family some food to eat for the day. That's life.