The increasing cost of living
In 1985 my father was posted in Akhnoor, Jammu (a border area) and thus couldn’t take his family along. Back then, I was 10 years old and was studying in the fifth standard. Every month, my father would send Rs 1500 to my mother, who would then manage the four-member family (me, my two sisters and herself) very comfortably. There never was a thing that we wanted and didn’t get.
I will be honest – there were some restriction on purchases. Big Fun (I don’t know how many of you actually went on to score runs, pick up wickets and win the prizes!) could be bought daily and Gold Spot could be bought weekly once. Éclairs chocolates were costly and hence were substituted by Parle’s orange candy. T-Series cassettes were Rs 11, and hence beyond the range – maybe that’s why even today, nobody in my family listens to music.
Today, Rekha and I end up spending Rs 1500 for a single dinner itself. Especially if it is a marriage reception and the person getting married is a Vice President in your company and thus holds the key to your success. Life today sure is costly than what it was earlier.
A week back I read in the papers that the petrol prices have gone up. But this hasn’t changed what I put in my petrol tank. I might have discovered that Gripe water costs less per liter…but haven’t started using that to fuel my car, yet.
Initially, I did worry about the increase in petrol prices but when I sat down to calculate I found out that a litre of Coke costs Rs 100, a litre of the Vim liquid Rekha uses to wash the dishes costs Rs 150 and a litre of the Rose water that my girl friend uses to wash her face before she goes to bed costs Rs 1000. So why complain?
Well…I did manage to convince myself that there was nothing to worry.
That’s when my mother called me and said that there was a 5000 square feet of land near our house which was available for Rs 20 lakhs.
“Son, that was in 1995. This is 2008.”
As always, my mother was right. I didn’t continue the discussion further…though I wondered why in spite of so many farmers committing suicide and so many of their helpless wives selling lands to feed their children….the land prices were going up.
When I am depressed my only solace is the internet so I logged on to GTalk and waited for a prey to arrive. Ajay Shroff, who stays in Canada and runs a popular website called http://reelninja.com/ came online.
“So, do you also use petrol for your car, in Canada?” I asked him on chat.
“NO!”
“Lucky you. So you must be saving a lot of money?”
“Not really.”
“How come?”
“I use diesel. And its price is also related to the price of petrol, if that’s what you wanted to know.”
“Ohh…I didn’t realize. So is the cost of living high in Canada?”
“Of course yes. This is a developed country remember…everything is costly.”
“Lets compare then….how much is a coffee there?” I was keen to prove him that India was a costly place to live in.
“Hmmm…around Rs 70.”
“India wins hands down. We spend Rs 90 a cup of coffee.” I said with an air of triumph.
“Rs 90? Where do you have your coffee?
“At Barista. Or Coffee Day. And I am not even including the car parking charges.”
Ajay Shroff lost the contest…game, set and match. And India won.
Surprise Quiz: Name three products you buy knowing fully well that it is going down the drain?
Other Funny Reads
On why I hate this 12-month-old girl
Shopping for my baby daughter
I have arrived. At the airport
Cutting costs at home
Marriage & Olympics…
Related posts You might want to read:
- Surviving an economic crisis or depression
India has recorded a GDP Growth of 7.9 per cent – proof that we Indians have managed the economic crisis/recession a lot better than others. Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi has offered Dubai a bailout plan of 10 billion U.S. dollars…which means my Malayali wife’s relatives won’t be coming back from Dubai, jobless. In short, the biggest [...]... - Viagra to be available free of cost
Viagra manufacturer Pfizer is considering distributing the sexual-energizer free of cost through the length and breath of India. The idea that started out as a dining- table talk has also found a few supporters in the Indian Government, led by PM Manmohan Singh. The novel yet radical move has been prompted by Rajneesh’s belief that [...]... - Narcoanalysis – spread the numbness
The Prefix Narco means: Numbness; stupor; lethargy. Examples - Narcolepsy & Narcotic drugs They say criminals have a mind of their own. Not anymore. At least, not when subjected to Narcoanalysis. According to experts, Narcoanalysis can ambush the best of criminal minds and get the unsuspecting mind to accept to the crimes they have committed. [...]... - When my mom boards the airplane…
Yesterday, I realized that I am not the only threat to airhostess that my family has to offer. My mother is better than me when it comes to air hostesses. On Friday my mom and I traveled from Delhi to Madurai – changing flights at Chennai – and I must tell you that traveling with [...]... - Getting drugged slowly but steadily
Yesterday I took my grandmother to a hospital nearby. She had been coughing the whole night and I thought if I could fix her a meeting with the 65-year-old general physician nearby, she would be happy. My grandma had a ball of a time. The doctor held her hand (he said he was checking the [...]... - How babies come into this World…
Rhea is now 20 months old and it has been a long journey. If I were to draw a parallel, it has been like crossing the Niagara Falls on a tight walk rope. That’s why in the last 20 months, while playing with Rhea I have always sat down on the floor. I still remember [...]... - Buying a house is like having sex
A friend once told me that buying a house was like having sex. There is a lot of planning, too many people are involved, you feel tired after wards and almost always there is none of the appreciation that you expected. Around May 2009, Rekha had started cozy-ing up to me. When your wife starts [...]... - Group dynamics in a married man’s house
Prakash Raj is a close friend of mine who lives in Delhi. This Saturday, we met up at the Barista in DLF Mega Mall in Gurgaon. He had called on Friday and said: “Jammy, don’t you project yourself as a specialist in man-woman relationships?” “I never did!” I protested. But my friend wouldn’t listen and [...]... - My trip to South Africa – Part 2
If you haven’t read My trip to South Africa – Part 1, I request you to read that first. This post is second in the series. – - – Part Two Begins – - - While unpacking, I switched on the TV and the first thing I noticed was four channels dedicated to adult movies. [...]... - All Males Unite!
I have a feeling that very soon it would not be cool to have a male child. I don’t know you if you agree with me, but it is a fact that today 50% of the households start expecting a boy child as soon as somebody in the family gets pregnant. The rest are OK, [...]...
Print this post
| Email this post
| 1,378 views
Posted by Jamshed V Rajan
on Jun 18 2008. Filed under Current Affairs.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0.
You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
hey dude, diamond ring for the lady will go down the drain HUH!!! Wait till Rekha and Rhea the two ladies in your life come to know about this.
Jammy
Abrupt end! Che!
Can completely relate to Big Funs, Gold Spots etc
I had managed to get a Sunil Gavaskar flip book from Gold Spot(yes, he was a brand ambassador!!!)
I remember petrol at Rs 10 a litre and diesel at 2-3!!!
Man, life has become really expensive!!!
If there is something like 5 star chocolate that has been at the same price for so many years, that is because they keep reducing the quantity!
Jammy – As usual, great read.
Never knew that “gulaab jal” (that your girlfriend uses) is 20x more expensive than Petrol
)
Well I agree with you there..
Its about money.. and frankly am getting tired of running in the rat race… sometimes I feel like running away to the hills and having a small farm to live off the land and have an industry where I will not depend on the technology.. dreams..
Its scary how prices are going up for everything..
Rs.90 on a coffee!! How much your lunch costs man? I advise you yo have coffee in some Udipi Restuarent. At least that will bring down your coffee bill by 90%.
I feel if people start leading a simple life, they can some what console themselves from price hikes.
i lead a very simple life and for that i am being called “Kanjoos”
AS the salary and perks increases in a company, a person tends to go to five star and seven star hotels but if the same person when he was earning small salary was going in neighbourhood udupi……
so most of the human culture is getting dragged in the trend of showing off…. of else ppl will comment : see he is head of a leading company but kanjoos is still going in that udupi……..
so sometimes i feel what bush said was true… indians have becoming a big show off and consumers
The Times of India.
Thanks to Rajan and all for disscussing this topic.
It’s funny, you ref’ing to Udipi as cheaper alternative. I live in ohio and it’ll cost me about twice the amount as any local 5-star.
-:)
Hi…
I am quite a regular reader of ur blogs! grt work
i jst saw tht u will be goin to Ladakh.. I am plannin to go too…
can u give some details pls..
Yeah only yesterday when the autorickshaw I climbed into told me the minimum charge was now 12, I remembered the time when it was 3. It felt like yesterday and I keep forgetting that 10 years ago was a long time ago!
You should have asked Ajay about more relevant items, like say bread, milk, eggs, rice, and chicken.
1 loaf of bread = $2.79Cdn or 118Rs
4 litres of milk (1 gallon)= $7.19Cdn or 304Rs
12 Eggs = $2.59Cdn or 110Rs
2kg Basmati Rice = $8.00Cdn or 378Rs
Chicken is $4.50Cdn a pound or 190Rs/lbs
As the grocery shopper for our house, I think you’re still doing pretty well in India, cost of living wise. Keep in mind that coffee at a “barista” is quite expensive here too… more like $3.50Cdn or 148Rs for something run of the mill at Starbucks.
And if you can find a 100% cotton t-shirt here for less than $10.00Cdn (422Rs) then it’s a going out of business sale!
Hope you, Rekha and wee one are well.
Prices always goes up.
the worst thing is even the whores have begun charging more. jeez!
I would have laughed at it but it’s a grim economic reality. Inflation is justified sometimes, but fuel costs and it repercussion have resulted in massive job cuts for cost-saving. The airline industry has made headlines recently for that. It’s the same story everywhere. It was sad to see those ‘For Sale’ signs in front of houses at Arlington, Massachusetts the other day. My mom keeps saying how prices have gone up in India and we both gripe how difficult it is to keep going. When my parents started their lives as a young couple- they say they could manage a household with just 500 rupees. I think I will sneeze now and it will be gone.
But it’s not only about the prices going up- even with the salaries increasing some 1000 times, nothing seems to be enough. I have seen a credit-based society here where people borrow more than they can pay back.It’s probably because they tend to live beyond their means. A car or a HDTV seems like a bare necessity. I am no expert. But something, somewhere is seriously wrong. And someone needs to fix it with better macroeconomic policies or otherwise.
@nanu
I second that.
Hey Jammy,
I have read this comparison of liquid prices somewhere else too.. are u still riding on someone elses success?
The other thing that goes down the drain – diapers! I think u had a post on them too. These days diapers alone cost more than what ur mom used to run the household in! I remember at some time KV’s had a tution fees of Rs. 15 for 3 months!! Can u even imagine that?
Hi The price amout of petrol is more than beer now . If it cont then every one has to buy cycle . . Great post and great blog . . Shall we have link exchange . . Add my blog in ur blogroll . . Add my in ur blog roll and give a comment pls . .
http://vindicatedforever.blogspot.com/
Arrghh..what a blatant truth!
And we were not the part of those Gulfs and Afghans and Iraqs. Still, we are at war! Those subprimes and realtys were not started here but we are moving towards 13% inflation rate.
Jammy, you and I can sip at Barrista or CCD but how will a poor feed his family, man. Bloody prices!
Wow!!
Gold Spot – that revived a lot of memories, I dont remember the year but yes I did get a Sunil Gavaskar Flip Book and we used to stick those rubber backs from the Gold Spot lids on the book to win even more prizes…
Gosh that was fun!
[...] Lipstick usage is an indicator of recession # The increasing cost of living # A lonely, desperate man # Getting my hair cut under a tree (No Ratings Yet) Loading [...]