Desaraju Surya
My blood is boiling, even as I get down to write this piece. It’s DIWALI today, the festival of lights.… a day when millions of Indians literally burn wads of currency – albeit in the form of the stuff called fire crackers.
As a kid, I too had done the same, forcing my poor grandfather to spend tens of rupees (well, those were the days!) on crackers just to keep me “de-lighted.” Now, I am having to repay the debt by buying fire crackers for my 7-year-old son. Well, it was over 20 years now since I stopped indulging in the meaningless ritual on Diwali day but, for the past three or four years I have been left with no other option except to keep my little son delighted, just the same way my grandfather did when I was his pampered boy.
Till last year, buying crackers worth a few hundred rupees didn’t really pinch me. This year, however, it pained me immensely. For the first time, I had to buy crackers by weight and by the time I realized what it meant, it cost me a fortune. Just about ten small boxes of two or three items like sparkles and flower pots cost me Rs 500-plus. Ok, Rs 500 for once-in-year festival is not a big deal but the sheer way in which people have been exploited by unscrupulous traders was simply shocking.
When I discussed this with one of my dear friends MHK, he drove home the point that it was illegal to sell crackers by weight and they were supposed to be sold only at unit price. Immediately, I alerted two IAS officials and an IPS officer concerned and explained how people were being publicly looted. The IPS officer put his department officials on alert and one of his subordinates called me to enquire about the issue. I explained everything in detail to the junior officer and he coolly told me that there was nothing illegal about it. “As long as the crackers are sold within the maximum retail price fixed, traders are allowed to sell the items by weight,” he said.
I protested and said the MRP printed on the items itself was a big fraud.
Now, this leaves you with the impression that the traders are allowed to loot the public with the active support and connivance of the authorities concerned. After all, Andhra Pradesh is “GOD’s own administration” as the shameless rulers proclaimed! So there’s no point cribbing about anything.
I got back to my dear pal MHK and narrated the story. I told him it was the illegal way to mint money legally. Looting gullible public in a right royal fashion.
Now, this tells you how easy money-making can be. You no need to work hard, sweat it out or be sincere. Just go about your business unscrupulously and in just about a week yours can become a rags-to-riches tale. Mind you, it’s so simple that you can earn at least Rs 20 for every rupee you put in. Of course, you may have to grease the palms of certain authorities concerned but shelling out about 20-30 per cent out of say some 200 per cent is peanuts.
There are a few other ways of making easy money – like the one above – which I shall try to discuss later.
My blood is boiling, even as I get down to write this piece. It’s DIWALI today, the festival of lights.… a day when millions of Indians literally burn wads of currency – albeit in the form of the stuff called fire crackers.
As a kid, I too had done the same, forcing my poor grandfather to spend tens of rupees (well, those were the days!) on crackers just to keep me “de-lighted.” Now, I am having to repay the debt by buying fire crackers for my 7-year-old son. Well, it was over 20 years now since I stopped indulging in the meaningless ritual on Diwali day but, for the past three or four years I have been left with no other option except to keep my little son delighted, just the same way my grandfather did when I was his pampered boy.
Till last year, buying crackers worth a few hundred rupees didn’t really pinch me. This year, however, it pained me immensely. For the first time, I had to buy crackers by weight and by the time I realized what it meant, it cost me a fortune. Just about ten small boxes of two or three items like sparkles and flower pots cost me Rs 500-plus. Ok, Rs 500 for once-in-year festival is not a big deal but the sheer way in which people have been exploited by unscrupulous traders was simply shocking.
When I discussed this with one of my dear friends MHK, he drove home the point that it was illegal to sell crackers by weight and they were supposed to be sold only at unit price. Immediately, I alerted two IAS officials and an IPS officer concerned and explained how people were being publicly looted. The IPS officer put his department officials on alert and one of his subordinates called me to enquire about the issue. I explained everything in detail to the junior officer and he coolly told me that there was nothing illegal about it. “As long as the crackers are sold within the maximum retail price fixed, traders are allowed to sell the items by weight,” he said.
I protested and said the MRP printed on the items itself was a big fraud.
Now, this leaves you with the impression that the traders are allowed to loot the public with the active support and connivance of the authorities concerned. After all, Andhra Pradesh is “GOD’s own administration” as the shameless rulers proclaimed! So there’s no point cribbing about anything.
I got back to my dear pal MHK and narrated the story. I told him it was the illegal way to mint money legally. Looting gullible public in a right royal fashion.
Now, this tells you how easy money-making can be. You no need to work hard, sweat it out or be sincere. Just go about your business unscrupulously and in just about a week yours can become a rags-to-riches tale. Mind you, it’s so simple that you can earn at least Rs 20 for every rupee you put in. Of course, you may have to grease the palms of certain authorities concerned but shelling out about 20-30 per cent out of say some 200 per cent is peanuts.
There are a few other ways of making easy money – like the one above – which I shall try to discuss later.
Meanwhile, I have decided to educate my son about the ill-effects of bursting fire crackers and shall counsel him by next year to stop indulging in the useless fun. Instead, I could buy some useful stuff for him with the same amount of money. MHK liked my idea.
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