Twenty Rupees (INR)

Paying utilities online, purchasing through credit card, fuelling once a week and with hardly any time to step out on a working day - Life has got simple in many ways and monotonous in few ways. And, people who purchase food coupons (sodexho pass, Ticket restaurant) would run their lunches without Currency Notes. So, I never check my wallet everyday or often to see well I am running.

It was a working day. Unusually, I didn't carry a lunch to office. Food coupons left at desk itself, I was shocked to see just twenty (20) rupees in my wallet. Lunch Meal starts at Rs 40 and uncompromising peep for a Dosa shocked me. Dosas start at 25 Rs. A south indian Filter coffee is Rs 20. I,surely,can not run the rest of the day with just coffee. I nostalgically thought of the college days (1998-2002) where I bought Dosa for Rs 4 and coffe for Rs 1.75. I felt twenty has become such a denomination that a software engineer (by profession, designation varies. So, dont read between lines here) could not get a meal for lunch.

End of the day - Evening, I had to go Cathedral Road for a quick shopping - I can do that plenty with my mentioned wallet condition. I did a circumstantial traffic signal violation, to be rightly spotted by the traffic policeman stood by the signal. He held no papers to give me notice. He sidelined me to be looked down by on goers. Embarrassed by the happenings, I willed to clear the fine and move on. Started demanding Rs 200 for violation, they ended getting Rs 20 (Twenty) from me, because of the fact they could not hand over notice paper to me. I had to go through the usual police crap enquiries about my living, parents and their occupation.

When I hit bed, I was little happy twenty rupees is still a denomination when it comes to bribery.