As the Dust Settles

I am writing this as an impartial observer, without any political leaning of any kind. As the dust settles on the "demonetisation" and some realities seem to sink in, it may be a good time to look at the pluses and minuses so far- this may change due to subsequent actions of various stakeholders.

The shock value was delivered impeccably- an achievement in itself.

The initial reactions indicated that broadly, people supported the decision, assuming all would be back to normal in a few weeks.

It is not clear why the government chose to change the size of the notes, requiring recalibration of all ATMs. This delayed the functioning of ATMs at full capacity.

The cash supply has not yet returned to normal, at least not in the ATMs. This is from personal experience in at least three cities that I travelled to in the past week.

Possibility of corruption in RBI, banks and so on seems to have been overlooked. This has siphoned off a lot of money that could have reached the common man, giving the government a  bad name.

Now, a question. Could there have been a better way to catch the guys with black money (not just in cash, but real estate and so on)? Were they explored?

People have certainly learnt how to stand in a queue, as a by-product, and maybe some nationalism has come in where it was not explicit.

All told, it was a great disruption in many lives. I hope it will not affect the economy too badly, particularly the daily wage workers.

Demonetised Jokes

Don't demonise demonetisation- it's the wrong spelling.

A Demo was never so effective before.

What's the opposite of demonetise? Democratise (Cash supply).

What happens if you demonetise again and again? You become ir-redeemable.

What did the RBI guv say? I promise to pay you a sum of..conditions apply.

Who sang a song about demo? Remo.

What's it for the black money hoarders? Pay(back)- t(i)m(e)- in short, Paytm.

The Colour of Money and People

The colours are important. Black or white. You are looked at through jaundiced (yellow) eyes. You may be pure as driven snow (white), or Snow White herself. Or you may be a Grey or worse. People end up revealing their true colours at some point.

We learn to colour things early-with our drawing books. Beauty may lie in the eyes of the beholder, but colours have a lot to do with it. A red rose would not be the same if it was some lesser colour. The blue of the sea and the green of the valley is something we cherish.

The money too. The black is what is earned through foul means. So taking money out and forcing people to work and barter their labour for something may be a good way to purge humanity of its ills. We are temporarily is such a state with the demonetisation, and have begun to appreciate how a poor man lives without any cash, for days on end. The month-end syndrome of no cash has become a daily occurrence for the last few days.

The new notes are of a different colour altogether. Hope they bring in a change of perspective for our coloured perceptions about things that are important for all of us.