Sounds of life

Nursery rhymes taught us the various sounds of everyday life to familiarize ourselves with - like the  rooster’s - cock a doodle do ( never heard a cock coo this way till date though), the chikku bukku of the train, the tip tip of the rain on the roof, the buzz of the crickets that is the sound of an otherwise eerie  night, the rustle of dry leaves on a windy day and many others.

 Later years, I was a big fan of the song Poopookum osai . The song is about the sounds we don’t ear but would love to and the sounds that are true music to our years. Grandfather’s snores,  the striking of coins in a carom board, the sound qunik quink from the shoe I wore while learning to walk as a toddler, the cling of coins in my piggy bank, the honk of my school bus, the cling of the class bell, the pomp pomp of the pushcart bakery  man, the unique sound of daddy’s scotter, the promo of DD national TV’s news programme, early morning bells from the neighbourhood temple, whipping sound of eggs for the Sunday morning omelet… the list is endless and will remain etched in my memory forever.

There are some sounds, actually recent ones that stir me to the core these days. The snooze of the morning alarms that hits really hard on the head every day, remainder that I have a long way to go in life, of the dreams and struggles ahead.

 Then comes, the sound of the police siren. A sound that reminds me of the haunting night during the Chennai floods in 2015, with the ground floor of the building completely flooded and 70 of us packed in the first floor of the hostel, with no power, no communication with the rest of the world, and no food, a water water everywhere not a drop to drink situation, the only sound to break the silence of the night was the police siren at a distance sounding at regular intervals. It told us that there was life and road somewhere close by. Even a year later, I wake up with sweat when I hear this sound from a regular night patrolling vehicle.

I thought, I would be the last person to be affected by demonetization. Life had other plans, when even after 10 days, most ATM ran dry when I would have progressed to an arm’s length proximity to it after waiting rather patiently in an hour and half long queue. The sound of ATM dispensing cash is lately the sound of relief to me, sometimes more calming than Ilayaraja’s songs after a long day at work and a long hour at the queue.

 I am waiting for the more unforgettable sounds life has in store for me. 

Honey, lets discuss money.

The wallet was full of 500 and 1000 rupee currency, swiped fresh out of the ATM to pay the rent. Breaking news of a speech is all it took to make the wallet feel so light and the heart so heavy. After an hour of brainstorming with self and confusion, all the hideouts are checked. Pant pockets, old wallets, underneath newspaper spread on shelves, every zipped compartment in all the bags are all thoroughly checked and I end up amused to find a couple of more invalid currency. The only consolation was the pouch full of 5 and 10 rupee coins which was a secret piggy bank.

For once in life I felt truly happy like a child for possessing 324 rupees in all. I felt richer and at peace at the end of the day and treated myself a lime soda for not having spent a penny out of it the whole of next day. Sometimes, only sometimes, does the idea of not having shopped inspite of having walked the entire stretch of a busy shopping street gives someone happiness. I felt it then.

The next day at the bank was a live drama. Watching people jumping queues, bunking offices and fighting for the exchange to get a few valuable currency was a scenario that will be remain etched in my memory for ever. Surprised husbands, shocked over the savings of their wives which was many times the money they gave them to run the household every month. Women who had never been involved in the financial matters of the family were now showstoppers who stunned their husbands with their exceptional savings done over years and shared the unusual hideouts now that they could no longer keep them anywhere except in their bank accounts. Kudoos to the women , who braved all odds in running the family still didn’t forget to save a little bit of the little money she was given.

The ATM pin is finally shared with the wife, a mother is taught to swipe at the super market, a sister is taught the nuances of online shopping. I don’t know if black will become white or true revelations will happen. But sure did it hit a lot of men that women are better at finances than them. A women who had never spent of couple of hundreds at once for herself over all lifetime, has saved, in the meager money given to her over the years enough to keep her going for a life time. This drive has left a lot of men gaping at the women of their household who micro managed all the expenses, yet saved. Even when she earns, she doesn’t get the financial independence she deserves. Break the taboo, women know to earn, spend, invest and save.

 This drive should teach us to respect all the women in our family who cared, saved and braved. Atleast now, involve her, discuss and share with her, your finances. She may not always hold a super specialty masters degree in economics like you, her left brain may be genetically more active yours, she may not always comment on shares market crashes, may not read the economics times with her morning coffee, yes, but without her, your money has no meaning. Period.

(Yeah, she loves surprises. As long as it has nothing to do with your finance management plans.)