25th July 2008

I am not an economist.

Yes, everyday I am travelling by Public transport and I found in comparison to 2001 the ticket prices have rocketed. My income has simultaneously gone for an exponential growth, primarily because I have a job for the last 2 years.

In the year 2001 I went to school and came back via public buses, the round trip cost me Rs. 3/- and today one way trip on the similar Bus costs Rs. 6/-

Once a girl shared with me a story that reminded me how stark the differences in economy we see all around, and yet have become so used to seeing it, we hardly ever react.

There is a bamboo bridge that lies across a narrow canal, To cross it you have to pay 25 paise, I am not even sure till I heard the story and crossed the bridge myself that 25 paise still existed. She met a Rickshaw Puller one day who told her that he left his vehicle on the other side because taking it across meant paying 50 paise extra. She said that it is on that day that she realised the value of 50 paise.

There is a Puchkawala who sells his fare on the way to my home; I wondered again how much money does he make everyday. We sometimes argue and pester them for extras.

How lowly do we stoop sometimes!?

There is always more to life, everyday I walk as advised by a friend on my way home from work, and with the music playing in my ears I thought of these things.

As I said before, I am not an economist.