A little over a month ago, our Glorious Leader eliminated corruption,
black money, terrorism, and poor people in one bold and innovative move
by declaring most of the currency in circulation to no longer be legal
tender.
We are fortunate that we can get by without much cash in hand. We eat
mostly what we grow, or is grown nearby in the village, and what few
additional expenses we have (e.g., milk) have so far been met by the
ten— and twenty-rupee notes we had collected to save time by paying
exact tolls on the highway.
Our one visit to the nearest bank yielded a two-thousand rupee note and
a bag of coins each—the most the branch could spare per person, given
that they've received no cash for several days.
In Delhi, Ammu is not so lucky. Her landlord demands the rent in cash,
and in exam season, she has had to stand in queue for several hours at
an ATM to withdraw a quarter of her rent (which is the maximum one can
withdraw in a day). Strangely, the vegetable and fruit sellers in her
locality do not accept digital payments yet.
I was looking forward to hearing what the Supreme Court of India had to
say about demonetisation, but they haven't said much, because they're
busy with matters of real importance to the nation, like how
often the national anthem should be played and how straight one should
stand to properly demonstrate one's “constitutional patriotism”.