'Park benches are empty, coffee mugs, morose': Ravish Kumar on 'Love in the time of Notebandi'
Modi tu PM nahin Paytm hai !
Tere seene mein dil nahin, ATM hai !
Tere seene mein dil nahin, ATM hai !
(NB - these lines were composed by a friend who had better remain un-named - DS)
What happens to
matters of the heart when you don't have any hard currency?' After taking on
the Government for clamping down on freedom of expression, TV journalist Ravish
Kumar chose a different medium for his observations on demonetisation. Namely, fiction.
Featuring “Love in the time of Notebandi”. “Park benches are
empty, coffee mugs, morose, and I cannot see any more tears in the eyes of
teddy bears. Lovers are not emanating the smell of perfume but the stink of old
notes.”
This was how Kumar
began at the Times Lit Fest in New Delhi, where he was talking about his latest
book, Laprek: Laghu Prem Katha, a compilation of short love stories
that he first wrote as Facebook posts. “I promise to tell the
shrota a love story for the next one hour.” That is the lover’s version of
prominently displayed message from the Reserve Bank of India on every currency
note.
In the new cash-less
future, lovers will not promise each others the moon and stars in the sky.
Instead, saving a space in the ATM queue might be proof enough. “So what if the Rs 500
note is of no use? Use notes of Rs 5, Rs 10 and Rs 50 for your affairs, if not
coffee then you can at least enjoy a cup of tea, if not a Bloody Mary, then
some coconut water, and if not a pastry, then some golgappe.”
Here’s the full talk:
see also
Harish
Damodaran - In fact: When the money stops
Alexandre Koyré The Political Function of the Modern Lie
Alexandre Koyré The Political Function of the Modern Lie
Marx's economic categories