Demonetization Woes 2016
Nina picked up her cell phone on the third ring.
“When are you leaving for India? We must meet before you go.” Sheila sounded her usual friendly self.
“We’re leaving in two days. It’s ok, don’t trouble yourself, we’re only gone for a month, we’ll be back before you know it.”
“No trouble at all, we’d like to see you. Besides, we want you to do us a favour. Is six this evening ok with you?”
“Oh. Of course. Do come.”
The doorbell ran promptly at six.
Joe ran down the stairs to open the door. “Come in, come in!”
“Hi Nina, Joe. Hey, what’re they up to back home, huh.” The familiarity between good friends was evident in Jakes’ immediate segue into the topic.
As Sheila and he settled down on the sofa, Jakes seemed full of the recent financial crisis in India. It was also Joe’s current favourite topic, and he dove right into it.
“Those b—- have really messed up the whole country. There’s chaos everywhere, it looks like.”
“Yeah man, and they’re screwing up us NRIs too. All the rupees we have with us are useless – how do they expect us to exchange them for the new notes before their unrealistic deadlines?”
“That’s their goal, you see. In their effort to bring back black money into the country they’ve set these drastic deadlines by which old notes have to be exchanged for new, or become worthless. The first deadline was just a month after the announcement. Then they began extending it. Now I believe it is January 31st.”
“Yes, thank goodness. I have thirty thousand rupees in cash here. That’s over six hundred dollars’ worth of rupees.” Jakes shook his head, to emphasize his frustration.
“Whoa, that’s a large sum. We had about ten thousand rupees. Fortunately, Nick went to India to visit his dad in November so he took it and did the exchange for us.” Joe couldn’t help sounding a little smug.
“You’re so lucky. But now that the deadline is extended, we still have time.” Jake cleared his throat. “Look, could you please have our rupees exchanged? You’ll be there before the January deadline, won’t you?”
“Sure, we can do that.” Joe leaned forward as Jake extended the envelope to him. Neither of them thought to count how many rupee bills there were.
So, that’s why they came to see us, Nina thought. And why not, if you can’t ask good friends, who can you ask for such favours. She smiled at Sheila, as if to say, that’s fine, we can do it for you.
“More tea? Another cookie?”
A week later, Nina and Joe were in India. It took the usual couple of days to settle into their apartment and re-establish contact with the few friends that still lived in their hometown. The weather was quite comfortable, in the mid-20s. January was a good month to visit the home country, climate-wise. They visited their regular haunts, and enjoyed the luxury of having someone else do the housework and cooking.
“Don’t you have to go exchange Jake’s money? It’s almost the end of the month.”
Joe barely glanced up from reading the local newspaper. “Yes, I should do that. But the deadline is now March 31st – plenty of time. I’ll go in a few days, though. One has to do it at the Reserve Bank of India, not just any bank. We’ll hire a driver next week. I don’t mind driving, but parking is such a challenge everywhere in the city.”
Ahha, a driver would be nice. Nina began to make her own plans for shopping.
It was a few days before Joe found the time to go to the Reserve Bank. The hired driver dropped Joe at the entrance and went off to find parking. Joe strode into the lobby of the bank. The information desk was unmanned. Several people bustled importantly about their business. No one made eye contact with him. As he stood wondering whom he could ask for help, Joe noticed a large poster on the wall. “Information about Exchange of Old Notes by NRIs”. That’s me, Joe thought. He moved closer to read the details.
“S—! Jake can say goodbye to his rupees!”
Back in the apartment, Nina stared unseeingly at the local TV channel, her mind on things she needed to do while they were in the home country. Thank goodness Joe has gone to do the money exchange for Jake, she thought. It would be embarrassing if we went back with some lame excuse for not having done our friends a favour – especially when it was something that they couldn’t have done themselves.
Joe returned to the apartment and sat down to a late lunch. “What terrible traffic. It took us two hours to get back from the bank – which is a mere eight kilometres from here.”
“You should be used to the traffic here, seeing as how we come every year. Good thing you finally did the exchange for Jake.”
“Actually, I wasn’t able to do anything. Now the regulation is that the old rupees can be exchanged only in the four metro cities of India – and our city isn’t one of them.”
“What?” Nina was aghast. “How can they change rules every other day? There’s a Reserve Bank here, so what’s the problem?”
“Don’t ask me. There’s a large notice right in the lobby of the bank that spells out the new regulation. I’m certainly not making a trip to Chennai, which is the nearest metro city – the airfares will be more than what’s in Jake’s envelope.”
“I thought he had thirty thousand rupees to exchange?”
“He may have had thirty thousand rupees in total, but all there is in the envelope is sixteen thousand rupees –“
Hmm, Nina thought, why aren’t people straightforward about things. Why couldn’t have Jake told us clearly the amount that was in the envelope. What had he done with the rest of his old rupee notes?
Aloud she said, “Can we find someone going to Chennai and ask them to do the exchange?”
“We don’t know anyone going there. Besides, only NRIs can do the exchange, not just anyone. You probably have to show a foreign passport. No, we’ll just have to take Jakes’ rupees back.” Joe shrugged his shoulders and reached for the rice.
Soon they were packing bags for domestic travel. They had to visit relatives in three other cities – none of which qualified as a ‘metro’.
“Maybe we should carry Jake’s envelope with us,” Nina suggested. “Perhaps we’ll find someone in Bangalore who is going to Chennai.”
Joe looked at his wife incredulously. “Don’t be impractical, woman. Who do you think we’ll find? I’m not carrying so much cash around, one more thing to worry about. What if it got lost?”
Just then, the phone rang. “Hello? Oh, hi Dev! I didn’t know you were in India too. Where are you calling from? You’re going to Bangalore this weekend? And going back to Chennai on Monday? What a pity, we’re reaching Bangalore on Monday. Too bad we’ll miss you.”
Nina listened intently, her hopes rising. Joe had barely put the phone down when she came up with an idea. “We should take the envelope and give it to Dev in Bangalore, he can do the exchange in Chennai. He’s an NRI.”
“Won’t work. Dev’s leaving Bangalore before we get there.”
Before Nina could counter him, Joe got up and walked away.
Their visits to relatives in Bangalore, Ooty, and Cochin went smoothly. On occasion, Nina had this uneasy feeling of letting down Sheila and Jake in their time of need, but it was quickly overcome by tending to the immediate present. And then it was time to go home.
And so the envelope returned to Canada.
Almost immediately, life fell back into its normal routine of daily walks, regular aerobics, groceries as-needed, volunteer work (Nina at the hospice, Joe helping friends out with their tax returns), and getting together with local friends. The envelope was unpacked and put away under Joe’s shirts – it should be safe there.
“Hi! When did you get back?” Sheila was always the one to make the first call.
Nina felt an immediate pang of guilt. Oh dear, she’s calling to find out if the exchange was successful. “Two days ago. We’re still a bit jet-lagged.”
“Oh, yes. It takes a while to re-adjust, doesn’t it. Always happens to me.”
“Uh huh, it does take a while. I’m so sleepy right after breakfast.” Nina was grateful for the small talk.
“Look, let’s get together soon.”
Nina hesitated: now they would have to return the envelope. Sheila’s probably looking forward to getting the new notes. Perhaps it’s just as well, we’ll get it over with.
“Sure, we need to find a time when both husbands are free.”
“We can do that later. But this Friday, I’m having a ladies’ afternoon tea. Just a few good friends. Can you join us?”
Phew! Sheila’s call was nothing to do with the money exchange. Nina didn’t have the heart to tell Sheila that they weren’t able to do it.
“Friday? That would be lovely. What shall I bring? Fruit salad?”
Later that day, Nina confronted Joe. “Why don’t you return the envelope to Jake tomorrow. Let him know that it wasn’t possible to do the exchange, at least we’ll have been straightforward and honest about it.”
Joe was in the middle of watching the latest news on his iPad. “Yeah yeah, I’ll do it.”
“Sheila’s invited me over for afternoon tea this Friday. We should return it before that. It’ll be so embarrassing otherwise.”
“I said I’ll do it, didn’t I? It’s not our fault that the regulations were changed.” Joe didn’t even look up from his device.
Nina felt unfairly dismissed. But she knew better than to persist, so she busied herself watering her plants.
A few days went by, and then it was Friday. As Nina cut up a melon for fruit salad, she wondered whether she should take the envelope and return it to Sheila. Hmm, it would be awkward attempting to explain what happened. She would probably sound like they didn’t try hard enough. Joe was the smooth talker, he could put it across well. Let him do it. Besides, surely the matter was between him and Jake, they had had the conversation, and Jake had given the envelope to Joe, not to her. Yes, let Joe do it. Nevertheless, Nina felt guilty all morning.
By the time she got to Sheila’s for the afternoon tea, Anita and Nicole were already there. Thank goodness there’re others here. Maybe Sheila won’t be able to bring up the topic today. Nina smiled brightly at everyone.
“Hello, hello! How’ve you been? Long time no see.”
“Yes, it has been a long time, hasn’t it? We’ve moved home a few months back, you know.”
“Really, where to?”
And so the conversation drifted to Anita’s new home, from there to residential areas in general, and then to the escalating home prices. Nina joined in enthusiastically. Under different circumstances, she would have followed her friend into the kitchen to help bring out the various eats, but today she didn’t want any one-on-one talk with Sheila. The twinge of guilt seemed permanently ensconced in her chest.
“Please help yourselves. I made these cupcakes specially for today.”
“Mmm, delicious.” Nicole helped herself. There was a brief lull in the conversation as the women focused on savouring the eats.
“What do you think about all the flurry over demonetization in the home country?” Nina’s head jerked up involuntarily as Anita brought up the dreaded topic.
“Oh yeah.” Sheila sounded genuinely concerned. “So much confusion there, it seems. The common man has gone through so much inconvenience. Long line-ups at banks to exchange the old notes, and when they get to the counter finally, they’re told the bank is out of cash. Some are committing suicide, because they can’t pay their debts.”
“I talked to my brother in Delhi last night.” Nicole was warming up to the topic. “He said that their maid and driver asked for their salaries in the new notes, and he hadn’t got any himself.”
Anita nodded as if agreeing with the description of the situation in India. “It’s not good. And what about all the old notes we NRIs have with us?”
Nina’s chest constricted. Let’s not go there, please. She avoided eye contact with Sheila, and tried to sound casual as she jumped in with the first thing that came to mind.
“Hey Nicole, what kinds of veggies have you planted this year?” Anything to steer away from discussing how to exchange old rupees for new. All six eyes turned to her.
“Ah yes, this year I’ve finally done some planting in time. Some beans, lettuce, even eggplants.” Fortunately, Nicole was happy to talk about her garden. Soon they were in deep discussion about the pros and cons of growing vegetables. What was happening in their own backyards was clearly more interesting than events the other side of the world. Sheila seemed to have forgotten about the envelope, and Nina was home free. At least for today.
A week went by, then another. Why hadn’t Sheila called? She was usually very good at keeping in regular touch with Nina. Is she annoyed that we haven’t given them their rupees? Nina felt the now-familiar guilt twinge every time she thought of her friend. She didn’t want to lose Sheila’s friendship – they had known each other for over twenty years. Why was Joe hedging about returning the envelope to Jake?
“Since you’re going to the library, why don’t you swing by Jake’s and return the envelope?” Nina pretended as if the thought had just occurred to her.
“Not today. There’s no time, I have to get to the doctor’s office by three.”
“Why are you avoiding this?” Nina couldn’t contain her exasperation any longer. “You’re creating an unnecessary rift between them and us. Sheila hasn’t called me for a long time. Maybe they’re upset with us.”
“Don’t over-react. She’s probably busy with other things – didn’t they say they had house guests this week?”
“’I’m not over-reacting.” Nina’s exasperation was in full bloom. “You just don’t want to explain to Jake that you couldn’t do him a favour.”
“You silly woman.” Joe’s tone changed for the worse and his voice grew loud. “Those notes are useless to anyone, even to Jake. He has to throw them away.”
Nina was not going to back down. Looking her husband in the eye, she said, “Our job is to return the envelope, then what happens to the notes is not our problem.”
Joe’s eyes bulged in anger. Glaring at Nina, he picked up his cell phone and searched for a number and clicked on it. “I’m calling Jake right now to tell him about it.” And he turned his gaze away to the wall, pointedly concentrating on the call. Good that he’s finally doing it, Nina thought, as she heard the phone ringing at the other end. But why does it have to be such an unhappy situation? Goodness knows how he’ll put it across.
Then Joe turned around, glared at her again, and slammed his phone shut. “See, I tried. Jake’s not picking up.”
That evening, Sheila called. “Hi, how are you? Are you free this Sunday? I want you guys to meet my old school friend.”
“Is this your house guest?”
“Yes! Did I tell you about her? Please come, Clarissa wants to meet all our friends here.”
What a generous person Sheila is, Nina thought, as she accepted the invitation. And so diplomatic about the envelope. They’re probably giving us time to return it at our own pace.
As they got ready to go to Sheila’s on Sunday, Nina took the envelope out from under Joe’s shirts, and put it in her husband’s jacket pocket.
“We have to do this today. Please remember to give the envelope to Jake.”
“You remember to remind me.” Joe tried to make light of it.
The atmosphere at Sheila’s was that of close camaraderie, old friends meeting the other’s good friends. Anita and Roy were also there – they were part of their local group which met often just because they got along so well. Conversation flowed easily.
“Clarissa’s my schoolmate from New York. She’s a doctor now. We haven’t met after graduation. Forty-some years. She’s never been to Vancouver before, so when there was an endocrinologists’ conference here, that was our chance to meet again.”
Everyone immediately began to tell Clarissa what she could do and see in the Lower Mainland. What would she most like to do? What was she interested in? Scenic landscapes? Local history? Outdoor activities?
Nina contributed her own favourite places, gardens, waterfronts, restaurants. Only half her attention was on the current topic. She was both pleased and foxed. On the one hand, the awkward topic of the envelope now had to be put aside; no uncomfortable discussion on demonetization in the home country. On the other hand, how on earth would Joe bring it up and return what he had to? The twinge of guilt surfaced once again, and began to grow.
Dinner was served and enjoyed. After a little while, tea and dessert were brought out. Now Nina began to panic quietly. Soon it would be time to go home. Why didn’t Joe take Jake aside and explain? She looked across the room at her husband, and kept staring till she caught his eye. An immediate connection was made, thank goodness for that; Joe looked at her as if to say, don’t worry, all is good.
“We should be going, we have to pick up our daughter from her friend’s place.” Anita looked at her watch and stood up.
“So soon? … But I understand. Thank you for coming.” Sheila smiled at Anita, then looked at Nina. “You guys stay for a bit longer, you don’t have to pick up anyone.”
As Anita and Roy left, Clarissa excused herself to the washroom.
Here’s our chance! Where’s Joe? Nina turned around to prompt her husband. But he was already in conversation with Jake.
“I have something for you, buddy.” Joe pulled out the envelope from his pocket and gave it to Jake.
“Oh yes? Thank you for doing this for us.” Jake’s eyes lit up in expectation.
“You know, they changed the rules on us. I went all the way to the Reserve Bank in our hometown, and there was this notice on the front door. NRI exchanging old notes for new could do so only in the four metros. None of which were on our itinerary.” Joe sounded like he was the victim. “Sorry, buddy, but we had to bring back your old notes.”
Nina watched as Joe’s expression went from happiness to disappointment.
“I didn’t know about this new regulation. Oh well, that’s all worthless paper now, I guess.”
“Oh dear. Six hundred dollars down the drain.” Sheila had returned from seeing Anita and Roy off, and had caught the latter part of the conversation.
Joe turned to Sheila. “There was only seventeen thousand rupees in the envelope.” He looked quizzically at Jake.
“I gave the other rupees to Matthew; he was also going to India around the same time.”
“You didn’t tell me.” Sheila and Jake seemed on the verge of a husband-wife spat.
“Wait a minute. I just remembered reading something this evening on the Indian news.” Cell phone in hand, Joe was searching for something on the Internet. “Ahha, here it is. Look, they’ve extended the deadline one more time. Now it’s June 30th. Maybe you can find someone going to Chennai before then.”
Jake shook his head. “We don’t know anyone who’s going there.” And he looked more despondent than ever. There was an awkward pause in the conversation.
“Isn’t Vijay going to Delhi next week? That’s a metro city. We could ask him.” Sheila was the ultimate optimist! What a clever woman! Nina looked admiringly at her friend.
A glimmer of hope lit up in Jake’s eyes. “Hmm, that’s a possibility.” He turned to Joe. “Thank you, my friend, for bringing the envelope back. I’ll see if I can contact Vijay before he leaves.”
2017