Respected Sir/Madam,

The global economy is shrinking. Indian economy is in recession. Do I care? No, no..Thousand times no.

But when Bhoothalingam household budget is in trouble, then I better care. I was blissfully unaware of how Mangalam ran the household. As long as I got my needs on time and my monthly pocket money, I thought all was well in paradise.

Beginning of this month, Mangalam looked very anxious. She announced that our household finances were in trouble. Some urgent steps have to be taken. This anxiety was a genuine one. Not like the anxiety that comes with all the cyclones the Met department announces these days every now and then. Only to just go away after some wind and rains.

So here is an excerpt of the conversation I had.

Mangalam : Old man, do you know our household budget is in a deficit last month?

JB: Did you buy some expensive saree or jewellery last month?

MB: No. And anyway I don’t buy them from the household budget. You must know that. Get serious.

JB: Then what happened?

MB: Do you remember 5 years ago when you retired, we had put your retirement money in Fixed deposits. The interest from there was coming in every month. Then it was enough. Every month there was some surplus. I even used to buy some utensils with the savings. This year after the FDs were renewed, the rates have gone down like anything. I checked with my friends in Ladies club. It seems all banks are giving low rates only.

JB : So you are unhappy that you do not have any extra to spend on utensils and plastic dabbas.

MB: Do you realise how the prices have gone up? Our weekly vegetable bill has gone up from 500 Rs to 800 Rs. The milk bill has gone up too. When I asked you to buy 2 kgs of potatoes for making Poori Masala, did you even check the prices of potatoes? 60 rupees kilo. Potatoes are selling at apple prices.

JB: I did not notice it.. But yes, after 2 months I put petrol in the car.. Petrol has become nearly 90 Rupees. Shocking.

MB: We have to cut some expenses immediately. I am planning to stop the newspaper.

JB : What stopping The Hindu! Are you crazy? Last 50 years I have been reading it.

MB: What is the point? You don’t even know the price of potatoes. Even learned people like our neighbours Prof Krishnan have stopped it.

JB: Then what about the letters I write to them every week. If they find out I am no longer a subscriber.

MB: Do you think they will notice. If they knew their readers well would they have stopped that Matrubootham column. This Sunday, did you notice there is a new column called Agony Akka. The agony that this akka gives is reason enough for stopping Hindu paper immediately. The paper has become so thin that when I sell the paper in raddi, I hardly get anything.

JB : Please don’t do anything in haste. We will discuss this budget thing again. Let me write a letter to Hindu first.

I know you cannot do anything about interest rates and inflation, besides writing some stupid editorials in flowery English which no one reads. The least you can do is restart the Matrubootham column. I can then convince Mangalam not to stop Hindu. Do something now. Else, you are going to lose one loyal reader. A loyal Concerned Reader of 50 years.

Yours in agitation,

J Bhoothalingam