Sinking rupee, sinking dreams

A cut in everyday living expenses, buying lower quality milk is just the beginning

Guilty and Helpless. Two words that describe how I feel about the current economic crisis of our country and the downfall of the Indian Rupee. I am a student studying in Europe, and it feels like I am falling deep into a never-ending well along with our currency, every single day.

 

I start my day by checking the Euro to Rupee conversation rate, just hoping that somehow the rupee will start gaining its value, and I can ask my father to transfer my remaining expenses. And every morning I am disappointed, and guilt kicks in when I realize that eventually, value appreciation or not, my dad will have to send me the 800 euros I require for my rent and other expenses. Being a Masters student, I barely have time for a part time job, as my schedule is filled with college work and thesis work. If I try for a night shift job, a very good level of Italian is required, and even then, jobs are scarce due to the stagnant state of the European economy itself. Hence, the helplessness.

 

Had I known that the rupee would fall so drastically, I would have ensured I had learnt the language, or I would have chosen to go to a country where I could earn at least part of my living. But I was naïve, and frankly, never gave it a second thought when I was planning my budgets. The only ray of sunshine is that my entire fee for the course had been paid in January, and so that’s one thing less to worry about. Nevertheless, I know of a few acquaintances that dropped their plan of starting their Fall semester here, since their costs increased tremendously, and it became increasingly difficult to get an approval on bank loans.

 

The biggest question is, how do I plan to deal with this? Because even though the rupee is falling, my expenses are going to be the same, considering I was already on a budget living in my previous semester. I live with four other flatmates, and in the last three days, this is the only discussion that accompanies us during meals. The cuts are starting small, with buying the lower quality of milk, because even that 1 Euro that we save will now be almost 90 rupees! Walking instead of taking the public transport as much as we can, is also on the cards.

 

At the moment, a major decision awaits me; one that is being majorly affected by the rupee slide. I have the chance to apply for an unpaid internship of 6 months, but now I just can’t decide if I will go for one, because it just means an additional expense and burden for my dad. So I might have to bid adios to my dream of working with a major fashion house in Italy. It isn’t easy.

 

As I sit with my friends and although we try to joke about it, saying we now need to learn the tables of 8 and 9 instead of 7 for our conversions, there is a tension in the air every single time we discuss bills or rent. How I wish our landlord would consider the rupee value and reduce our rent! Yes, wishful thinking indeed. In a way, I am glad it’s just my final semester and I have to endure only 3 more months of this financial turmoil, but I feel absolute sympathy for my fellow students who have just started out here. And an even more sinking feeling when I realize that some dreams might remain incomplete.

_______________________________________________________________________
Reet Sahiba Arora is pursuing Masters in Fashion Styling at IED Moda, Milan
Email: reet.sahiba@gmail.com