I can’t even remember how long back it was when I last used a 25 paisa coin. Yet, when I heard that the humble chavanni was going to be demonetarised from June 30, it felt like the end of an era that had long gone anyway. Like most Indians over 40, I had fond memories of a 25 paisa coin being enough for an orange bar, a plate of chaat and more. In fact, until 10 years ago, these coins were still in use in small towns. I remember collecting quite a few when I lived in Mirzapur 10 years ago, where seasonal vegetables often cost a rupee or two. Very often, the person who ironed our clothes gave us change in 10 and 25 paisa coins. And thanks to a longstanding coin collection habit, we soon found ourselves with a piggy bank full of coins of small denominations.
However, when we moved to Delhi with our shiny nickel treasure, it proved to be little more than fool’s gold. Nobody, not even vegetable vendors, was willing to accept small change. “I don’t even encourage 50 paisa coins,” said my local veggie guy loftily, “for vegetables have now gone beyond paisa rates now! With the cheapest of them costing at least Rs 15 for a kilo, where is the scope of buying them with 25 and 50 paisa coins?”
Eventually we decided to go to a bank to convert our small change into big money. The bank manager was politely shocked: “Would it not be better to give them as alms?” he suggested, “or perhaps to a temple? Maybe people there could find some use for all this small change…” We stuck to our guns, for even beggars on the road were openly refusing to accept small coins. Finally, when we received some 200 rupees in exchange for all the coins we’d collected in Mirzapur, it was with no small sense of achievement.
Between that day and today, I’ve watched the demise of smaller coins and the birth of the 10 rupee coin with some interest. To a large extent, this state of flux indicates how prices have risen in the last decade. Many readers would remember the often very unhygienic drinking-water carts that once sold glasses of drinking water for a paisa each. As demands for cleaner water grew, the carts upped their rates to 10 paisa, then 25, 50 and finally, a rupee. Today, chances are high that most of us quench our thirst on bottled water at a minimum of Rs 10 a swig. Even temples that once customarily took offerings of Rs 1.25 (the sava rupya prasad was considered extremely auspicious, especially in Hanuman temples on Tuesdays), today raise their eyebrows at such mean offerings.
And who can forget the chavanni-class seats (front rows only) in movie halls of yore? They used to be the best seats in the house for everyone who enjoyed audience comments as much as the movies themselves. Today, with the cheapest movie tickets in metros costing Rs 50, all that has disappeared into history and our collective memories.
Will the 50 paisa coin also soon disappear into oblivion following the demise of the 25 paisa coin? Maybe. After all, most things that once cost half a rupee – bus tickets, orange bars, postage stamps and more – cost ten times as much today. Maybe we’ll witness the birth of the 50 rupee coin in the near future. Who knows? Meanwhile the changing face of Indian currency will continue to highlight the woes of people like them, as they struggle to make ends meet.
