Legal tender – asset or liability?

One of my friends was sharing his experience of discovering his mother’s hidden treasury after India Government announced their ambitious project of unearthing black money in the country. His mother revealed that she collected a few lakhs in denominations of 500 and 1000. And the sudden discovery became both his pleasure and pain. Savings is good but how to convince income tax dept. about the need of that pile of unaccounted money at home?

This made me remember of one good habit of traditional Indian housewives, which helped them save their families during difficult periods- during famine and floods. I have heard of grandma’s grandmothers who saved one small cup of rice in a jar while picking rice everyday from the large earthen pot used for storing rice for a year for entire family. Similarly, saving a few spoons of oil from the quantity for daily use was a habit. This saved rice and oil helped them to serve families in case of bad crop in a year, to donate poorer families in the villages and to save cost of annual feasts they used to arrange during religious festivals.

Next generations moved from agriculture to other professions and then housewives started saving coins instead of rice or oil. Contrary to popular belief, women used to be managing planners and administrators of household affair in many Indian families. Hence saving couple of coins from daily household expense in order to fulfill requirements in urgency became normal practice of housewives.  This way women started creating own fund to combat difficult situation on their own. Obviously any senior lady between 1^st and 2^nd world war at home could open a treasury of a few thousand rupees at the time of distress.

Post-independence, as banks and post-offices started opening doors for women and women started working out of home, i.e. started joining different professions along with men, savings habit started changing. Apart from buying gold and silver, which was always considered women’s asset, women started opening bank accounts as small savings was being encouraged to strengthen Indian economy.

In today’s India, women’s taking lead role in professional sectors do not make newspaper headline any longer. Indian women not only integrated themselves with banking processes, but also started playing role as investors. At the same time, housewives who supported families with saved foodgrains, started supporting families with cash as and when needed. And this natural aptitude for supporting became a source of pain this time. While very much inclined to support others, some of us overvalued paper currency – considered that to be asset which can turn into a problem–solver whenever needed.