Revisiting the horrors of Demonetization 2016: Stories of Jugaad & Hope!
On November 8, 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced a currency ban and shocked everyone. A bold step that was taken by the Modi government led to absolute chaos. Though people were initially happy with the decision, the results of demonization frustrated them gradually. This decision of the Prime Minister came as a shock to many people. For many people, it became routine to stand in long queues. Despite a handful & bank full of cash, people felt helpless. It’s more than 5 years now but the memories still haunt India.
It was a welcome move but the absolute chaos left people frustrated.
Just to remind you, after salary day on December 1,2016, the lack of cash in ATMs affected people more than the lines at banks. In Kerala, some creative people decided to mourn the ‘untimely and sad demise’ of a closed ATM by placing a wreath at its shutter. In Delhi, people did something different.
Puja offered by people to ATMs
According to reports, a resident said the State Bank of India ATM had stopped since the Prime Minister declared the demonetization of higher-value currency.
One of the aggrieved due to cashless ATMs was quoted saying, “earlier, we used to see couples and elders going for morning and night walks, but nowadays we can find couples running their vehicles on the streets looking for the ATMs with cash.”
One of the aggrieved due to cashless ATMs, was quoted saying that , “Earlier, we used to see couples and elders going for morning and night walk, but now –a- days we can find couples running their vehicles on the streets looking for the ATMs with cash.”
Avoid ‘meetha'(sweet) because it’s no more about salary
meetha Hai Khana, Aaj pehli tarikh Hai’ had no longer about meetha. To buy sweets, you need to first stand in queues. Yes, demonetization had affected our everyday lives. Then, Finance Minister Arun Jaitely said that everything would get back to normal with time, but there was no ending to the struggling phase.
Every wedding in the family brings gala time for everyone. A wedding means Masti, fun and a lot of memories, but the most prominent memory of 2016 was demonetization. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Demonetization came as a storm for every couple who was supposed to tie the knot that year. Revisitng shaadis that were done in Jugaad:
Indian weddings are known for their big fat budgets and expensive gifts, but PM Modi changed the scenario overnight. Ban on old notes of ₹500 and ₹1000 left Indian couples with bare hands and inclined them to do some jugaad for which Indians are known. Many weddings had to be postponed, but others went ahead with their lower budgets or opted for online services.
Couples who made their marriage memorable: –
A couple from Surat went ahead with their marriage function and restricted their budget to ₹500
The Surat couple dropped their grand wedding plans and reduced their budget to ₹500. Guests were presented with tea and water only. Nothing lavish was there!
A couple from Tirupati asked their guests to give them blessings via Paytm & Amazon
Indian weddings are incomplete without gifts. A Tirupati resident Parthasarthy found himself in a stake after his card printer refused to accept ₹500 and ₹1000 notes or any other mode of payment. A designer by profession and made his e- invite, which highlighted that couples would be happy to accept blessings through Paytm, Amazon etc.
The couple who opted for card machines at their wedding reception
In one of the Indian weddings, guests were bound to give Shagun via swiping the cards, and the couple was holding the machine to accept the Shagun.
The couple had their wedding with funding from the entire village
The Bagal family’s wedding function was saved because of a crowdfunding effort by their village. Each person tried to withdraw cash from ATMs and banks to contribute.
Mathura couple who went cashless
Two couples in Mathura went cashless in their marriage. From panditji to the caterer, they made all the payments through cheques and bank transfers.
The couple who hired uber cabs for their wedding
Delhi resident Gaganpreet called himself unfortunate that he had to get married during the cash crunch. So, he decided to book uber cabs for wedding work.
The couple who un-invited their guests
A resident of Delhi, Yuvraj is also a victim of the currency ban. Unfortunately, he had to uninvite his guests and tied the knot with a little gathering of friends and family.
