She shook her head forlornly, stared at her toes and said ominously, “Just hang on to what you have. There are no fresh jobs.Which cuckoo-land am I living in? I keep staring at my gold bangles and gold chains these days and experience a deep sense of security, even comfort, knowing if all else fails, I have my little stash of gold to fall back on.” Oh dear! There wasn’t all that much to hang on to.Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman (Photo: File)The other morning, I went to my neighbourhood bank locker looking for something to wear during the ongoing Ganesh Utsav. Given that this generation goes out twice a week at least, it seemed like one hell of a lot of money.Clutching my gold close to my heart, I got home feeling smug and called up a daughter to gloat. Then came the merger of PSU banks and we went, “Huh?”

All sorts of strange policy decisions were announced, with our finance minister breezily explaining roll backs and what not. Are we all living in a bubble? Under a stone? Are we in denial? As I drive through Mumbai, and stroll through malls, am I missing key indicators and fooling myself? I checked with another daughter, who has told me recently that the average spending for two in any halfway decent restaurant these days was 15k. Madame Sitharaman, it is time to rejig outdated rules and challenge Budget traditions. Readers can send feedback to Madame Sitharaman, it is time to rejig outdated rules and challenge Budget traditions. Shobhaa De has been challenging status quo for four decades. We are in for trouble. And my wonderful lady friend who is in charge of my savings, had warned me of dire times to come. She foam board barrel screws smiled and said, “Even a single movie trip to a multiplex on a weekend works out to 5k per person, with just snacks during the interval. Just in case I needed to flog it for groceries down the line. But I will be a good girl and sacrifice modaks. If we weren’t convinced, well, too bad.