Change kodi saar

The city's gargantuan appetite for loose change defies all limits. Whether you are dealing with auto drivers, bus conductors or supermaket cashiers, the common refrain will be 'change kodi saar'. 

This reaction, mind you, is not just for wide off the mark transaction like say Rs 500 for something worth Rs 40, but for even close ones like say Rs 50 for something worth Rs 42. The shops and supermarkets will make you fish out Rs 2 so that they can give back a Rs 10 note and not part with their shiny, jangly, Re 1 or Rs 2 coins in their cash boxes. In case of autos you will have to wait till he blinks and agrees to part with change or agree for 'round offs' - of course in the driver's favour.

Bus conductors have this practice of scribbling down the balance amount on the back of the ticket, which I sometimes forget to claim in the melee to wade through the crowd to get down at the destination or sometimes remember only after getting off. I am sure there might be many like me, but looks like all that is not enough for the BMTC to be in the pink of financial health!

The one particular incident that really takes the cake was when I went to pay my telephone bill at a Bangalore One centre. The bill amount was Rs 331 and I had zealously preserved a couple of hundreds and few tenners for the purpose. At the counter I gave them three Rs 100 notes, a Rs 20 note, a Rs 10 note and a two rupee coin. Even then the women at the counter had the cheek to say she does not have Re 1 to pay balance. The sheer exasperation writ large on my face made her cower a bit and she immediately sought the next counter girl's help and did manage to give back Rs 1 coin. The first thing I did after coming home was to sign up for paying phone bills through netbanking!

At another instance, on reaching Yeshwanthpur railway station by taxi, I extended a Rs 500 note to the driver as the agreed amount was Rs 400. The driver parroted the same "Change kodi ..." response but I decided to not budge. I had no choice but to be stubborn, as on that particular day even the ATMs were unkind to me. They were doling out only Rs 500 notes and came up with 'invalid transaction' message whenever I keyed in amounts below Rs 500. Finally the driver relented and returned a Rs 100 note and, in fact, he had a thick wad of same denomination notes tucked in his purse.

This unexplained urge to hoard loose change totally beats me.  

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