Back home in RRF, money was always hard to come by. Many a times we, as children, wished that those frequent squabbles of our parents over money (lack of) never arises. As part of economising and savings, Amma used to ink down a monthly budget for the family. Sundry goods were always enlisted and bought in advance from a particular shop, with cash of course. Amma made it a point never to buy on credit as she believed that it would always spiral out of control. She learnt her lesson well, thanks to her father who singlehandedly burnt off his whole family fortune in a single generation!
When I look at the budget that she had penned, it would appear as money was just enough. No place for unexpected misfortune or malady. Of course, she would supplement her income through her sewing skills. Pretty soon she carved a name for herself amongst the occupants of RRF. When the coffer started welling, never overflowing, she would give out loans to pathetically poor and uninitiated inhabitants of RRF who turned out to bad paymasters and I would be summoned to be the debt collector!
Her bank was gold. With the little savings, she would buy gold ornaments. To me, it appeared like a waste of resources, paying for the workmanship and risk of theft and I would express my displeasure and absurdity of displaying openly her
wealth for prying eyes and jewel thieves to see. Well, she looked at it differently. It was her status symbol, to be put in high esteem by her neighbours and friends. In case of emergency, she would quietly board the LSS green bus to pawn her priced jewel at a particular pawn shop near Prangin Bus Station. She is not dependant on anybody for alms. Periodically she would peruse the pawn chit to make sure that she does not miss the pawn expiry date. When the tide is high, she would proudly redeem her jewel, otherwise it would be another 6 months' lease. Hold behold, the day she missed the pawn expiry date. Everyone in the house would be in the line of fire for no obvious reason.
This, I think is the economic dynamics in most South Indian low middle class wage earning family in Malaysia a generation ago. The family on the outward may look patriarchal but deep down when it comes on to dollars and cents and the daily running of household, the duty falls on the wife. Answerable to the head family, in spite of the meagre income, she somehow stinges here and there to ensure non collapse of the family economics. She could use her ingenuity and living skills towards this end. She would sing the song of melancholy and hopelessness even in the best of times. Come dire straits, she would somehow needle out here and there out of thin air!
So, it all boils down to management. And that applies to all fields that we indulge or given the responsibility to take care.
In a lush equatorial country like ours with rain in abundance throughout the year with rainfall of close to 100 inches a year, we still have to keep up with embarrassing headlines of water shortages and water rationing hogging our newspaper. That why it is a water management board is there in the first place - to manage water and ensure supply during dry spell, not just cut water supply of non payers or just put up water disruption notices. You cannot blame in on the rain, the lack of it, contamination or
simply God. Period.
The disgraced lip-synchronising duo of Milli Vinilli
When I look at the budget that she had penned, it would appear as money was just enough. No place for unexpected misfortune or malady. Of course, she would supplement her income through her sewing skills. Pretty soon she carved a name for herself amongst the occupants of RRF. When the coffer started welling, never overflowing, she would give out loans to pathetically poor and uninitiated inhabitants of RRF who turned out to bad paymasters and I would be summoned to be the debt collector!Her bank was gold. With the little savings, she would buy gold ornaments. To me, it appeared like a waste of resources, paying for the workmanship and risk of theft and I would express my displeasure and absurdity of displaying openly her
wealth for prying eyes and jewel thieves to see. Well, she looked at it differently. It was her status symbol, to be put in high esteem by her neighbours and friends. In case of emergency, she would quietly board the LSS green bus to pawn her priced jewel at a particular pawn shop near Prangin Bus Station. She is not dependant on anybody for alms. Periodically she would peruse the pawn chit to make sure that she does not miss the pawn expiry date. When the tide is high, she would proudly redeem her jewel, otherwise it would be another 6 months' lease. Hold behold, the day she missed the pawn expiry date. Everyone in the house would be in the line of fire for no obvious reason.
This, I think is the economic dynamics in most South Indian low middle class wage earning family in Malaysia a generation ago. The family on the outward may look patriarchal but deep down when it comes on to dollars and cents and the daily running of household, the duty falls on the wife. Answerable to the head family, in spite of the meagre income, she somehow stinges here and there to ensure non collapse of the family economics. She could use her ingenuity and living skills towards this end. She would sing the song of melancholy and hopelessness even in the best of times. Come dire straits, she would somehow needle out here and there out of thin air!
So, it all boils down to management. And that applies to all fields that we indulge or given the responsibility to take care.
In a lush equatorial country like ours with rain in abundance throughout the year with rainfall of close to 100 inches a year, we still have to keep up with embarrassing headlines of water shortages and water rationing hogging our newspaper. That why it is a water management board is there in the first place - to manage water and ensure supply during dry spell, not just cut water supply of non payers or just put up water disruption notices. You cannot blame in on the rain, the lack of it, contamination or
simply God. Period.
Comments
Post a Comment