POWER STRUGGLE NON PAREIL
When i received my electricity bill for October, i got the shock of my life ( pun intended) It was a cool Rs 4500 a 300 percent jump over the previous month. After frantic efforts to find out the explanation for it from the power supplier, I came to know that it included a penalty at the rate of Rs 5/75 for each unit consumed over the level of October 2005. The fact that the family was away for the whole of last October, was no extenuating factor. The moving hand which prints out the bills had billed and moved on, and not all my tears could wash out a word ( or figure) from it. After applying for a short term loan for paying this gargantuan bill, we had an emergency meeting of all family members. The kids of the family volunteered that from today, they would study on the pavement below the luminous sodium lamps. If Vishveshwarayya and CV Raman could study under street lamps and become bharat ratnas and nobel laureates, why cant we, they argued. The lady of the house agreed to stop the use of the washing machine and do all the washing herself. I, as the head of the family, agreed to retrieve the huge 1000 litre copper vessel from the attic and build a fireplace for it in the bathrooom and collect firewood from the forest club where I go for my morning constitutional.
Use of fans would be restricted to guests only. It was decided to sell off the 265 frig and buy a 160 litre one running on kerosine oil ( we have to revive our ration card to get the kerosine and locate the nearest fair price shop).
Dinner will be a candle light affair hereafter. So romantic. Yes television is out. Instead, we would buy a radio run on Eveready cells. Children can sneak into the neighbor's drawing room to watch theri favourite disney channel or cartoon network.
We had a family heirloom in the shape of an Alladin's lamp, beautiful brass one with a cotton wick and run on kerosine. We had given it to a Fengshui enthusiast who took an instant liking for it. It is embarrassing to ask her to return it, but circumstances have compelled us to get it back and it will serve as the kitchen light.
As we were deliberating, Mirchilal our neighbour walked in. Seeing our glum faces, he asked us what was the matter. After hearing us, he just laughed and said, "What simpletons u r ! Just dont pay the bill. Go to the Consumer court. Challenge the penalty. They just cant fleece us like this. And if it comes to that, I have devised a novel way of ciarcumventing the meter..The device costs a mere 500 bucks and all that u have to do is to fix it at the point before the cable enters the meter. Once a week, u can detatch it so that your bill doesnt come to zero."
The patriot in me was touched to the quick. " Satan, get theee behind me" I told Mirchilal. Not knowing that Satan was his second name, he just blinked and refused to budge. "Do u want us to become petty robbers? Power thieves?" Perish the thought. We would rather beg borrow ( but not steal) to pay the electricity bills than commit power theft. And what do u think will happen to this country if everyone thinks like u? The Dabhol power plant will not be re-started, Tatas and Ambanis will become bankrupt and the Indo-US deal on nuclear co-operation to put up more atomic power plants will fall through. As it is, with the democrats in a majority in the Senate it is in serious trouble.
Mirchilal being a shrewd businessman, the Tata Ambani part of it apppealed to him though dabhol and Indo US pact went over his head. He just grinned and stood there. He had come to sell his 500 buck contraption to us having gone thru the bills of all the flats in the housing society, he had zeroed in on the potential customers. In fact, he had put up a small factory to make these short cuts to power.and had forreseen the market size expanding. Having sensed our mood however he beat a hasty retreat to the flat of the next potential customer.
And yours truly and family decided to tighten our belts, gird up our loins and spend sleepless nights amidst attacking hordes of mosquitoes in the dark, rather than compromise our principles. Long live honesty! As Mark Twain said honesty is often the best policy but the appearance of it is worth ten times of it.
Use of fans would be restricted to guests only. It was decided to sell off the 265 frig and buy a 160 litre one running on kerosine oil ( we have to revive our ration card to get the kerosine and locate the nearest fair price shop).
Dinner will be a candle light affair hereafter. So romantic. Yes television is out. Instead, we would buy a radio run on Eveready cells. Children can sneak into the neighbor's drawing room to watch theri favourite disney channel or cartoon network.
We had a family heirloom in the shape of an Alladin's lamp, beautiful brass one with a cotton wick and run on kerosine. We had given it to a Fengshui enthusiast who took an instant liking for it. It is embarrassing to ask her to return it, but circumstances have compelled us to get it back and it will serve as the kitchen light.
As we were deliberating, Mirchilal our neighbour walked in. Seeing our glum faces, he asked us what was the matter. After hearing us, he just laughed and said, "What simpletons u r ! Just dont pay the bill. Go to the Consumer court. Challenge the penalty. They just cant fleece us like this. And if it comes to that, I have devised a novel way of ciarcumventing the meter..The device costs a mere 500 bucks and all that u have to do is to fix it at the point before the cable enters the meter. Once a week, u can detatch it so that your bill doesnt come to zero."
The patriot in me was touched to the quick. " Satan, get theee behind me" I told Mirchilal. Not knowing that Satan was his second name, he just blinked and refused to budge. "Do u want us to become petty robbers? Power thieves?" Perish the thought. We would rather beg borrow ( but not steal) to pay the electricity bills than commit power theft. And what do u think will happen to this country if everyone thinks like u? The Dabhol power plant will not be re-started, Tatas and Ambanis will become bankrupt and the Indo-US deal on nuclear co-operation to put up more atomic power plants will fall through. As it is, with the democrats in a majority in the Senate it is in serious trouble.
Mirchilal being a shrewd businessman, the Tata Ambani part of it apppealed to him though dabhol and Indo US pact went over his head. He just grinned and stood there. He had come to sell his 500 buck contraption to us having gone thru the bills of all the flats in the housing society, he had zeroed in on the potential customers. In fact, he had put up a small factory to make these short cuts to power.and had forreseen the market size expanding. Having sensed our mood however he beat a hasty retreat to the flat of the next potential customer.
And yours truly and family decided to tighten our belts, gird up our loins and spend sleepless nights amidst attacking hordes of mosquitoes in the dark, rather than compromise our principles. Long live honesty! As Mark Twain said honesty is often the best policy but the appearance of it is worth ten times of it.
posted by vichchoobhai at 7:56 AM
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