A wallet of candies

Those were the days when the shopkeeper always complained of a shortage of change and customers invariably got candies instead of 1 or 2 rupees change

There was a time, not long ago, when we didn’t have digital wallets and UPI payments but used paper money. Credit cards had made their debut, but no one thought of swiping the card for the mango bought from a man pushing the cart, unlike today, when even for a purchase of an item worth Rs 100, cards are swiped.

Those were also the days when the shopkeeper always complained of a shortage of change and customers invariably got candies instead of 1 or 2 rupees change as my friend Sarla always did.

A middle-aged woman looking for bargains, Sarla once went to a newly-opened grocery store for her regular purchases. She bought things worth Rs 689. She handed Rs 700 to the shopkeeper. In return, she got Rs 10 and an orange candy. She looked at the shopkeeper for a while but didn’t say anything and left the place. She put the candy in one of the kitchen jars at home and forgot all about the incident.

Next month, Sarla again went to the store to get her groceries, and again she was given candies as change. “No change, madam,” the person at the billing counter replied. She was upset but again left the place without saying anything and placed those candies in the kitchen jar.

This went on for a few months, and one day she sat down to count how many candies she had collected so far. Wow! There were 10 of them. Her 6-year-old daughter demanded those candies, but Sarla had other plans.

She eagerly waited for her next grocery trip to the store. After all the shopping was done, she went to the billing counter. The shopkeeper billed her Rs 710. She pulled out Rs 700 from her wallet and placed it at the counter. The shopkeeper reminded her that she had to give another Rs 10. She smiled and acknowledged. She pulled out the 10 candies from a small pouch that she had carried and placed them on the counter. “Here is the pending amount,” she replied.

The shopkeeper looked at her aghast, unable to speak. He understood what had just happened. Sarla gave an innocent smile and walked out of the store with her purchases and, of course, her victory.