http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/open-page/onion-is-not-oxygen/article5079959.ece
In a well thought article calling for action from all individuals,
I was living at Karaikudi, a part of Chettinad in Tamil Nadu, where the dominant community was indeed rich, orthodox, highly philanthropic and well educated. I used to go out with my mother to the weekly shandy and distinctly remember her purchasing the weekly requirements of vegetables for a family of five for less than a rupee. The womenfolk of that dominant community of Chettinad would boycott any shop in the shandy if the cost there was a little higher than in the other shops. The way they treated the shop keeper charging a higher price was unique and the result was that the town was comparatively cheap and life was smooth. All due to the ‘will to resist’ on the part of housewives.
In a well thought article calling for action from all individuals,
I was living at Karaikudi, a part of Chettinad in Tamil Nadu, where the dominant community was indeed rich, orthodox, highly philanthropic and well educated. I used to go out with my mother to the weekly shandy and distinctly remember her purchasing the weekly requirements of vegetables for a family of five for less than a rupee. The womenfolk of that dominant community of Chettinad would boycott any shop in the shandy if the cost there was a little higher than in the other shops. The way they treated the shop keeper charging a higher price was unique and the result was that the town was comparatively cheap and life was smooth. All due to the ‘will to resist’ on the part of housewives.
Can society play any role in holding the price hike? I would boldly
declare ‘yes’, if only society really feels suffocated and would like to
do something in this regard. But look at the long queue in hotels to
find a seat where ‘dosa’ is sold at Rs. 70 a piece, a cup of 150 ml
coffee for Rs. 40! Look at the cinemas where a new film is released with
people thronging for the first show paying astronomical amounts.
Despite the spiralling cost of petrol and diesel, look at the queue in
petrol stations.
Do I resist purchasing onion at Rs. 80 or tomato at Rs. 50 a kg? Onion
is not oxygen without which I cannot breathe! Supposing people do not
purchase beans at Rs. 70 a kg, how long would the shopkeeper keep the
vegetable on his shelves? — right from the wholesale merchant to my
street vendor? If office-goers as a class desist using their
petrol/diesel vehicles and choose public conveyance, won’t petrol price
come down? If we boycott the autodrivers charging an unreasonably high
fare, can they continue forever by fleecing the people?
Yes, onion is not oxygen! We cannot live without oxygen but we sure can
without onion! Prices cannot go up when it begins to rot!
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