Stocking for winter days

Whenever I visit the super market here I am happy to note that things are in good supply and plentily available.People buy left and right and stock. My friend was boasting that both his refrigerator and freezer are full of food items and they should be sufficient for the next fortnight if not longer.

When I told about the availability of things in the super market, my American colleague had a laugh and said ' wait till January/February when during heavy snow fall, you may find that super markets are nearly empty of things'. He said that in the past, people after reading the weather forecast for the coming days, will rush to the super markets and buy everything right from milk, bread, eggs etc. including toilet paper once they find that the weather is going to be severe and motoring to super markets may not be possible.

In Mumbai, we had to stock things once when there was a prolonged strike threat by transport workers was announced. One good thing in India is that essential commodities like milk are exempted from strike and milk was delivered at the door step.

I am also reminded of the story behind the Burma-shell oil company. It is said that during the second world war and especially when there was an imminent threat of attack of Madras by a Japanese war ship Emden, one gentleman stocked petrol and kerosine and sold them at higher price. He later started the Burma-shell company.