Working for peanuts

While I have nothing against peanuts (indeed I have to confess that I am a huge-huge peanut fan. I love to have that wonderful nut in my pocket any time of the day. And do believe me when I say that, for I do keep them handy with me in those times of crisis when I am awake till 1 am reading an interesting book and I am having hunger-pangs). Ehmm, that apart, just now I went down to buy a packet of my fav - roasted,salted peanuts. I took them in my hands and asked the store keeper to name the price and he said - 15Rs. Hmmm, now I have a skipped beat and I think of few months back when I bought the same packet for 10Rs. The same packet cost 12Rs last month (and I did buy them with holding a grudge against that distributor who just increased the price by 2Rs!) and now this. 15Rs!

Woah .. that's too much I think and I confront the store keeper with the same concern. And he gives me that non-committal shrug and says "haan, ab price bad gaya hai..!" and a which-world-do-you-live-in look. I dont know if it the increased price or the keeper's attitude that pissed me off, but I say a stern "Toh mujhe nahi chahiye" and returned empty handed.

All the way back, I am determined that anyone can make roasted,salted peanuts at home! What's there so much to do in that. Ha, I will show those people selling the peanuts, who is the master of the game.

Now that I am seated in my cool AC room, my head calms down and I say to myself - who am I fooling. They will get another buyers. And I might end up not buying the peanuts from that store in my life time and turn my heads to another store to get my supply of peanuts (I try not being a hypocrite, but hey there are limits to it. Besides, I haven't yet got the recipe for my peanuts, so I will have to buy the peanuts till then, wont I?) But then another thought pops in my mind - a totally radical one I say!

Ask any ITian who works for that big, huge. massive, multi-state, multi-national company how much does he gets after hogging for almost 18 hours a day, almost 7 days a week and I think many would indeed believe that they are working for peanuts.

When there was a time (I am recounting those times when barter system was prevalent) when people worked and laboured for a handful of rice, a bag of wheat, a litre of milk .. this peanuts we are talking about would have indeed been one of the most revered food. Then - time passes, things change, man modernizes and those peanuts become just that - 'peanuts'!

But today I just realized that the price of peanuts just became 150% of what it was just a few months back! And I am certain, no ITian would agree that his value just became 150% times(that's way too much to ask for). Hmm, so I propose this - that it is time that we stop valuing peanuts for nothing and rather think of ourselves working for cucumbers or bitter-gourds or wild beans or ... gosh, even their prices have touched sky high!

Rather it would be best to say that we are working for grass. (I am sure it is nothing to us today, but if the government doesn't keep a check on things, grass would soon become the staple food .. )

P.S : Did you know a few years back, we had a dead tiger in my home town, Nasik. Though I dont quite remember the reason of his death, postmortem reports showed that the tiger had grass in his intestine.

 

Thanks for popping in!

 

You know, I am all again thinking of having a lifestyle like our ancestors (have a small land, grow your own pulses, veggies, etc.. would be better it seems?! But I know, then the prices of land and fertilizers will bankrupt us!:bonk) I dont quite understand what makes the prices to just shoot in such a short time? It boggles ones mind!:spin

 

ILT, really, you got the feeling! And man, we call ourselves krishi-desh! Really, what is causing all this trouble?

And I think that inflation by 50% is everyone's favourite. Just in the morning I was brushing my teeth and thought about my toothpaste. Costed me 42 bucks just a few months back and I bought it yesterday for 61 bucks! see almost 50% raise! :rant

I have never been the kind of person who keeps an eye on these things, the prices, the inflation, etc :hide:. But attacking my beloved peanuts did make a big impact on my vision I think!:crazy

 

For that new thing you introduced me to. Palm sugar! I definitely haven't tried that yet. But sure will.

Hmmm, I may have heard of it (I think karipatti in Malayalam might be the thing, I have heard that it is black too) Do we eat the peanuts raw or roasted with the palm sugar?