Haroon Bijli

So two upper class men spend less than 100 a day and it is worthy of coverage in the New York Times blogs? Oh well. Millions of Indians (and Chinese, Indonesians, Bangladeshis, Pakistanis et al) do so on much less and they probably aren’t even a topic of conversation in their own families.

Anyway, I have my own little tale to share. I’ve also spent some time on less than Rs 100 a day, partly voluntary, partly forced, and that too in the city of Mumbai.

Honestly, it wasn’t that difficult. There’s a caveat there – I didn’t pay on a daily basis for accommodation or transport. I paid for these on a monthly basis – Rs 1700 for a shared one room apartment in Borivili and Rs 400 for a first class train pass between Borivili and Churchgate. My office was at Nariman Point at that time.

I don’t want to go into detail about how I got myself into the situation. It was a curious mix of circumstances: I arrived for my job at a leading IT services company in the third week of May 2000. I stayed for a week at a relative’s flat, and then moved into the one room flat along with a cousin of mine in the first weekend of June 2000. I’d spent all the money I had by that time, and my first salary was due more than two weeks away. I had a little below Rs 2000 with me. I had applied for a salary advance, but in those days, those processes were offline and bureaucratic.

16 days. A budget of Rs 2000 including loose change.

That worked out to Rs 125. I set myself a target of managing within Rs 100 a day.

Here’s how it went:

Weekdays:
Breakfast            Rs 20      (Vegetarian Sandwich – Rs 15 and Tea – Rs 5 at Churchgate Station)
Lunch                 Rs 12       (Two Vada Pavs or one Veg Burger at Churchgate Station)
Evening snack    Rs 12      (Biscuits and Tea – or Vada Pav again – you get really hungry after that miniscule lunch)
Dinner                 Rs 25      (Veg Thali near Borivili railway station, at one of those Rajasthani labor class Bhojanalayas)
For additional nourishment, a banana or two – Rs 6 or so.

That comes around to how much… Rs 75. Add the train fare (Rs 13 a day) and it would still be well below Rs 100. To be exact, Rs 88.

Well within target.

Rent? Rs 56 for a day.

Rs 144 for a day. Not bad, I’d say, even in 2000. And I am living in Mumbai, a really expensive city, and not in Kottayam District, Kerala. (I’ll let someone else do the inflation adjustment and all that economics BS)

Weekends were a torture. I usually came to office on Saturdays, spent time on the Internet, did some random emailing and walked around south Mumbai. The spend would inevitably top around Rs 200 despite my best efforts. Sundays were worse. The breakfast was Samosa from the nearby halwai, some Kesar Ugala or chai at the local shop. I’d go back to my apartment and try to forget my hunger by reading a bestseller – some Tom Clancy, Frederick Forsyth, Michael Crichton or John Grisham books.

Those two weeks plus eventually passed, albeit very slowly. By the end of the month I had around Rs 200 to pay the maid who washed our clothes.

Even after I started getting my regular salary, my spending went up by only Rs 50 or so.

Did I enjoy my first year in Mumbai? Hell no! I think I was stupid.

The Vada Pavs and the Veg Burgers took their toll. I grew a little thinner. The Bhojanalay food was pathetic. Watery dal, tasteless vegetables, and really unhygienic places to eat. I might sound bourgeois, but honestly, rubbing shoulders with sweaty, stinky and rude laborers wasn’t my thing. Some of my best friends back in Kerala were fruit-sellers and auto mechanics, and I had classmates who worked as laborers in their spare time. But then, they were much better off than the labor class in Mumbai.

Am I proud of it? No, not at all. I had a choice, but was probably pigheaded to exercise it. Most people who live within Rs 100 a day usually do it because they don’t have a choice. In a way, you are mocking them.

There is nothing noble about living life like a poor man, especially when you can easily afford to spend more. I should probably have managed my finances better, or even borrowed money. Pride sometimes makes you pigheaded and stupid. Empathy is all good, but when you spend, you spread your wealth. Take the rickshaw ride. Buy fruit. Eat Bhelpuri. Get your shoes polished. Get the mosaic floors at your apartment done. Earn. Spend. Save. Contribute. Enjoy a life well lived.

At that period of my life, I should have spent more money and enjoyed life better.