London Diaries 2 | The notorious tendency to convert!

Prior to my UK travel I was getting plenty of very useful tips from my friends on what to take and what not to take while travelling and what to do and what not do while being in this new country. Some of these tips were quite obvious, some were quite new but all of them were surely handy. Some of the tips that are still fresh in my mind are -  to not take loads of warm clothes, as Indian woollen hardly works there, carry a pressure cooker as it is tough to find one there, carry handful of Maggie packets and more importantly a variety of pickles, as that will be ‘THE’ delicacy with the otherwise bland dal-rice. But the most emphatic and unanimous tips of all was to not convert or multiple anything and everything in rupees there.

 

Howsoever, innocuous and trivial this tip seemed at that point, it actually became a mind-boggler ever since I landed at Heathrow. And all this when I have a free hand while spending and almost extravagant ways while shopping, even despite that it’s too much of a task to ignore this conversion mania. And even if you succeed to ignore or by pass this through a strong resolve, your family and friends in India will ensure that you know how much you have spent in Indian rupees on such a trivial thingJ.

For instance, my relatives in India were shocked to know that I will have to pay over a lakh rupees (over £ 1000, considering 1£ = 100) just for my house rent, so much so that out of concern they even asked me to let them know in case I need any financial assistance to lead a good life out hereJ. Though, I finally managed to pacify there concerns but that probably made them believe that I am earning a bomb out here in LondonJ. Unfortunately, I didn’t had the logic and the patience to subside such grave misconceptions.

Similarly, when on one fine Sunday evening I couldn’t resist the temptation of feasting on my favourite samosas (4 for 3 £) and out of excitement I proudly called up my friend to tell him about this samosa binging in London. But rather than being happy about the fact that I have managed to locate a samosa shop  here, he was quick to mock me on the fact that I have spent around Rs 75 per samosa. I was a bit irritated and retorted saying that this is approximately what you pay for a samosa in a PVR or INOX, so why this fuss. Though it’s a different matter that neither at PVR’s and nor here at London, samosas are as sumptuous as they are in any of the local shops in India but then a samosa is a samosa, irrespective of the currency it is bought inJ.

My mom who was understandably worried about my eating arrangements here was delighted to know that I have managed to identify an Indian restaurant that serves home style ghee chapattis that I can eat with whatever curry I cook at home daily. But she was equally curious to know that how much it costs here, when I told her that its costs 1£ for 4 chapattis, she got furious swore and told ‘its costs just Rs 5/- here, I don’t know what is the point of leading such a painstaking life, so far off’. I couldn’t do much other than laughing out loud on this, however she was quick to call me back saying, ‘you don’t worry about money and the high cost chapattis, eat well, as health should be your top priority’J. So much for the London Chapattis!

The other day I casually told my wife that I am planning to go for the India England Lords test, scheduled to start later this month. She encouragingly told me to not miss this great opportunity at any cost but was also quick to ask me the cost of the ticket. I tried avoiding this question, but failed hopelessly as always. I smartly said ‘it’s just for hundred bucks’, to which she said ‘hundred rupees for a lords test match is a great deal’. I was happy that the storm has passed by and hence I tried hard to close this discussion then and there. But much to my misfortune the Sherlock in her woke up and she vehemently enquired again, is it 100 Rupees or 100 Pounds? And it’s a needless task to explain that what her reactions would have been on knowing that it’s for 100 PoundsL. After all, smartness in front of one’s wife is a thing of Chetan Bhagat’s overrated novels!

And the list of such experiences is a notoriously long one and this is something that you just can’t avoid in the first few weeks of your stay in any new country. You tend to compare, you tend to multiply and convert. In retrospect, it’s really funny at times but I have found out a rather interesting way to tackle this tendency – consider everything in £ as Rs. So 4 samosas for Rs 3, a lords test match ticket for Rs 100/-, 4 chapattis for Re 1 and a fully furnished flat for just over a 1000 Rs., makes it a beautiful world and a much easier lifeJ.

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