My Date With the RBI

Yesterday was interesting. Being old-fashioned as well as being old, I still like crisp bank notes. So, I went to this land of Kuber in India to get some of those new notes.

I was impressed with the security measures in place. One had to get a photo-pass after showing some photo ID. But once inside the main building, it was all a quaint government office — though clean. As you'll find in any government office, there were countless counters numbering 40 plus. However, pretty much all of those counters were closed with only one or two being functional. And lo and behold, when I joined the queue, they ran out of money ! So, a few of us folks had to twiddle our thumbs for a while waiting for cash to arrive which it eventually did and I returned with my meager 'cache' of new notes.

It was interesting to visit the old heart of New Delhi with its numerous government offices with employees all sitting outside enjoying the balmy weather. The odd reporter from outside might even have mistaken that huge gathering for some sort of uprising even ... like in Cairo. Of course, it was nothing of the sort ... just Indians being Indians.