Queuing for Notes
In his paper Psychology of Waiting Lines, Prof. David Maister of Harvard Business School listed a few propositions about queues. Some of these are:
-Occupied time feels shorter than unoccupied time;
-Anxiety makes waits seem longer;
-Uncertain waits are longer than known, finite waits;
-Unfair waits feel longer than equitable waits;
-Solo waits feel longer than group waits, etc.
There were two kinds of people who queued up before banks, genuine persons who wished to exchange/deposit the banned currency notes. The second category consisted of what the Finance Minister termed as ‘currency mules’ who had come as surrogates with the holdings of people having black money.
The cash crunch forced some parents – parents who conscientiously taught their children the habit of saving - to borrow from their young children, whose piggy banks are loaded with Rs. 5 and 10 coins, Rs. 10, 20, 50 and 100 notes given by stingy but loving aunts, uncles, grandparents and family-friends. And the children would be very reluctant to consider such loans.
Women – maids to memsahebs – have been traditionally stashing away a little something for emergencies, behind their husbands’ back. They pick up any loose change they see about and stuff them into their blouses or other opaque storage. These are stored in numerous purses, big and small, used and unused, in the folds of sarees, stacked in cupboards, almirrahs, inside books and magazines, in kitchen racks, under mattresses, in crevices and what-have-you – all inaccessible to menfolk, to meet emergency expenses. Stowing away cash is done by women all over the world. In fact, the Japanese have given it a name ‘hesokuri’ or ‘money hidden in the navel’. When a child asks for something and the father denies, the mother, in a stealthy manner, dips into such sources and gives the money. Married daughters get something from their doting dads. Each time they add to this loot, they sleep well. Now, with demonetization of Rs. 500 and 1000 notes, they were forced to reveal about this accumulated loot!
Printing of new notes is a very slow process. Many villagers across the country reverted to the good old barter system to tide over the cash crunch.
Replacement of banned notes with new notes -remonetization- has been a long and torturous process, affecting supply of new notes, particularly in rural and scarcely-banked areas. People started lining up before banks long before opening time – often placing their passbooks, representing them, in the long queues. This is the season for paddy-procurement. Farmers who sell their paddy to government-agencies, faced long delays in receiving payment. Often, they had to spend nights in the biting cold winter before banks, hoping to get the money next morning when the bank opened.
While many were strapped for cash, it was a bonanza for numismatists - people who collect notes and coins no longer in circulation. Samples of the withdrawn notes were added to their albums.
For bankers, demonetization meant work, work and more work for the next few days. It unfolded as an untold agony for a million bankers in the whole country. Banks and ATMs remained closed on November 9; when Branches were closed, bankers spent the whole day planning on how to manage the exchange and withdrawals, particularly keeping the temper in the face an angry crowd. A million bankers at 1.3 lakh bank branches were at work for more than 12 hours a day. Ms. Arundhati Bhattacharya, Chairman of S B I, in a message to the staff said, “People are feeling helpless and many times, that helplessness will manifest itself in unreasonable behavior. It is important for us to retain our equanimity, no matter what the provocation.” The Chief Justice of India, during a hearing on the matter, expressed the apprehension that there would be riots. Fortunately due to the politeness and helpfulness of bankers, his apprehension did not happen. Bankers handled the situation with a belief that they were doing something meaningful for a societal transformation. Even retired bank staff helped branches in handling the situation. At least 40,000 truck drivers, custodians who fill ATMs with cash and security guards silently worked day and night with pride that they were helping the nation.
In Kolkata, there were reports that unemployed youth took up positions at the head of queues at banks and post offices early in the day and 'sold' these positions for Rs. 150 or 200 to the people who wanted to exchange or deposit banned notes.
Several persons died either while standing in queues or due to the inability to withdraw their money. A P Chief Minister arranged for supply of butter milk to people standing at banks and post offices in queues. Many people supplied water, biscuits and tea to people in queues. In Rajasthan a vegetable seller distributed vegetables free of cost to such people. In West Bengal, a councillor provided chairs to senior citizens in queue; Rabindra Sangeet was played for the people lining up. Some students helped people to fill up the forms for exchanging old notes. Avdesh Gupta, a businessman at Moradabad deposited a total amount of Rs. 1.55 lakh in notes of Rs. 10, 50 and 100 in his bank which had run out of notes of lower denominations to give to people wishing to exchange or withdraw.
In Kanpur, a woman who was in the queue at Punjab National Bank, went in to labour. When her labour pains grew unbearable, other women customers surrounded her and helped her to deliver the baby boy inside the bank. The baby was promptly named 'Khazanchi Nath'! Khazana in Hindi means treasure and treasury, where cash and other valuables are kept.
One good result of demonetization was that banks have received huge deposits from people who have deposited the 500 and 1000 currency notes with them; this means that there has been a substantial rise in the lending capacity of banks. Another benefit is that online transactions have increased and India has progressed towards 'less-cash' economy. People who have tasted the convenience of cashless transactions, will limit their cash-transactions.
To be continued.....
