There are many things in this world which are so much Indian - be it spicy food, the passion for cricket, diverse cultures, awesome heritage, poor safety record for women (indian and foreign both. Say, this can be another topic to write upon!) e.t.c. But one thing which can also be associated with India are torn paper notes. Be it the orange back (the 10 rs ones), the blue backs (the 100 rs ones), the yellowish-green backs (the 500 rs ones) there can be no guarantee when a torn or taped note would land in your wallet but when it does we indians indulge in our 3rd favourite past time (and we are very good at it, well presumably!) 'The Art of getting Rid of Torn Notes'. Cricket and Movies are the first and second favourite.
While the RBI exchanges torn notes, nobody has the patience and time to go all the way to exchange a torn 10 rs, 5 rs and even a 100 rs note. Although if the torn note is worth 500 (I dont think anyone has the guts to tear or wet a 1000 rs note, or do they ?) then perhaps we might like to find some business near where the RBI is located and get it exchanged or look for a 'Money Changing Agent' who would keep the torn note while returning only half the amount, or perhaps some more, retaining the rest in the name of commission. So in such cases there is only one option for the aam aadmi (or Mango Man as per a certain Mr Vadra) to do, devise ways as to how to fool/con/sucker someone into accepting the torn note from you.
Keeping the torn notes apart for a second, if you land up with a Fake Note then God help you ! During my days as a manager in a fast food chain I landed up with a fake 1000 rs note and worried for quite a bit of time that the amount would be deducted from my salary until I observed that one of the female attendants in the petrol pump next door was interested in one of my delivery boys. That was the cue I needed. All it took was a warm smile from the boy and the girl agreed to stick the note inside the wad of note's which had to be given to the guy who came with the tanker to supply petrol to that pump. But, not everybody can be that lucky!
But what do we do when we come across a torn 100 rs note or a 10 rs or a 5 rs note ? They do not accidentally slip into the wad of notes given to you by the tradesman or the shopkeeper but are intentionally are kept there to make a fool of you and get themselves rid of that thorn In their cash box. These days another trick employed by us is by saying ''Koi baat nahi, note nahi chala toh hume waapas kar dena'. I say it is a trick is because we all know that we wouldn't return to the shop atleadt until the next couple of weeks, badically giving him time to get rid of the irritant himself and how else would he do it apart from fooling another hapless person into accepting it. The vicious circle goes on in this way.
There have been numerous time's when I have landed with a torn note and many of times they have managed to infiltrate into my dreams as well. Dreaming that it is 12 pm in the night in a Safe City like Delhi (pun intended, you know it very well that there is no such entity like a safe delhi in this world) you have 15 bucks in your pocket to buy a bus ticket (while you might be well off but a struggler might have that amount or even lesser, dont ask me!) and the 10 rs note is a torn one!
I have, just like many other indians, indulged in this pastime of how to sucker the person in front of me into accepting the torn note i had. Whether I do it by slipping it between a wad of notes while keeping him engrossed in talking so that he doesn't get the oppurtunity to check it OR fold the torn note is a special manner so that I can make a mickey out of the shopkeeper or the bus conductor OR I do it in any other innovative fashion, the creativity is mine. But whenever the idea works and the guy in front of me (or you) accepts the note we heave a sigh of relief just like Manmohan Singh would do whenever he would pick up a newspaper and see that Rahul Baba hasn't dubbed anything else as 'nonsense' in his government. The common words which escape our mouths when we get rid of the notes are 'Chalo Jaan Chhooti' (Good Riddance). The thrill of getting rid of torn notes is arguably unmatchable. But by now, I believe, we have bevome experts in this 'Art of getting rid of Torn Notes'.
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