Friday, May 6, 2011

Bananas - Rs.40 a dozen!

This news got me in a bit of a shock last month when one banana seller warned us as we browsed though his merchandise that the prices had gone up to Rs. 42 a dozen. In those days we were buying bananas for Rs. 30 which itself was a huge spurt from rs. 20 last. Now this steep hike seemed rather unjustified. Why bananas? Anyway after that encounter we were a little less flippant whenever we saw bananas and banana vendors on the road and treated them reverently. Today after many days I ventured to buy some - and they seemed to have steadied at Rs. 40 a dozen.

The time has obviously come to buy bananas in singles, doubles etc and also check for the odd rotten one they slip in between. It was once the food for the poor who could buy a few and devour them at that very spot (most often near bus stands where people could slip and fall over the peeled banana skins) and get back some of their energy but at this rate the poor are certainly running out of cheap options to eat. To put things in perspective, tea at the Irani cafe now sells for Rs. 7. Yes, that little half cup that is half spilt into the saucer! I need to do some more checking on the prices of fruits. But I suspect that with the impending fuel hike next week bananas may soon hit a half century!

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