Cash garland business takes the big note hit
NEW DELHI: The ATMs are dry, the banks are almost. The cash crunch is leading many ingenious people to shops in the Capital’s old quarters that sell money — crisp banknotes strung together into a garland.
A bridegroom’s paraphernalia demands such garlands of cash in most north Indian weddings, but the more-than-two-dozen makers of this vanity item are getting unusual customers this season.
The reason is not hard to guess for garland-makers such as Mohammad Mehtab. Most of those landing at their shops are pretenders — people posing as grooms for a garland for their empty wallets.
An attractive garland contains about 100 notes, and these can be unstrung to meet daily expenses or make sundry purchases.
People want to buy garlands made of 100- and 50-rupee notes, and pay from their e-wallet or credit card.
Some offer to shell out `15,000 in defunct 500and 1,000-rupee notes in exchange for a 100-rupee garland that will give `10,000 of crispy valid cash.
But the merchants are as cash-strapped as anyone after the government recalled high-value notes in a shock move last month, triggering a steep demand for bills of lower denomination. They said business is down by 90% this wedding season, which is from November to February, as their calling and craft solely depend on the availability of mint-fresh notes.
Some of these traders had made garlands that contained `1 lakh worth of notes pieced together, catering to the insatiable fascination for big fat weddings. This season, they said, people are settling for garlands of flowers.