Jaya Satish : Madras Housewife
"Children’s education is becoming a real resource drain and it has, infact, replaced the desire to have a home as the cost of a home and the price of educationare nearly the same. It’s a luxury to fall ill. Probably, only hawala-relatedpoliticians can go to any of these five-star hospitals. And government hospitals arepigsties anyway."
Jagdish Sau : Calcutta Rickshawpuller
"Today I send more money every month to my family in Begusarai in Bihar, butexpenses have mounted faster. Recently, I bought an old black-and-white TV set for Rs1,200. My children have started watching TV programmes which show how babus in our societylive and behave."
Ranjana Manohermayum : Government Employee, Imphal
"Yes, we have satellite TV, but banks still hesitate to give loans toManipuris as recovery rates have been poor in the past, and only the Indian Airlinesoffice accepts credit cards. Prices, always high in the Northeast, are even higher today.In fact, the only things that are cheaper than elsewhere are fancy smuggled goods:Levi’s jeans for Rs 800, National ACs for Rs 18,000."
Chowdhary Balkishan : A rich farmer in Khekra in West Uttar Pradesh's sugercanebelt
"Manmohan Singh is a ‘neta’ more interested in the dollar than inthe ‘kisan’. Today, I would be doing my grandson, who wants to be an engineerand not a farmer, a good turn if I were to sell my land and set up a factory for him. Youhave a lot of foreigners coming in but don’t have schools in villages that will teachyour farmers English. Liberalisation has not helped us."
Asavari Joshi : Surf Ultra model and Marathi stage actress
"In the last five years, we’ve bought a TV, a VCR, a washing machine, aMaruti 800, a 510 sq ft two-bedroom flat and booked a Fiat Uno. But we used to spend Rs600-700 per month on provisions, we now spend twice as much. That’s why, whenI’m returning home via Dadar, I pick up vegetables there; it’s lessexpensive."
Kasim Bhai : Madras beggar
"I know only Indira Gandhi. After her, there is no other politician who isworth remembering. I never knew that we had an old economic policy and that we now have anew economic policy. Will it give me a decent burial after my death? My only fear is thatdogs and flies will devour my corpse."
Vishal Madhani : Bombay teenager
"Pocket money has gone up but still, Rs 200 a week is just not enough. Chewing gumwhich used to cost one rupee costs Rs 3 today, and ‘pataoing’ girls is costingmore and more. The Government is doing shit for the common man, like our servants. Justlook at this hawala-shawala, cheap buggers. Manmohan Singh is the only good guy in theGovernment. He’s the perfect finance minister."
Mohammed Kalim : Landless labourer on the Delhi-Haryana border
"I go to the same dhaba for my dal-roti lunch. Cinema ticket prices havegone up tremendously, and that’s the only form of entertainment I have.But I haveswitched to Lifebuoy from the Chashma gola. What else has changed? Well, I liked Limcaearlier.Now I like Coca-Cola."