National

I Am The Non-Existent Chip In 2,000 Note, Don’t Forget Me!

Recalling the chip that was said to be inside the Rs 2,000 notes introduced in 2016, here is a piece of satire.

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People stand in a queue outside banks to deposit and exchange old denomination Indian rupee 500 and 1,000 currency notes
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It was in and around November, 2016. I shouldn’t reveal the time. It is a secret. I was probably attached to a pink-coloured paper. People said it was something so new that they never could even think of in reality! Even I was surprised! Was I actually attached? I don't know much!  

They started searching me every time they held the powerful paper in their hands. Some started discussing my features! I had probably Bluetooth installed within! I tried to connect to the nearest device! Alas! It didn't work for some reasons!  

Some people gave me humungous responsibility. I was supposed to track terrorist activities. Truly speaking, I felt great! What a big responsibility! I must be powerful enough to do it. I started counting days when I would be sent to the border. I felt no less than a soldier — an over-active surveillance machine!  

I carried the message of supra-technology. I was Aatmanirbhar! I started my journey as one of the most powerful detectives. But certainly, I was not being given much opportunity to prove my skills — even in my imagination.  

I didn't know the man whose face was there on the paper where I was perhaps attached. I later got to know that he was a Satyagrahi. Satya means truth. The rest I was not aware of.  

Time passed by. And with the time, I got to know they have stopped producing the paper. Now, it’s my turn to go back.  

Have people lost interest in me? Or did I fail to serve them? I am not sure. They don't need me anymore. Perhaps they have made a more powerful weapon — perhaps suitable for the  New India.  

Good bye all. By end of September, 2023, I will not be there anymore. But I may again come back with a bang, if needed!  

As I was thinking through this, someone pushed me a little. The same guy with round frames of specs and an eternal smile on his face! Hey, I know him! I woke up. It was a bad dream indeed! The existential crisis was over. Was I ever there or was it my figment of imagination?