I remember I was in class six then, 1972, at Loyola School, Jamshedpur, and I used to be driven to school in a Standard Herald. There were days when I was given some money to get some gas. A five rupee note used to get us five litres @93 paise per litre. This is the lowest I have paid for petrol. I used to be left with some change. I used to feast on a plate of samosas and a bottle of Coke with that change. A samosa cost five paise and a bottle of Coke was a measly twenty five paise. A samosa costs five rupees today - up 100 times; a bottle of Coke ten rupees - up forty times; and a litre of petrol more than fifty rupees - up fifty five times! There should be an agitation to bring the price of samosas down to about two and a half rupees, but that would be impossible because the price of petrol and diesel impacts the price of aloo in samosa. We may be looking at days when we would be cycling or walking if not hailing a tonga to be ferried to the market place. Pollution levels will surely come down and so will road rage and congestion. People may still fight over not letting his cycle pass yours or scratching the fender of his new designer bike (bicycle). Tata Bicycles, Bajaj Cycles, Maruti Cycles will give a run for their money to Hero, Atlas and other brands. Shahrukh Khan will be the brand ambassador for Hyundai Cycles. ICICI Bank will set a record for bicycle finance. Bicycle parkings will have modern amenities like tyre inflators, puncture repairs, lounge etc. Jai UPA!
