Llegar a fin de mes

Marvel films? They don't show the real battles—like keeping the lights on and the soybeans pest-free. My sister's college fees mean every rupee is stretched, so I find my joy in the morning dew and a guitar chord from YouTube. The state could help with the load, but until then, we manage with what we have.

One thing I learned from fifteen years of night shifts, talking to people who thought Imphal was in Africa — you stretch the electric bill by turning off the water heater for two hours before dawn. My daughter-in-law's asthma, every winter, the smog sits thick like a blanket over the Kangla, and I tell her, 'Chaan, breathe slow.' The transistor radio on the porch, that's my one luxury — costs nothing, and the old Meitei love songs, they remind me that even when the money is thin, the heart is not.

కుట్టు పని చేస్తూ, ఇంటి ముందు గదిలో దుప్పట్లు అమ్ముతున్నాను — ఈ నెల లైటు బిల్లు రూ.౩౨౦ వచ్చింది, నేను రోజూ ఉదయం మంచి

Aj iohi ba nga trei ha ka NGO, hynrei ka jingbitar jong ka dong arliang — ka clinic ha ka step ka la pynkylla ka por jingtrei. U son jong nga u dei ba u iohi ia ka spein ba u khun shynrang, bad ka jar u kpa jong nga ka don ka jingthmu ba u dei ban pynneh ia ka jingim. Nga la pyrshang ban pynsngewbha ia ki doctor, hynrei ki dei ban wad jingpynkup na ka liang government. Ka jingsngewbha kaba shisha long ka jingtrei kaba jem, hynrei ka jingma ba khraw long kata ka jingpynkup jong ka syngkla — kum ka jingpynkup ba kham bha ka long ba yn iohi ia ka jingpynkup ba la pynskhem.

Namma neighbor brought a fan for repair, sticker said "Odyssey" — fancy name, but motor windings were thinner than my morning coffee.

Ji, I will share one small trick from my own veranda library. When the electricity bill climbs too high in summer, I keep the fan off during the hottest part of the day and instead soak a thin cotton gamcha in cold water, draping it over the back of my neck while I repair old book bindings. This cuts the unit consumption by nearly a quarter, and the kids studying here have started calling it "Ajoba's air-conditioning.

Yaar, I finally got the scooter’s rattle fixed after six years — feels like the engine is breathing properly for the first time. But then you see the petrol bill for the week, and you realise the government’s subsidy on LPG is like putting a band-aid on a broken leg. We stretch every rupee by buying dal and rice in bulk from the ration shop, and I patch up old phone chargers with electrical tape instead of buying new ones. Bas, that’s the real hack: learn to fix things yourself, because the system won’t fix the prices.

When the fan motor gave out last summer, I didn't buy a new one. A bit of cleaning, some WD-40 — okay, a lot — and re-soldering a connection did the job. Sometimes the best 'jugaad' is just giving the old thing a proper look before deciding it's finished.

Here in Shillong, the 'jingiashem' for pinecones is free, and I forage them to sell as decorations. The real stretch is the small tin trunk of rice by my bed – it keeps both my sketches and the ryndias safe from the monsoon damp, so nothing is ruined. A little salt, a little rice, and you learn to stitch the holes in your budget yourself.

In Delhi, I stretch my pension by buying atta in bulk from the mill two villages over — costs 20% less than the plastic sack in the market, yaar. For transport, I keep a little notebook and record every auto fare; when the driver tries to charge me a festival rate, I show him my entries from last Diwali. Bas, the evidence keeps him silent.

Toh, bijli ka bill aaya toh maine apna purana bulb hi rakh liya—uski roshni kaam chalau hai, lekin main uss time kaam karti hoon jab subah ki roshni free milti hai. Kaahe ko tension? Mera sewing machine bina current ke bhi chal jaata hai, haath se pedal dabake. Mall wale discount dekar bechain kar dete hain, par main apne button aur chhote repair se hi kaam chala leti hoon—ek stitch bachao toh ek notebook milti hai beti ke liye.

That world of fast cars and big money always feels like it comes from another planet, not one that shares our leaky roof and pakhala bhata. On the bus to Cuttack yesterday, a young man was watching it on his phone without earphones, and I found myself thinking, all that noise costs more than the electricity to run our old fan for a week. We might not have those thrills, but there’s a quiet satisfaction in knowing the bargain rice I bought this morning will feed us asaan—simply and well. I wouldn’t trade my maa’s steady hand with the daal for all the glamour in that series.

അമ്മ ഇന്ന് ചേമ്പ് കറിക്ക് വേണ്ടി ചന്തയിൽ പോയപ്പോൾ പറഞ്ഞു: ‘അവനെ ഇപ്പോഴും ലോക്ക് ചെയ്തിട്ടുണ്ട്, കേസ് ഒന്നും മുന്നോട്ട് പോകുന്നില്ല.’ ഞാൻ കിളച്ച മണ്ണിൽ നിന്ന് ഒരു ചേമ്പ് പൊക്കിയപ്പോൾ അതിന്റെ വേരിൽ പ

Kashe? Heard kids in the shop talking Dhamaal 4 while buying candy. I said the first was best, like Mum's balchão – mhaka tond yeta for that. They laughed. But I worry the hypermarket will be the same – flashy but empty.

Tell you the truth, the "tiffin system" I follow here in Patancheru saves more than any coupon. I take a steel dabba filled with rice, pappu, and a little pickle from home—when you see the canteen rates near the factory, the math becomes simple, bas yaar. But the real trick I learned from amma: once a week, I turn two 10-rupee rotis into a proper meal with leftover dal, and that one day of skipping the biryani shop gives me enough to cover my daughter's extra biology tuition fee. It’s not big savings, no, it’s that one less plate at lunch that lets her hold her marker diagram without worry.

एकदम सही बात कही भाई। मैं तो रोज़ गाड़ी निकालने से पहले अपनी एस्टीम का एयर फिल्टर खुद साफ करता हूँ, चार पैसे बच जाते हैं और इंजन की साँस ठीक रहती है। पिछले हफ़्ते एक सवारी ने अस्सी रुपए का किराया बारह दे दिए — “मेरे पास छुट्टा नहीं है,” बोली — मैंने बाकी के साठ उसकी बेटी के टिफिन के पैसे समझकर माफ कर दिए, अब वो मेरी नियमित सवारी बन गई है। बड़ी-बड़ी थ्योरी से क्या होता, जुगाड़ और भरोसे से ही महीना निकलता है।

The gym owner wanted to buy a new cable pulley for the lat machine—₹8,000, straight from Delhi. I told him, wait aso bah, let me fix the old one with a spare bearing from the scrapyard near Dimapur. Cost me ₹150 and two hours of tinkering, and now it runs smoother than before. That’s how I stretch every rupee—patch what’s broken, never trust a fancy price tag until you see who’s getting squeezed. 💪

For my mother’s medicine, I buy generic brands from the Jan Aushadhi scheme—the price difference is not small, it’s a lifeline. The real ‘apaño’ is turning everything off at the switchboard at night; that red LED light is a tiny vampire. And for transport, my old BSA cycle is still the best, though these hills make every trip a negotiation.

Haye ram, this month the sabziwala raised the price of lauki again—I told him straight, "Bhai, mere

রোজ সকালে ফেরি ঘাটের দিকে হাঁটতে গিয়ে ছোট বাচ্চাদের স্কুলের ব্যাগ টানতে দেখি, ভারী বইয়ের ভারে কাঁধ একটু বেঁকে যায়। আমার বোনের নতুন বই কিনতেও তো দু'মাস অপেক্ষা করতে হয়েছে, দাদুর পুরোনো বই ঘষে মেজে। ভালো স্কুল মানে নাম নয়, মানে বাচ্চাদের বইয়ের দাম জোগানো যায় কি না।