JUST PLAIN EMPTY

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There's nothing quite so sad as a pub with no beer

Slim Dust



Practice non-attachment to money....

Buddhist teaching



I had been to the Money Temple (also known as an ATM) in Bangar the day before and been blessed with 10,000 rupees: 9 x 1,000 rupee notes and 2 x 500 rupee notes.

I was moving up to the house in Solahnu later today – 2 hours by walking track only, straight up the mountainside. No shops there and no need for money except to give the local kids 50 or 60 rupees if I were to ask them to deliver bundles of wood for my tandoor (an early prototype of the New Zealand Massport Pot Belly Stove). And being late Autumn it was about to get cold at night. I needed to stock up on small change to stock up on wood.

In lower Jibhi there happens to be a branch of the State Bank of India (which is rather surprising really given the size of the place). I walked in and sighted three staff behind their desks.

“Namaste, can you please give me some small change” says I holding out a 1,000 rupee note.

“No” came the reply from the man who was obviously the head man of the three.

“Um...... can you give me some large change?”

“No”

“Do you have any money?” I inquired.

“No” came the reply.

!!!!!

“Eck minute” ...”this is a bank yes?”

“Yes”

“And you have no money?”

“Yes”

“O......K” and I left with a WTF look on my face. The staff were unmoved – all in a day's work.

I went to the local general store and got some change from Surrender the proprietor who seems to be doing a brisk business. I told him and wife Mira the story of the bank – at which they laughed a lot.

“You should be the bank, Surrender.... you ARE the bank here. You could be taking a bank salary from the Bank of India”. More mirth. All in a day's work.

Like an Australian pub with no beer.

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