Saturday, May 12, 2007

Toddy (micro) & Beer (macro) Economics

Last weekend, for a change we (3 friends) decided to take the road less travelled !!! Otherwise it used to be some air-conditioned pub, where we gulp few bottles of beer / wine / rum. Married friends now prefer vodka, as it smells less and thus escape broomstick welcome. Seems wives hv to upgrade their sensory skills… Sometimes I feel they pretend as long as the danger zone is not reached.

Coming back, we packed our bags and travelled about 85 kilometers. It was too hot outside. The roads were empty - only few braved the heat. On our way, we pulled over at two places to refresh ourselves (nicotine content was less and needed to be replenished). Those two petty shops were doing robust business on soft drinks. They may be thanking the sun god and every person who braved heat.

Finally we reached the intended place. We saw one and our eyes popped out. We moved further inside and there were few more. Itz gonna be fun. We zeroed in on one and approached them. After verifying the essentials (including the prize), we settled at a place. No a/c, chairs or music. I looked around. Rows of palm tree, few thatched houses, cattle, hens, dogs, haystack, birds, cool breeze, few mats, et all…

Yes, it was a typical village. The mood is set. A sense of apprehension too, as we are going to have this after a huge gap (years)… After few minutes, the guy brought the earthen pot and placed it in front of us along with 3 tumblers. I looked at it. Oh man, it looked awesome.


Yes, it was TODDY. See the froth. Yeah. The guy poured it in 3 tumblers and enquired about ‘side-dish’. We ordered for masala chicken and boiled egg (masala mixed). As soon as he left, we looked at each other. It showed in our eyes. No more waiting. And the clink - Cheers!

Oh man, you have to taste it to really sovour it. A compo of sweet and sour…heavenly.

Now my business mind started working. Looked around. There were atleast 15 guys enjoying that heavenly taste and around 15 waiting with plastic bottles and cans to take the fresh stock home. They want to enjoy this fresh, healthy & natural drink in their comfort zone. If this being the case, why govt. is against it? Variety of factors – IMFL & Beer manufacturers eye better profit, adulteration & few more.

By this time, we finished the first pot and ordered for the second. When he came, I enquired about the business. As per him, it is good during weekends – Rs.2000/day. Means on an average they earn about 35000/month plus the profit from ‘side-dish’. Considering the negligible operational cost (excluding the ‘cut’ to administrators), it is good earning for a villager. If given a chance, they have the potential to double the turnover. MICRO economics – we want villages to remain villages.

We completed the second pot too and ordered for another half. The guy looked at us with awe. He didn’t expect us to be drunkards, bcos we LOOKED decent. “Don’t judge anyone by their looks”. However we were cool and are having only palm JUICE. Itz been long time and made use of the occasion. Finally we wound-up at 4pm. When he charged Rs.135, I was pleasantly surprised. It would have cost me a min. of Rs.1500 at a pub. Now I understand, why the govt. is against this heavenly drink. It is MACRO economics!

We then took leave. The guy thanked us and also cleared his doubt – “is he an actor?” Yes, one in that group of 3 is a small time actor. The guy was happy and wished us a happy journey.

We travelled about 3 kms and spotted backwater. Itz time to relax. Parked the car and settled on the grass. We went there to smoke. Rather we decided to go crazy again. Yes, we plunged into water and had a good time. Water was warm and salty, but the feel was cool.


Spotted the following (jelly fish, oyster) and I used my mobile to catch them...
































A plan of 15 minutes finally ended after 2 hours. (We sat at the bank till our innerwear became dry). Finally I reached home around 10.30pm. Oh what a day it was...

…and itz going to be lager beer days for few more weekends, till we plan for one crazier trip again.


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2 comments:

DreamCatcher said...

why didn't I think of this in my DSE micronomics class!!

Geetha Babu said...

loved it for the narration, for the diversification, the shot of the toddy pot and the language..