MY FINAL WITHDRAWAL

At my parents' house, I sat with an old bag stuffed with lots of very old bills, Bank chalan, almost way back in the 1970s, and it brought back all my childhood memories.

I was born to parents from a conservative middle-class Tamil Brahmin family. They were both teachers by trade. Dad became a one-man army after their four daughters were born. As you might expect, five ladies ruled the house with absolute power. Life was full of joy and fun because it was so simple.

Back then, I had no idea what the term "pocket money" meant. On Fridays, Amma performs diya pooja and calls us all to give us one and two rupee coins with haldi kumkum. Because we shared a piggy bank, we kept putting money in it. We all sit down one day and divide them by denomination, write down the total amount of money collected on paper and hand over all of the coins to Appa. Instead, he gives us cash and instructs us to go to the bank to deposit money into our savings account. He taught us how to handle bank transactions in this manner. Especially to fill a chalan to deposit and a cheque to withdraw cash. Even he used to explain to us in great detail to which specific bank staff it should be handed over to. And to withdraw cash, we were directed to the cash counter, where we would be given a brass coin to hold while we waited our turn to get our cash by calling the number on the coin. Going to the bank and carrying out transactions with a little fear was quite a task with responsibility back then.

I felt emotions are exactly like the various deposits I have opened in a bank and transactions I conduct; they have an effect on my accounts because they are linked.

I've been trying to keep my nature as stable as a bank deposit. It has an effect only when the situation changes, such as when interest rates change. I understand that having patience is like having a savings account. It enables me to maintain a constant state of balance at all times. I never try to prove that I'm the best, but whatever I do to others should be as fluid as current account transactions.

But that one particular account, which I have decided to permanently close, is the recurring account . My rage quotient. Because, investing in negative emotions is as risky as investing our hard-earned money at market risks. This can result in a variety of health issues. 

The next day, I awoke as a new being, ready to make my final withdrawal.

-saradha