Landmarks of 60 yrs: EMI your way to a rich lifestyle

MONEY GAME: EMI has revolutionised everything -- from the way we cook, to the way we look!

LANDMARKS OF 60 YEARS

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Mayhem of multiplexes

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Colonel uncle's Fiat Padmani was the talk of the neighbourhood. It was your typical case of neighbour's envy, owner's pride. He would strut around it, talk about his 'luxury' car in a loud voice and occasionally -- just once in a while when he was in a great mood -- he would take us for a drive.

I mean, it was not exactly the kind of car you'd look at and say, "Hey dig those wheels man!" But then, it was one of the few cars in the neighbourhood and one could not help but dig it!

But Colonel uncle has shifted homes now and gone is the Fiat. Times are changing and instead of the occasional Ambassador or Fiat, dozens of chintzy cars dot our little Delhi lane, making it tough for the dozens more to weave their way through the narrow confines.

So what is that made the Fiat obsolete, almost antique, or practically a rarity in the way in which it disappeared?

I think the answer, in the simplest of broken down terms, is EMI - Equated Monthly Installments.

I would say that a mere Rs 2,599 a month is quite a deal for that spanking new set of wheels. And if you can dig just a little deeper into that pocket, then a Honda City or any mid-segment dream car is no more that -- a dream!

And it's not just what we drive that the EMI system has revolutionised. Everything -- from the way we cook, to the way we look (yeah! even my local salon does a yearly installment package system) -- comes under the wide umbrella of these post-dated cheques.

It's Rs 1,250 per month for a 7.2 mega pixel Sony Digi-cam, Rs 700 per month for that microwave with hundreds of cooking solutions, Rs 1,199 a month for an air-conditioner that would make hell freeze over and another 1000 bucks for a fridge that promises to keep your food 'from rotting for days’.

A few more thousands here and there, and your average middle-class family -- which till a few years ago could afford nothing more than an auto-ride or at the most a two-wheeler is now in the nouveau-rich bracket -- a brand in every nook and corner of the house!

And getting personal loans (to pay for that EMI -- all payable at a very affordable percentage) is no longer the forte of the ‘already-established’.

The number of tele-marketing agents who pester people with calls to take a loan is more than proof of the fact that the Great Indian Middle Class has finally arrived, all thanks to the EMI.