The petty shop..

Last week I came across this petty shop at Marina beach where I remembered the 25 paisa coin that India lost. Lots of memories came flooding to me. The 25 paisa coin has meant a lot to me in my younger days and I could not resist paying tribute to this humble servant of most Indian homes in the eighties and nineties. 

I have very fond memories of this tiny little 25 paisa, which was actually smaller than the 10 paisa or the 20 paisa coins. Little did I know those days about the whole concept behind the weight of the metal and other such details which go into the minting of a coin. "Naal Anna ", as it was called in most Tamil homes, was the prized possession of most of the younger generation those days since it was this humble Naal Anna which used to go into our piggy banks. Even until the late nineties, the Naal Anna had some value but it gradually lost its importance through the Nineties and it is no surprise that it has now been expunged from the Indian currency system.

I started to think and make a list of what have I bought with the 25 paisa. The first thing which comes to my mind is the "Orange Candy " which even today is one of my favorite candies. Going to the little shop at the corner of the street (Petty kadai) to buy this was almost a necessary ritual before embarking on a long bus travel. Another evergreen memory of the Naal Anna was that it could buy you an "Aasay" chocolate,

which was the hot-selling chocolate in our middle school bookstore cum canteen. I also remember buying Green Chilies, Curry leaves and Coriander leaves used to cost 25 paisa. India -Rivers map (which I used a lot in my History and Geography) used to be 25 paisa and I distinctly remember being disgruntled with the shopkeeper once after the price of a Rivers map increased to 50 paisa. The state of Tamil Nadu, where I was brought up for a good part of  my childhood, had bus fares in increments of 25 paise.Saibaba Colony to Edayarpalaym (in Coimbatore where I did my schooling) initially used to be Rs 2.25 and ironically on my latest trip on the very same route in 2010, I had the bus conductor giving me back my two 25 paisa coins and asking me to either cough up a 50 paisa coin or get off the bus ;). This list goes on and on and can only mean that the generations before me can associate a lot more with this coin. The Naal Anna has indeed served us all very well during its life time and it is time for us to say Good Bye to it. RIP!