SOME THINGS IN OUR COUNTRY ONLY FOREIGNERS STARE AT.
There are everywhere around us — in grocery stores, petrol stations, Uber cabs, restaurant counters. They keep company with luxury department stores and veggie sellers sitting by the open drain. Foreigners can stare all they want, but some things in our country don’t invite a second thought from us. Like polluted air. Or the garbage under the flyovers, which govt thinks is somehow invisible if the concrete columns are covered in bright frescoes.
Yes, there are some things that just blend in the ambience here, lurking about waiting for people to extend their hands and move them swiftly , give a slightly nod that shows easy accomplishment, and go on with their next task, It’s difficult to imagine life without them in India. No, not houseflies or mosquitoes. Well, those too. And payment QR codes. Which have burgeoned with equal frenzy, though I had to google to learn that it stands for Quick Response Code.
Some call it by the name of the app they use, others say ‘scanner’ or ‘barcode’. I’ve used it to send Rs 1 to confirm someone’ account details and pay Rs 10 to buy green chilies. Premium stores link it to their billing software, and sales executives try not to beam at you when the code displays the exact amount payable. At small kiosks, men point at the cardboard placard with chipped edges kept beneath a low light and try to look for expressionless when you confirm the name that appears on your phone — it’s often a woman’s, the bank account perhaps opened in her name to gain benefits under a govt scheme.
Even vendors earning a few hundred rupees a day realize the ups in UPI. As do the several occupations and places that were traditionally connected with cash offerings. Printed QR codes are kept near donation boxes in places of worship, hung around the neck by parking attendants and displayed boldly by the roadside by buskers. When not available in ‘hard copy’ , they are eagerly flashed on mobile phones. Just like the other day, when I heard a tap on the car window at a traffic signal, and used the QR code to pay a queer person. Well, foreigners can star all they want, but there are some things in our country.
