Delhiwale: Plastic treasury

Rickshaw puller Faisal Khan relies on a small plastic bag sewn into his undergarment instead of a wallet.

Rickshaw puller Faisal Khan reckons he’s got every good reason to never use a wallet.

Rickshaw puller Faisal Khan believes a small plastic bag sewn into his undergarment is the best way to keep his money safe. (HT Photo)

Instead he relies on a small plastic bag sewn into his undergarment. And is now fiddling with bank notes to settle a transaction with his customer.

“The bag is absolutely the best way to keep money safe. And of course the bank notes never get wet,” observes the 52-year-old—a veteran in his trade.

Indeed, it’s drizzling as he speaks and Mr Khan is keeping his head dry by covering it with a plastic bag. He reckons a plastic pouch is, in any event, always a better idea even when the monsoon season becomes a distant memory. “Because I’m constantly sweating, even in wintertime, and banknotes can get damp, damaging them.”

Lacking an ATM card, he deals exclusively with cash payments and doesn’t have a bank account. “I regularly return home to Bihar to leave my earnings with the family.”

He himself is obliged to sleep on the Delhi pavement. And, at the moment, has accumulated quite a bit more money than found in his pouch. “What I don’t immediately need is kept with a friendly shopkeeper where it stays safe.”

Mr Khan now secures his money pouch and pedals away, in search of more customers, more hard cash.