Most Indians today refuse to even look at Rs 5 coin, let alone Rs 1, and initially Kunal Kankar, the dealer in the showroom on the day, refused to honour Haseeb's request.
Small savings are something that many Indians are famous for but 42-year-old Haseeb Hindustani has managed to outdo them all. A shopkeeper in the town of Raisen, Haseeb marched into the Hero Motors showroom, on Thursday, to buy his dream bike — a Hero Splendor — to make his family's Diwali a special one. There was a catch though, he would pay for the bike, which cost Rs 57,000 (marked down to Rs 56,400) — in one, two, five and 10-rupee coins.
Most Indians today refuse to even look at Rs 5 coin, let alone Rs 1, and initially Kunal Kankar, the dealer in the showroom on the day, refused to honour Haseeb's request. It was then with tears in his eyes that Haseeb revealed his story.
"He told me that his family of 10 people had been saving for the bike for three years. Being shopkeepers they were would accumulate small change so that they could finally be the proud owners of a vehicle," said Kankar.
Moved by Haseeb's story, Kankar got on the phone to his manager who gave him the go ahead to let Haseeb buy the bike in these small denominations. It was a painstaking task though. For over three hours, Haseeb sat in the showroom, as Kankar and other members of his staff sat and counted each rupee. Haseeb made it somewhat easier for them though by dividing each denomination into a different bag, so in total the staff member counted denominations from four bags
The results were, to say the least, astounding. Kankar revealed that there were Rs 14,600 worth of coins in Rs 1, 15,645 coins of Rs 2, 1,458 coins of Rs 5 and 322 coins of Rs 10. The grand total came to Rs 56,400 and Haseeb drove away in 'Splendor.'
Before speeding away, Haseeb said that that his determination to save came from none other than Prime Minister Modi. "Three years ago, I was listening to a speech that the Prime Minister had made where he emphasised the value of small savings. Since then, my family members and I have been saving zealously to get the bike of our dreams."
There was another side benefit to Haseeb's unusual method of payment. Asked as to what they would do now with such a huge supply of change, Kankar said that the money would be given in change to traders in the town and the remainder of the money deposited in the bank. Such an action, would ensure that the perennial problem of change would be eased somewhat, thanks to Haseeb Hindustani.
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