Fixed salary but unstable price rates: Woes of a common Bangalorean

I am an ordinary resident of Bangalore. Like any other middle-class family, I too make a monthly budget on how to make a simple living. I am relatively a fresher in this city and of late, I have started to notice a pattern in its economic behaviour. And it worries me.

Prices of everyday goods are peculiarly unstable in the IT capital of the country. Today morning, I went out of home early for some urgent work. I went to a temporary roadside eatery for breakfast and asked for a plate of lemon rice. The vendor charged me Rs 24. A few days ago, the same vendor took Rs 20 for the same food item. "Rate jyada ho gaya," he told me. The tea-seller next to him charged a rupee extra this time for the same glass of tea. "Prices are getting high," he too said with a degree of embarrassment.

The AAP is popular in Bangalore. Can it put focus on the ever-changing prices?

I went to buy milk and found a litre of the special variety costing Rs 18. It has also increased and I have lost count of the times prices have gone up in the not-so-long time that I have spent in this otherwise pleasant city. One of my collagues in the office said the shop where he goes for his lunch charged Rs 5 extra for the same plate of meal. He is here for just over two months and already the price of a food plate has gone up by Rs 5!

I find it a bit surprising that prices are getting hiked at such rates and there is not a voice of protest to be heard anywhere. In Bengal, my home state, a mere hike in bus fare by 50 paise or price of any good or vegetable by Re 1 can lead to paralysis of the entire administration. Here, people don't mind at all. We hear people saying Bengalis are overreactive! Rightly so. But is adjustment to the point of utter self-inconvenience the alternative?

Bangalore is known for its high cost of living. To rent a decent apartment in this city, one may have to shell out his savings of life. The same meal which costs Rs 30 in any other part of the country, costs Rs 70 here. Okay, the higher standard of living is understandable because Bangalore is a brand name today. But are all people in this city are rich? Can every section manage the shooting up prices with ease? This is a question for which I haven't found an answer yet.

There is a high popularity of the Aam Aadmi Party here in Bangalore. Understandably so because the city comprises a big population of youngsters and people in general are disgusted with the high level corruption in the political circles of Karnataka. The young minds want a change and hence the AAP gets a goo mileage here. Its members are also quite active. But does this party think about the unstable pricing in this city which might cause inconvenience to many aam aadmis? I am eager to get a reply.