How often have you heard your parents, grandparents, uncle, aunt or in fact any person from the previous generation describe themselves as the victim of mehengai? "Those were the days when we used to watch a movie by paying a meager 3 rupees'' or "we used to fill our vehicle's tank with 5 rupees per litre of petrol" or "we even ate an ice cream for just 50 paise" and so on. Well, without delving further into the exploration of the generational divide present in almost every other thing, the aforementioned instance could be considered as the classic example of the concept of Inflation. That too, from the understanding of a common person situated far away from possessing a formal knowledge of the bewildering macroeconomic concepts such as Deflation, National Income, Economic Development, etc.

But this is the strange and intriguing irony behind developing cognizance of macroeconomic concepts. You don't always need to perceive the macro concepts through the lens of unimaginable numbers or dumbfounding cause-effect relationships. Sometimes, in the most ordinary conversations or things or people, you would observe the impact of macro-economic events because, in the end, it is the accumulation and further analysis of these minute alterations in common people's lives which are eventually interpreted as a macro phenomenon. One such common, day-to-day item, whose aid we would seek to justify the brunt borne by our elders in the form of inflation, is Vada Pau or Vada Pav. But before establishing a relationship between the drop of water and the oceanic sea, it is imperative to define them.

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Beginning with our drop of water: Vada Pau in this case, the etymology itself delights us with a combination of two prominent regions of the world namely, India and one of our neglected colonizers, Portugal. 'Vada' refers to a fried snack and since it is a specific category of 'Vada', we shall also acknowledge the specialty and consider the substance from which the snack is made, that is Batata or potato. Hence, we achieve the name 'Vada' from Batata Vada which literally means potato fritters in Marathi. The Portuguese contribution to the etymology is quite similar to their Indian colonization, relatively lesser than the other component. The 'Pau' or 'Pav' is derived from the Portuguese word pão simply referring to bread. Vada Pau is a vegetarian dish in contendership of being the staple food of Maharashtrians.

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So these 'vadas' are made up of mashed potatoes mixed with improvisation, in the form of green chillies, chopped onions, and spices and then dipped into chickpea batter before frying. Once the 'vadas' are 'formulated', they are placed in between the layers of square-shaped bread which are designed by intricately slicing the bread into two geometrically symmetrical halves slathered with chutney on either side. Voilà! The quintessential delicacy of a common Western Indian person is prepared.

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If you found the Vada Pau delicious or not but unequivocally unhealthy by just reading the recipe, let me pitch to you a glimmer of its history. As behind several revolutionary inventions, it was the process of experimentation conducted by genius Sir Ashok Vaidya during his entrepreneurial stint in the 1960s. But to practically bring a revolution, along with internal factors such as affordability and easy-to-make features, you need some external aid as well. This aid was bestowed by numerous strikes resulting in the ending of various textile mills during the 1970s and 1980s as former mill workers were inspired to set-up their stalls or dhandhe of selling Vada Paus with the encouragement of an entire Shark Tank, the Shiv Sena.

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The popularity of Vada Paus was to such an extent that if few domestic industries survived the ferocious competition from MNCs post-LPG reforms in 1991, Vada Pau was to attain a position in the top decile as it had beaten the influence of the American Vada Pav or in other words, McDonald's Burgers at the battleground of Maharashtra.

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On the other end of the sea: Inflation simply refers to a general rise in the price levels of goods and services, including Vada Paus, in an economy or a decrease in purchasing power of money because of which a currency loses its value over a period of time.

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A variety of reasons can cause inflation such as an increase in consumer spending, an increase in production costs, and expectations. Consumer Price Index and Wholesale Price Index are a couple of methods through which the apparent devil can be measured.

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If you are wondering why Vada Paus defined such exquisitely and inflation in a crisp manner, then it is because in the gigantic universe of Economics, Inflation is slightly overrated and Vada Pau is unequivocally underrated. Hence, there is a high probability that you might know A-Z of Inflation but not as much about the lip-smacking but unhealthy Vada Paus.

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There is a proverb stating that drop by drop makes an ocean. So if I were to use Vada Pau as a means to illustrate inflation, in simple terms, I could depict the increase in the price of a Vada Pau throughout the years. In the 1970s, a Vada Pau used to cost 15 paise in Mumbai. But considering instances of nearer past, the price in 2011, was around Rs 5. In 2014, it used to be Rs 10. Hence, between 2011 and 2014, an increase of 100% in price is visible, or a 33.33% annual price rise. In other words, with a Rs 10 note, you could buy 2 Vada Paus in 2011 but with the same Rs 10 note, you can buy only 1 Vada Pav.

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The reasons could be attributed to the increase in the cost of complimentary green chillies, commercial gas cylinders, and various edible oils due to the Russia- Ukraine crisis displaying cost-push inflation. Moreover, a cycle between various variables of Economics could also be perceptible as a war-like macro event can impact even a single person situated thousands of miles away from the conflict zone and it is the accumulation of these grass root adversities which stimulates another macro reaction like inflation.

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Hence, it is evident that the Rs 10 note lost its value over 3 years by 1 Vada Pau or by 50%. Moreover, we could also decipher the true value of Rs 2-3, which we often ignore, when relatively comparing it to items costing as low as Rs 10 as statistically, the percent difference could display a huge rise or fall. To reflect a set of driving factors behind the price rise in Vada Paus, let's compare the pre and post-effects of a worldwide event, the COVID-19 pandemic on the former's price levels. Before the pandemic, Vada Pau used to cost around Rs 18 in Mumbai but just after the third wave of infections, in April 2022, the Vada Pau's price rose to Rs 22.

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CONCLUSION

In conclusion, this was a journey of endeavouring to establish a relationship between two elements placed at the extreme ends of the economic spectrum on the basis of their apparent scale at micro level and macro level or a Vada Pau and Inflation respectively.