I ended up with currency notes in almost all denominations in my wallet today. It was coincidental and I was super-thrilled about it. I was amused by the different colors that sprang out of my wallet and remembered how demonetization had led to the weirdest sequence of events in my country, and politicians felt it was a good time to change how the currency notes looked. So this is how it appeared as I laid the notes down on my desk. Rs. 10, Rs. 20, Rs. 50, Rs. 100, Rs. 200, and Rs. 500. The Rs. 1000 note had been demonetized and criminalized (it is illegal to possess one) and the Rs. 2000 notes are being phased out.
As I looked at the notes, I mentally thought of the "Color Of Money". These harmless-looking, rectangular pieces of printed paper wielded a strange kind of power. As it changed hands, there was more than transactions and bills. These were the colors that came to my mind.
Is money green? That's the color of greed and envy. Does it tempt one to get more of it? Does it make you envy another if they have more of it? Are the things that money can buy used to flaunt and tempt?
Is money red? Has it caused more bloodshed than guns? Heck... guns themselves are the result of money hunger, aren't they? Wars have been fought over oil - oil that will get you money. People have been stabbed and shot in dark alleys for the pieces of paper in their wallets and pockets.
Is money blue? The color of the vast seas and skies often denotes freedom, expansiveness, intuition, imagination, sensitivity, and inspiration. But are those things that money can get? In today's world, money can get you freedom, can't it? Blue signifies a depressed soul. Maybe that is the true color of money. It flatters temporarily only to deceive. They say the richest people pop the most pills to make it through the day. Does money make you blue?
Is money black? Black Money! Hah!! That got me. Does it make you delve into the world of sin, lawlessness, and deceit? Does it blacken the soul? Does lusting after money darken your life? Maybe money squeezes out the colors from your life and makes it black. Does money close your eyes to the joys of the world around you and surround you with this blackness?
Is money yellow? Crappy and stinking and just fit to be flushed down the toilet. Or does it make s#$t out of everything it touches with its golden Midas touch? Does it make you yearn for filth?
Is money purple? Who doesn't like a purple patch! But it is still a flamboyant patch that is an exaggeration of words. Is that all money is in our lives?
Is money brown? One with the earth, dust, and soil. We all end up buried in the soil - and does money make the journey six feet under any better? Do we take our money to our grave? Will it help in our afterlife, if there is one? No - we leave all our money behind. As our breath stops, money has nothing to do with us anymore!
And I am still wondering - is the physical color of all the currency notes in my country meant to depict all these? Is that what the Reserve Bank, Prime Minister and Bank Leaders thought of when they designed the notes. Or was it just a random choice of colors to make the notes more noticeable?
What is the color of money in your country? What do you think is the true color of money?
The colors and the look of our currency here in the United States HAS changed a bit in my 48 years on the planet. BUT, it still is recognizable to any other form of it we had in the past. There is a "constant" to the U.S. currency despite the many changes it has undergone.
I actually find foreign currencies to be quite fascinating, and I am not sure why. I think it just because I love money. In all of its forms. In all of its beauty. For all of the things it can do. I just love money.
All of it to me are artful masterpieces.