This is a ten rupee note. Look at it. Take in its color, its design (Gandhi is on all of the notes here, so he's nothing special).
If you are planning on travelling in India, this piece of paper will be both incredibly important for you to hoarde, while at the same time will be incredibly elusive and difficult to get. It's...it's like the unicorn of Indian currency!
Ten rupee notes are handy for paying auto rickshaw bills, buying ice cream from one of the Qwality Wells guys that hangs out along every ten feet of the road, buying sweet curd or anything else from a sweet shop, picking up a quick pack of chips or a drink when the heat of the day and the crowds call for a break...but unless you're careful the notes disappear almost as fast as they appear. And once you're ten rupee-less, it's a hard, hard time to come upon more.
Okay, maybe I'm overstating how difficult it is to get your hands on these babies. It's not so hard, but you really have to learn the rules about getting and using them. This is coming from a master (or not): I currently have thirteen in my possession, and I'm planning on keeping them until they pry them out of my greedy little ten-hoarding fingers.
Anyway, rule number one: Don't let yourself become ten rupee-less. It's hard to convince someone to take a 100 rupee note for a 15-rupee bottle of water. I once had to give back a cold bottle of liquid refreshment that was already sweating in my arms because I didn't have anything but a 100. I almost cried.
Rule number two: Ten rupee notes seem to breed once you have a few, so always keep a few around.
Rule number three: Always give the biggest bill you can to pay for something. Breaking huge bills like 500's is difficult, and the 50's, 20's, and 10's are incredibly useful to keep on hand. Unfortunately, the ATM's only dispense 100's and 500's, so it's quite a game to get smaller notes.
Rule number four: Lie like you're a six-year-old accused of eating all the Oreos. Or, uh, just bend the truth a little. If a store merchent asks if you have change after you've handed him a 100 rupee note for a 26-rupee bill, just shrug a little. Look, he's got plenty of tens in that register, he's just not wanting to use them! If he says you'll need to put something back because he doesn't have change, he may be bluffing, but if he seriously goes through with it, act like you realized you have a ten rupee-note hiding as a bookmark and pull it out. This situation has happened to me twice, when I really didn't have change. The first time the cashier was bluffing, but the second time he really did have to take off a pack of biscuits because he didn't have change for me.
Rule number five: Don't accept, in any case whatsoever, any ripped bills. This one is more of a Jarrod rule. I haven't had any problems here in Kolkata, but Jarrod says in Silchar, people would refuse to take bills with even the tiniest of rips. If you express your displeasure, even just in your face, at a bill that looks a little iffy, the merchent will exchange the bill with a better one with no problem.
Anyway, that's just a short discussion on the intricacies of the ten rupee note. I'll admit, it's mostly just luck that hands the notes to you. Lately I've been getting only tens back for change, even when the cashier owes me seventy-some rupees. It's amazing. But my luck could change at any moment. So I'll count my blessings...and my red notes.
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