Chicken biriyani and mutton gravy, rose cookies, kalkal and plum cake... For many in the city, Christmas is incomplete without a delectable home-cooked feast. For those who cannot spend a lot but still want to celebrate the day in a grand manner, a little saving goes a long way. A group of residents of Madivala learnt this the good way when they opted for a monthly instalment scheme to get provisions for their Christmas spread this year.
Arul Rajendran, who started a ‘Christmas benefit scheme’ in the locality, said that under the scheme, people paying ₹350 a month (₹4,200 a year), received groceries worth nearly ₹7,000 in time for Christmas. And the list of items was generous — 25 kg of bullet rice, 2 kg chicken, 1 kg mutton, plum cake, jaggery, dal, spices, candles, balloons and a steel utensil.
“As I started the scheme only this year, I got 50 takers and lost money in the process, but I have not compromised on the quality of food items,” said Mr. Rajendran. He invested the money in chit funds so that he could make up for the large discount given to customers.
“Putting aside a few hundred rupees a month is not that difficult when compared to paying a lump sum at once,” said Jennifer, a resident who works in an IT firm. “And if the quality is good, it saves people time and effort.”
Mr. Rajendran said he made sure to provide only good quality items so that people sign up again next year. “I provided them bullet rice, which costs nearly Rs. 70 a kilo in the market. How many people can even afford to buy bullet rice?” he asked.
