Indian accountant at work, have mercy!

Today is December 2nd and I still have not received my November salary. I am not simpatico with the whole “end of financial year” syndrome which is the probable cause behind the tardiness in cash flow and I am not happy that I am already in debt for the sum of my November salary because said salary is late. This is a vicious cycle that I am stuck in!

Suppose I had to pay rent or had other urgent financial obligations and that I was impatiently waiting for the salary to grace my account, what would I do then? How do people manage when there is no money in the bank and they have to magically produce it at the demand of bills or persistent landlords? What do they do if they have children who need to be fed, and they can’t afford it because they are waiting on their paychecks?

I take pride in the fact that I am pretty much a self-sufficient microcosm, in that I largely depend on myself to get what I want and to do what I want, and in that I have an almost biological loathing of relying on anyone else but myself. But times have been trying, and I found out that I would rather remain broke than ask my parents for pocket money. I felt so little and incompetent every time they offered to give me money this month and, although I often accepted under pressure, I always promised to pay them back.

I find this particularly interesting because I live in a society that sees women as dependent on men to provide for them, and since most bread-winners are men, the rule is so general that even most working women expect to be provided for one way or the other. This puts working women at both an advantage and a disadvantage. It’s an advantage because they can always get effortless cash from their husbands or fathers, and they can demand it too as society and religion dictate. But it is also a disadvantage because of the “laid back” attitude some of these women will definitely have towards their jobs since they know that they will get money anyway even if they did not work. In addition to that, they will always be seen as “dependants” on men by the very same men who fund them, thus their jobs or careers will always be seen as marginal or for recreational purposes only. Again, this is a vicious cycle that prevents women from achieving their worth.

So, dear salary, where art thou?