Earn, Don’t Look After Money

The character Maya Sarabhai in Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai – played by Ratna Pathak Shah – portrays an affluent South Mumbai snob, who throws cocktail parties, flaunts her lavish lifestyle, and gets at her middle-class daughter-in-law Monisha for her cautious habits with money. How can we forget such cult dialogues of Maya Sarabhai – “Monisha bargaining with mall vendors is categorically middle-class.” This real Ratna Pathak stands in stark contrast with her reel character. Unlike the snobbish socialite, the actor follows the philosophy of ‘Aparigraha’ (rules of the eight-fold path of yoga) – a virtue of non-possessiveness, non-grasping and non-greediness – in handling money and dealing with the tranquil glories of life. As she says, “It is always easier to earn money than to look after it.” Taking care of money is like climbing...