‘Whatever I earn goes’
How an Indian wedding photographer and video editor manages his monthly costs.
What’s your money worth? A new series from the frontline of the cost of living crisis, where people who have been hit hard share their monthly expenses.
Name: Arijit Khan
Age: 35
Occupation: Video editor for a local Hindi language news channel and part-time wedding photographer
Lives with: Wife Sakhi, 32, and twin sons Ahan and Suhan, 4
Lives in: The family lives in a three-room house in Howrah, a city in West Bengal, India.
Monthly household income: Arijit, the sole earner in the family, earns 17,000 Indian rupees ($208) a month but due to loan repayments deducted from his pay cheque, he takes home 12,370 Indian rupees ($151).
In October, Arijit earned an additional 7,000 Indian rupees ($86) from a wedding photography assignment and the month’s total income came to 19,370 Indian rupees ($237). The median salary in India is 29,400 rupees ($360) per month.
Total expenses for the month: 18,520 rupees ($227)
On a cloudy, early October afternoon, Arijit and Sakhi’s four-and-a-half-year-old sons Suhan, the chirpier and larger of the two, and Ahan, who is smaller and more thoughtful, chased each other in the family living room laughing and screaming.
Arijit and his family live in a semi-urban part of Howrah, a city of more than five million people, about 15 kilometres (9 miles) from Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal state. Their dilapidated house – with faded blue, pink and white living room walls and a brick courtyard – sits in a neighbourhood with green plots of land, ponds where people fish tilapia and where many of the buildings are one or two storeys high.
Not so long ago, Arijit would take Sakhi and the twins to amusement parks where the children enjoyed riding the toy train. At least once a fortnight, the family would dine at their favourite restaurant where the boys loved the chicken soup.
But in the past two years, their lives have taken a turn.
“I fail to remember the last time when I took them out in the past year,” says the affable, soft-spoken 35-year-old.
Arijit used to make a living photographing and filming weddings. Working just eight to ten days a month, he could earn 30,000 rupees ($367), which was a comfortable income. But in early 2020, pandemic restrictions halted large gatherings. Arijit lost all his wedding work and was forced to shut his business.
After the restrictions were lifted, an economic crisis took hold.
“People have tightened their purses and refuse to splurge much on video shoots,” he says.
After exhausting his savings during the pandemic, Arijit last March started working at a local news channel where he now earns less than he used to. His workplace lent him money to pay for the twins’ admission fees to an English kindergarten and repay friends who lent him money for his father’s funeral when he died in September 2021. Arijit is still grieving for him.
After learning about Arijit’s father’s death and the loss of his business, the children’s kindergarten gave him a discount on admission and monthly fees.
Although finances are tight, Arijit and Sakhi, who met in 2013 when he worked at a wedding photography studio near her home, want their children to have a good education.
“I have been struggling to make ends meet due to poor income,” he says. “I don’t want my children to suffer like this and want them to get educated at any cost. I want my children to get good jobs in life.”
But as living costs rise, Arijit worries constantly about being able to afford household expenses and his sons’ tuition fees. He says the cost of groceries, bills, petrol and maintenance for the two-wheeler he uses for his two-hour daily commute to Kolkata and back, have risen steeply over the past year, by 30 to 40 percent, he estimates.
Arijit wishes he could afford a tutor for his sons and to take his family out sometimes. “It feels bad when I see other children going out with their parents,” he reflects.
He says it is frustrating to clear one bill and have barely enough to pay for the next.
“But I am helpless as all the expenses are necessary and life will virtually stop if I fail to pay them on time,” he says. “I cannot stop paying for groceries or else what will my children eat? I cannot see my children retiring to bed hungry.”
Over the course of a month, from September 29 to October 29, as part of a collaborative project, Arijit Khan tracked his family’s monthly expenses with reporter Gurvinder Singh.
Here are the expenses that tested the Khan family’s finances the most.
The family's expenses over one month
New clothes
Durga Puja, the biggest festival in West Bengal, celebrates the victory of the Hindu goddess Durga over the demon king Mahishasura.
During the festival, which ran from October 1 to 5 this year, streets across the state are decorated with festive lights. People wear new clothes and go “pandal hopping” – visiting the different, majestic displays of Durga in tents adorned with lotus and hibiscus flowers.
With the easing of pandemic restrictions, the celebrations this year returned to their usual large scale.
“It is almost a ritual to purchase new clothes just ahead of the festival,” says Arijit, referring to a practice common across Bengali households.
“I was also excited to buy new clothes for my children and went to a shop near my house but to my surprise, the price of the clothes had gone up drastically,” he says.
Last year, Arijit bought a sari for his wife, outfits for his sons and a new shirt for himself for 3,000 Indian rupees ($37). This year, he skipped buying new clothing for himself, but the clothes for his family still came to 4,200 Indian rupees ($51).
“My children, being too small to understand anything, kept on asking me about my new clothes and I told them they have been ordered,” he says quietly.
Arijit is upset about lying to his children but he doesn’t want them to be sad if they find out he doesn’t have new clothes.
Last year: 3,000 Indian rupees ($37)*
This year: 4,200 Indian rupees ($51)
Water for cooking and drinking
The family does not have a separate kitchen in the house, which Arijit’s father built about 50 years ago. Instead, part of the entryway serves as a cooking area, which visitors cross before entering the living space. There is just one cupboard for storage and many utensils are arranged in the open and on the floor.
To drink and cook, the family uses about 30 litres (8 gallons) of packaged water each day.
Arijit says the tap water is high in iron, which some water management experts have suggested could indicate the presence of other more dangerous contaminants. When Ahan was three months old, he started vomiting and had to be taken to hospital. Afterwards, doctors advised Arijit and Sakhi to avoid drinking and using water for the boys’ formula from the municipal water supply.
“Since then, we have been using packaged drinking water,” he says.
The cost of water has almost doubled in the past year.
“It is taking a toll on my pocket,” Arijit says. Still, he adds, “I cannot compromise on the health of my children.”
Last year: 350 Indian rupees ($4.30)* for 30 litres (8 gallons)
This year: 720 Indian rupees ($8.82)
Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinder
Until his death, Arijit’s father, Sunil, had lived with the family. As a former government employee who oversaw a warehouse for the Food Corporation of India, he had received a monthly pension of Rs 1,200 ($14.70).
That money used to cover the near-monthly cost of replacing an empty LPG cylinder, which is used for cooking on the gas stove. Since Sunil’s death, Arijit has been covering this cost. Gas prices are continually revised and have gone up. To save money spent on cooking gas, he purchased two induction hotplates, which run on electricity and he says are cheaper to use for cooking and making tea.
Last year: Rs 926 ($11.34)* for a new cylinder
This year: Rs 1,080 ($13.22)
Energy bills
The biggest headache for Arijit is the unpaid electricity bills.
The bills arrive on a quarterly basis and in October Arijit had an outstanding payment of 10,966 Indian rupees ($134) for two bills as he was unable to pay the previous invoice due to the festival expenses.
The bills themselves have increased in the past year due to higher tariffs and using the induction hotplate. He also needs to pay a fine for late payment.
He has been speaking to the state energy provider to see if he can pay his bills on a monthly basis.
“I wake up in the middle of the night and think about the pending power bills,” he says.
Last year: 3,200 Indian rupees ($39)* for a quarterly bill
This year: 4,200 Indian rupees ($51)
Groceries
Arijit says a lot of his income goes towards food items that have become more expensive due to inflation.
“We have substituted the non-vegetarian dishes with egg curry being made twice a week,” he says, adding that his children and wife like to eat goat meat at least once a fortnight.
The price of goat meat per kilogramme has increased from about 500 Indian rupees ($6.12) to 700 Indian rupees ($8.57).
“I think it has been nearly six months since we have eaten that. We eat chicken and fish just once a week as compared to thrice,” he says. Vegetables like potatoes, which they eat regularly, have also become more expensive.
He continues to buy arrowroot biscuits for his sons who love them, even if the price has increased. He buys at least four packets a week. One packet, which cost about 40 Indian rupees ($0.50) up until a few months ago, is now 55 Indian rupees ($0.67).
Last year: 5,000 Indian rupees ($61)* for a month’s worth of groceries
This year: 8,400 Indian rupees ($103)
Servicing the motorbike
Arijit’s commute of approximately 50km (31 miles) from his house to his office costs about 100 Indian rupees ($1.22) per day. He refuels every few days.
The cost of fuel and maintenance has gone up for his second-hand bike, which is not only fuel inefficient but often breaks down at night on the way home from work and has to be pushed to a nearby garage for repairs.
The engine oil, which needs to be changed after every 1,000km (621 miles) has risen by about 100 Indian rupees ($1.22) – a cost he now avoids along with servicing his bike every few months. He knows this makes riding riskier as the bike could break down but he says he has no option at the moment, nor can he afford to buy a new vehicle.
Last year: 1,100 Indian rupees ($13.47)*
This year: 1,520 Indian rupees ($18.61)
Five quick questions for Arijit
1. What is the hardest financial decision you had to make this month? Spending money to refill the LPG cylinder for cooking as I am unable to pay the power bill. I am at risk of getting my power supply disconnected at any moment due to non-payment of my quarterly electricity bill.
2. Which was the most worthwhile expense from this month? Purchasing new clothes for my children during the Durga Puja festival. I also bought a tiffin box to bring food to the office to save money.
3. When finances get tough, what gets you through the difficult times? Finances are tough most of the time but I believe that somehow I will manage to sail through. I have friends and relatives who help me financially during this period. The shopkeepers are also kind enough to give me credit on groceries.
4. What is your biggest money worry? My house is in a state of disrepair and cracks have developed in the walls but I haven’t been able to repair them due to insufficient funds. My children sleep in the room that needs repairs.
5. What is the saving hack you are proudest of? Honestly, I have not saved anything till now as whatever I earn goes towards the family expenses.
*Last year’s prices were sourced from Arijit
Read more stories from the series: What’s your money worth?