【The Whore of the Rings (2001)】

India scrapped its bigger denomination currency notes this week and The Whore of the Rings (2001)began issuing two new notes shortly afterwards. The big reform is the government's latest attempt to curb corruption in the nation and curtail terrorism activities that often use unreported stash of cash.

It's a very bold move and truly holds the potential of making big changes in the nation, the results of which could be before us as soon as coming months. But on the flip side, the transition has already impacted lives of hundreds of millions of people in India.

SEE ALSO: Indians sign up for mobile wallets after most cash rendered useless

Shortly after Prime Minister Narendra Modi made the announcement on Wednesday evening, people stepped out of their houses and rushed to ATM (instant money machines) to withdraw Rs 100 notes.

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People across the nation rushed to the ATM. They only had a few hours before Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes in their wallet would have no value in the market.

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Some rushed to gas stations (popularly known as petrol pumps in India). Gas stations would accept the Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes for a few more days for topping up tanks. Many saw this as a good opportunity to get rid of the no-longer legal tender bills.

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This also started to change for some. Though staff at gas stations were more than happy to accept your Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 bills, they kept running out out of smaller denomination notes. You could still get gas (or petrol or diesel) for your vehicle, but you had to buy it against a fixed amount (Rs 1,000 or Rs 500, for instance), as opposed to buying it against a certain volume (15 liters, for instance).

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In the meanwhile, it began increasingly difficult for people to take care of their daily expenses. Mind you, mobile payment solutions and other digital transactions are minimal in India. Many people -- especially people from whom you'd get your vegetable and milk vendors -- don't even have bank accounts.

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Nobody was happy, you can say.

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Indian banks were shut yesterday to prepare for the aftermath of the announcement. They opened today with special counters where anyone can exchange the defunct Rs 500 and Rs 5,000 notes for the newly printed Rs 2,000 bills or the existing smaller Rs 100 bills.

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The government has given people until the end of the year to walk to a bank and deposit the all the cash they have. That's the point, precisely. You now have to deposit your money to a bank. All the cash will finally be on record. People who have black money -- or undisclosed money -- will have to either declare it with the government and pay taxes on it, or sit on it and watch it become useless.

Unsurprisingly, long queues were seen outside banks across the country, before they even opened for business.

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You get the drift.

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This is what a typical private bank looked from the inside.

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The new notes were finally available. "Definitely warrants a new selfie movement in India," many people thought.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Most ATMs, however, remained shut for the second consecutive day. They are set to open tomorrow, after banks replace the Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 bills with either the new currency or smaller Rs 100 bills. However, Indians are still going to struggle to access cash as they can only withdraw Rs 2,000 ($30) per card per day till Nov. 18. Even post that the limit will be increased just to Rs 4,000 ($60).

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