Does anyone have cash?

“Does anyone have cash? I need 50 rupees change urgently.” The question echoed in the office, and I said yes. I was the only one with a wallet in an office of 6-8 people. People don’t carry cash anymore.

I always do, for two reasons. The first is the obvious one—my dad is a Gujarati businessman. You probably guessed that already. The second is that I like carrying a wallet and paying for things in cash. Sure, digital payments make everything smooth and easy, but I enjoy the process of taking my wallet out of my jeans, counting the notes, and looking for coins.

It’s the ritual I love—checking the change to see if the amount is correct, doing the quick math in my head, and then putting the notes back in sequence, arranging the coins in their specific pocket. It’s an experience. What do you do with digital payments? You just send the exact amount and leave. Of course, it’s more convenient, but what about the feeling of those few minutes it takes to sort everything out? That patience to organize things—it’s always an experience for me.

The only downside? Sometimes I don’t want my wallet to get too heavy with coins, so I end up buying extra chocolate I don’t need, making my stomach heavy just to make my wallet lighter.

But it’s not just about digital payments. If you think about it, so many things have lost their experience. Personally, my favorite example is movie tickets. I hate when they ask for my phone number, and I have to check my messages for the ticket. If I’m at the counter, just give me the physical ticket. For the sake of convenience, we’re losing out on the experience.

To make it relatable to today’s generation—don’t you want physical match tickets to show off on Instagram or Snapchat? Don’t you want to share your international flight boarding passes? Don’t you want a physical ticket from your favorite artist’s concert to save as a souvenir for the rest of your life?

The digital age, in the name of convenience, has made people less patient, less willing to put in effort. Yes, I know these are first-world problems I’m talking about, but no one wants to go to the theater to watch a movie anymore. No one wants to go out to a restaurant—they’d rather order in. And now, you can even get biscuits delivered to your doorstep in ten minutes.

You won’t believe this—one of my colleagues ordered nachos and a cold drink from Blinkit when the store was less than 50 meters away from the office. The food he orders daily is never more than 300-500 meters away, but he still prefers to have it delivered. It’s not like he’s saving his time and energy for something groundbreaking. He just wants comfort.

Wait a second. Isn’t that an experience too? To get what you want at your doorstep while you sit back and relax, then enjoy your favorite snacks in peace? Isn’t it great to reserve the perfect seat for your favorite movie at the multiplex without standing in line?

Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe convenience is also an experience in its own way. So where’s the line between the two? Are you really getting what I’m saying?