Eight Dollar Exaggeration

Often in Indian newspapers, I read stories of large donations (in millions) for charitable causes made by rich Indians (usually doctors and business owners). I applaud this attribute of my fellow countrymen, many of whom like me came to USA in late 60’s or in 70’s. No one should complain about the laudatory nature of the news write up on these philanthropists. But one thing that bothers me is the standard line of, ‘he/she came to USA with only eight (8) dollars in pocket!’. This is an exaggeration, which borders on an outright lie. I also came with only $8 of US currency in my pocket. But it does not mean that it was the only money I had. In those days (60’s and early 70’s), there was a huge crunch for foreign exchange in India, and it required special permission from Indian Reserve Bank to convert your rupees to a specified amount of dollars. Once you get the permission, you gave it to the local bank which allowed you to convert your rupees to dollars whenever you want. You then got your US visa by showing to the Consulate this proof of access to sufficient funds. People normally took off to USA with a bank draft for a large amount, and a few travelers’ checks in dollars. At the airport, we were allowed to convert an additional 50 rupees into dollar currency without showing any Reserve Bank authorization. The exchange rate in those days was about 6 rupees to a dollar. So you ended up getting $8, plus some change. This is the ‘eight dollar in the pocket’ we all had when we landed in this country. To imply that it was the only money one had coming to USA, may make the biography interesting; but is not true in most cases.