The Bonus That Arrives and Evaporates
Every October, a few lakhs hit accounts that were not expecting them. By November, most of it is gone, new appliances, a trip that felt justified, gifts that felt obligatory, a round of dinners that felt celebratory. The money was real. The spending felt like a different category of decision entirely. That gap between the arrival and the disappearance is exactly what Chanakya was writing about.
