Gullak Season 4 on SonyLIV: 3 valuable money lessons to learn from the series

This little family draws you into their lives so easily you smile as you find parallels with your own mother who zealously guards her grandmother’s paan box even though she never eats paan or your father (or you) save phone chargers and cables because ‘they might come in handy ‘someday’. 

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This season, the money lessons seem to suddenly intertwine with life lessons so much that you sigh deeply into your coffee.

Bad bosses and helpless employees

Who hasn’t come across uncouth bosses who go out of their way to make life tough at work – throwing papers back at you, yelling, cursing and pointing out your mistakes in front of the whole office? 

Anand Mishra has chosen to be a medical representative for a pharma company and is used to having doctors making him wait outside the office. But his boss is nasty to him and his pal Lucky sauntering into the doctor’s office, and showing Anand that the doc has been bribed by heaters and acs the boss helped set up for free. The boss even sacks Lucky for being late. Anand swallows his pride and listens to the horrible boss but is unable to get Lucky his job back. The boss even takes credit for Anand’s work at the doc’s daughter’s new clinic. 

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So whether you occupy a cubicle or the corner office, as a smart investor you are always prepared. Whether it’s a nasty boss or a colleague who undermines your work, you have put aside money in that proverbial ‘gullak’ to take care of all your expenses (for at least five months) in case you have to one day step out of that toxic environment and never come back. 

Gold jewellery is for wearing

Shanti Mishra goes to the temple wearing a gold chain. On the way back home, she is mugged. Devastated not just by the loss of her jewellery but by the guilt, she sits in the room shocked. Her family rallies around her and they persuade her to go to the police station to report the theft.

The policewoman commends Shanti’s courage. The family has brought proof: the bill of purchase and a picture of Shanti wearing that chain. 

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When you spend your hard earned money to buy jewellery or things for your home and personal use, for example, your car, smart TV, a computer or even remote controlled blinds, it is best to keep receipts safe. If you’ve purchased a home, make sure it is insured. Take care of the fruits of your hard earned money.

The giving and taking of a bribe

Santosh Mishra has a spine, and through every eminently watchable episode of every season, we see proof of his righteousness. In a previous season, he refuses to join a protest because he doesn’t like ‘union-bazi’, and in this season, we see him struggle to pay a bribe to a municipality officer. 

The municipality has sent notice because there’s an anomaly between the plans submitted and the actual construction. As always the Mishra family comes together to figure out the best way to deal with the threat of demolition. Alas, a bribe must be paid. Santosh Mishra swallows his pride and offers the man that ‘envelope’. But then, he raises his voice to insist that ‘kaam ho jaayega’ (work will get done) is not acceptable, the officer has to give it in writing that Mishra house will not be demolished and that the paperwork is fine.  

It’s an odd hold to stake over a municipality officer by saying,’You took the envelope, so you are in my power now, and I can make you do things you promised.’

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In your money life, you too have often incurred these ‘miscellaneous expenses’, but now be inspired to ask for an accounting of those expenses from the person claiming them. That’s your power and I hope you will exercise it.

This series has been so delightful, not just in the perfect length of each episode, but how it manages to make us all witnesses and yes a part of this Mishra family. We would be fortunate to have them as neighbours and friends.           

Manisha Lakhe is a poet, film critic, traveller, founder of Caferati — an online writer’s forum, hosts Mumbai’s oldest open mic, and teaches advertising, films and communication. She can be reached on Twitter at @manishalakhe.

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Published: 08 Jun 2024, 09:56 AM IST