Paise Chahiye? Chori Karni Padegi.
Kishan Gopal Shahu
SY Bsc (2024-28)
Reading Time – 5 minutes
In many South Asian cultures, not only Indian, it is believed that if you want money or financial fortune, you ought to keep a money plant. The notion here is that the money plant has a great ability to attract prosperity. In fact, it is common practice to specify particular corners and directions of the home for the plant’s positioning in the house so that it can cast its spell and pour down money. However, there is another very prevalent notion; it is also widely believed that the money plant grows well only if it is stolen.
While there is no scientific evidence backing this belief, it has endured through generations, nestled among many a superstition whispered through the ages. Let me tell you how I believe this old wives’ tale might have evolved..
A poor man, exhausted from labour, wanted to try his luck at amassing a fortune. So he did the reasonable thing and bought a sapling of a money plant. Unfortunately, it didn’t survive. “Second time’s a charm,” he thought, and bought another sapling. To his dismay, it didn’t survive either. At this point, he couldn’t even afford another sapling (who knew being poverty-stricken had its downsides). His last resort then was to steal a cutting from his neighbourhood.
So that’s exactly what he did (years of poverty had made him an excellent thief). This time, the stars aligned perfectly, and the cutting grew perfectly healthy, and just as he had hoped, he was blessed with a shower of money (he had been lucky enough to find a bounty under a rock while working).
All of this occurred under the watching eyes of the protagonist’s friends, who had closely watched his hard times transform into ease and comfort. Curiosity made them come to him, asking about his secret to success. His answer? “A stolen money plant has all the power.”
That was just my take on the origin of this myth . While we wait for a genius to come into the picture and shed some light on why the poor man’s thieving ways answered his prayers, let me try my luck.
Among many theories, two have found sufficient audiences, able to almost completely justify the chronology of a stolen money plant and financial prosperity.
First: The heart-shaped leaves of the money plant closely resemble coins of stone and metal, made eons ago. Furthermore, its growth, rapid and evenly spread, denotes growth and mimics prosperity and financial stability.
Second: This theory explains the stealing. In various cultures, it is believed that only hard-earned money stays with you, or else it would vanish. One must make an effort to obtain the money plant lest it not favour you. After all, even stealing something requires effort.
Besides this, there is a scientific reason as to why a stolen money plant grows well and has higher chances of survival. Generally, when we mention stealing a money plant, we refer to the cutting being stolen – not the whole plant, roots and all. Propagating a plant from a cutting has an advantage over growing a sapling directly. When a plant is propagated through cutting, in most cases, it is kept in a similar location after being separated from the mother plant. Let it be noted that even if the environment changes for the cutting, its small size lends to its adaptability, and adding on, nodes naturally contain a hormone called auxin, which helps in root initiation. However, when we buy a sapling from the nursery and bring it into our garden, it has to go through a spontaneous change in its environment, and sometimes it becomes very hard for the plant to adapt to such a drastic change. Hence, the plant dies.
Whatever might be the origin of the notion, it is believed by many individuals that a money plant brings financial fortunes and grows properly only when it is stolen. The simple rule is: “Agar paise chahiye to chori karni padegi.”