Cupid turns cold in the time of cupidity

The story goes that in World War 2 Britain, when enforced rationing had made almost everyone svelte, a train traveller of ample girth overhead a co-passenger remark sotto voce to her companion, “If that stomach had been on a woman, she’d be pregnant,” to which the stout gent retorted, “It was, madam. And she is.”

That old joke would elicit no more than a rueful smile, if that, in present-day Venezuela where hyperinflation has played havoc with the once oil-rich country’s economy, sending the cost of comestibles sky high and putting a premium on philoprogenitiveness, which would entail more mouths to feed. To further cast a damper on conjugal rites, the price of contraceptives has also increased prohibitively.

The situation has given rise to risqué, and risky, humour, with a TV comic telling his would-be inamorata to cool it, explaining to her that it is not she but the inhibitory effects of the economy that are the turn-off.


Closer to home, both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah have cautioned against unplanned parenthood, pointing out that a rise in Gross Domestic Population will inevitably result in an inverse drop in Gross Domestic Prosperity.

Thrift, however, must guard against being penny-wise and pound-foolish, as summed up in the Chinese saying, “Go to bed early to save electricity and have twins.”