'My husband earns, I do the spending'

Ever since Renuka Chowdhury was madechairperson of the All India Kisan Mazdoor Sangh, she''s been minding her Ps andQs. For the ''Rajni of Rajya Sabha'' that''s a lot: She''s known for shooting offher mouth. Now with the Congress, Chowdhury made her political debut with TDP.It varies. When I''m in the city, I carry very little.Plastic cards do the trick; I have American Express, Hong Kong and Shanghai Bankand others. When I''m in my constituency, the amount varies between Rs5,000-10,000.No. We own several industries and myhusband takes care of the financial nitty-gritties. He earns, I spend. I thinkthat''s a smart combination. No. Our investments are restricted to ourown companies. Yes, art. I''ve collected several Husains,Suvaprasannas and Anjolie Ela Menons. I''m very careless with money. I am simplyunable to hold on to it. What makes matters worse is my belief that everythingcomes cheaper by the dozen. If I have to buy a sari, I buy at least three of thesame kind. I follow the same principle for art. I splurge on clothes, yet I''mquite indifferent about how I dress.Yes, in the beginning of my marriage. We had assets but noliquid cash. That taught me the importance of having money around, especially asone grows older. We launched an enterprise selling agriculturalimplements. We lost money on it.The art and artefacts that I have collected to make myhome beautiful. My personal effects are expensive, but this is mylifestyle.It should be used as aconvenience, but should not create dependency.