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Before EMIs, We Had Gullaks: How India Saved for Festivals
Today, every festive sale comes with a buy-now-pay-later button. But for generations, Indian families celebrated Diwali and funded weddings without a single EMI. They did it the other way round: they saved first and bought later.
Their tools were simple, social and surprisingly clever. Here are four of them, and what each one got right.
1. The gullak: saving you could hear
Almost every Indian childhood had a clay piggy bank, the gullak, with a narrow slit and no way to open it except breaking it. Coins went in all year, and the gullak was broken before a festival or a family occasion.
What it got right: you could not take money out on a whim. The friction protected the savings, and breaking it felt like a celebration of its own.
2. The jeweller's monthly gold scheme
For decades, families have joined saving schemes at their local jeweller. You pay a fixed amount each month, usually for about 11 months, and the jeweller adds a bonus or waives part of the making charges when you buy at the end.
What it got right: a clear goal, a fixed monthly habit and a reward for patience. Many a wedding necklace was paid for this way.
3. The kitty party and the bisi
A group of friends, neighbours or colleagues each put in a fixed amount every month, and one member takes home the full pot each time, by draw or by turn. Known as a kitty in the north and bisi in parts of the west and south, these groups are as much about friendship as money.
What it got right: social accountability. Nobody wants to be the one who skips a month in front of friends.
4. Chit funds
Chit funds are the formal cousin of the kitty. Members contribute monthly, and each month the pot is auctioned to the member who bids the biggest discount. In India, they are regulated under the Chit Funds Act, 1982, and should only be joined through registered operators.
What it got right: a lump sum when you need it, built from regular savings rather than a loan.
What they all had in common
Habit | Why it worked |
A specific goal | Diwali, a wedding, a piece of jewellery |
A fixed amount, regularly | Small enough not to hurt, regular enough to add up |
Some friction | Hard to spend on impulse |
A reward at the end | A bonus, a waived charge, the joy of breaking the gullak |
The one thing most of them lacked was growth. Coins in a gullak earn nothing, and for most members, neither does money in a kitty.
Why these habits still matter
Multipl was built on the same instinct as these traditions: save towards something specific, and buy it when the money is ready. What has changed is that saved money no longer has to sit still while it waits.
This festive season, try borrowing one old habit. Pick something you are looking forward to next year, decide a small monthly amount, and start. Your grandparents would approve.
Multipl is a AMFI registered Mutual Fund Distributor (ARN No. 319633).
*Based on historical returns of Liquid Fund category.
Disclaimer: Mutual Fund investments are subject to market risks, read all scheme related documents carefully.