Prabhupāda: ...with this lantern? Electricity was introduced when we were boy, and that also not every house could provide electricity. Formerly they used to utilize gas, coal gas. If one man has got gaslight in his house, he is considered to be rich man. And gas... Mantle... Formerly electricity was... What is that? Carbon? Two carbon? In the morning it has to be changed. That Mahatma Gandhi Road was Harrison Road. So in our childhood, when the carbon would be changed, they would throw. We shall collect it.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: What would you do with it?
Prabhupāda: (laughs) No, no, play. "We have collected something." So electricity was introduced in our life when we were ten, twelve years old. Before that, there was no electricity.
Brahmānanda: But still you were able to read.
Prabhupāda: With this lantern. With this.
Brahmānanda: Nowadays they think if there is no electricity then there can be no civilization.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Brahmānanda: That is their standard.
Prabhupāda: But still, you are forced to take help of this lantern when there is no electricity.
Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: This electricity has enabled so much...
Prabhupāda: What is the price of one tin kerosene?
Bhavānanda: It's sold by liter. I don't know. About 90 paisa per liter, one rupee per liter.
Prabhupāda: And one tin, how many liter?
Bhavānanda: It depends on how many liters the tin holds. Five liters, twenty liter tin.
Prabhupāda: So price has not increased very much.
Bhavānanda: No.
Prabhupāda: Because in our childhood we used to purchase one big canister, Monkey Brand. That was considered to be very first-class. Less smoke. Four rupees and two annas.
Bhavānanda: But now it's difficult to get.
Prabhupāda: Formerly they used to stock huge stock in Calcutta. Burma Sale. And new tin, if you exchange the container, then six annas less. Not very costly. Of course, in those days it was costly, taking consideration of the purchasing power of money. Four rupees, I remember, a few annas. My father did not like to purchase anything retail. For his daily necessity he'll purchase, he would purchase potato, one bag. So one bag means, maybe, one rupee, eight annas. (laughs) One anna per seer, kilo, I have purchased. Rice, fifteen mounds he will purchase. And what is the price? Three rupees, four annas. First-class rice. Coal, this coal, coke. Five annas per mound, purchase one cart load, fifteen mounds. The other day I was calculating. My father's income was, utmost, three hundred rupees per month in those days. And taking gold standard, my mother was purchasing gold from my cousin—he has gold shop-twenty rupees per tolā, first-class gold. Now it is six hundred rupees per tolā. (break)