The Sun Raising

TAMIL NADU A struggle named family budget city pulse SHARE ARTICL Kannal Achuthan and Deepa H Ramakrishnan The hike in prices in Chennai is comparable to that in big cities like Delhi Chennai: Spending patterns vary largely among poor, middle class and rich families and even a small rise in prices of essential commodities hits the poorer sections. For Madhan and Swapna, a couple living in the Kannagi Nagar Housing Board tenements, managing their household budget is a struggle every month. Madhan, an autorickshaw driver, said expenses always seem to overshoot income. He spends Rs.1,500 towards house rent and Rs.3,000 towards food. His wife is pursuing a B.Com degree and Madhan makes sure that Swapna has at least Rs.1,500 every month for her college expenses. They have a four-month-old baby. “We don’t have any savings as of now. I don’t make all my money from autorickshaw. I also do a bit of real estate brokering now and then. I used to work in a privat