It's always been said that India is a land of diversity; but what people (including me until recently) fail to realize is that this diversity even extends to India's beggars. Just as handicrafts, cultures and languages change as one travels from one region to another, so does the type of beggars one encounters.
Chennai hosts a very aggressive breed of beggars who take pride in their occupation and don't take no for answer. I was recently on the receiving end of one of the above mentioned society's wrath. While minding my own business, waiting at the bus stop, I was accosted by a woman asking for money. With a turn of my face, I attempted to dismiss her but the next moment, I felt a stinging slap on my cheek (It's amazing how often I seem to get slapped by random people off the street) and felt my face being turned to her. With regal demeanor, she began yelling at me in the filthiest of Tamil terms asking if I considered myself too high brow to give her money and how dare I turn away from her. Thankfully, the bus arrived just then and I escaped with nothing but a bruised ego and a burning cheek.
Hyderabad offers yet another view of this diversity. Though similar to Chennai, these beggars take it one step further by adding competition to their personalities. When I was 9 and before I was sentenced to a prison term (read: shift to Saudi) I was walking down the road and found a 10 rupee note lying on the ground. Not knowing of the words 'good Samaritan' at the time, I took the note and continued walking. Later in the day, when I was travelling with my parents, we stopped at a signal and a beggar passed us. I decided to give him the note I found on the ground and once done, I was sitting contentedly when another woman clouted my head and asked me for money too. When I refused, she began yelling at me asking how I had enough money to give the other man but not her. I explained how I had found the note but she still did not relent and followed us for 2 more signals before giving up. Ever since then, I've resolved never too use any money found on the ground for personal gains.
Delhi truly offers some of the shadiest beggars I have ever seen. They will literally do anything but beg to obtain money, even if it involves a little bit of 'golmaal'. Once, my uncle came to drop us off at the railway station and as he was backing up we heard a scream and something falling. After getting out of the car, we saw then an old beggar woman had been knocked down. After being helped up she began threatening my uncle with the police and other such stuff till he loosened his purse strings and let a few 100 rupees fly. Later, in the train, a fellow passenger told us he had seen the whole thing and that the woman had thrown a stone at the car and fallen down at the exact moment to simulate the entire episode. Such is life in the capital of 'the greatest democracy in the world'.
Mumbai offers a more business oriented outlook to beggars but not all. When I asked one of them why he was begging when he was able bodied and could go find a proper job, he replied,"Mere paas time nahi ahi, saab." I guess he hasn't heard of the spirit of Mumbai where holding just a day job and not multi-tasking is considered lazy....
Finally, Bangalore offers us a very cosmopolitan beggar as well as the pinnacle of beggar evolution: Eunuchs. I recently dropped a coin in a beggar's bowl and was shocked to hear him say, "Danke" which is thank you in German. Eunuchs on the other hand need no introduction. They are literally highly evolved beggars, steeped in the nuances of the science of beggary. They hunt in packs and rob you of more than just your money. A recent auto ride was the scene for one such encounter where I escaped pretty much unharmed while my friend was poorer by 300 rupees and suffered a traumatic experience that isn't going away anytime soon.
Thus is the geography and diversity of the Indian beggar. I wonder what international ones would be like.....
Çiao!
Chennai hosts a very aggressive breed of beggars who take pride in their occupation and don't take no for answer. I was recently on the receiving end of one of the above mentioned society's wrath. While minding my own business, waiting at the bus stop, I was accosted by a woman asking for money. With a turn of my face, I attempted to dismiss her but the next moment, I felt a stinging slap on my cheek (It's amazing how often I seem to get slapped by random people off the street) and felt my face being turned to her. With regal demeanor, she began yelling at me in the filthiest of Tamil terms asking if I considered myself too high brow to give her money and how dare I turn away from her. Thankfully, the bus arrived just then and I escaped with nothing but a bruised ego and a burning cheek.
Hyderabad offers yet another view of this diversity. Though similar to Chennai, these beggars take it one step further by adding competition to their personalities. When I was 9 and before I was sentenced to a prison term (read: shift to Saudi) I was walking down the road and found a 10 rupee note lying on the ground. Not knowing of the words 'good Samaritan' at the time, I took the note and continued walking. Later in the day, when I was travelling with my parents, we stopped at a signal and a beggar passed us. I decided to give him the note I found on the ground and once done, I was sitting contentedly when another woman clouted my head and asked me for money too. When I refused, she began yelling at me asking how I had enough money to give the other man but not her. I explained how I had found the note but she still did not relent and followed us for 2 more signals before giving up. Ever since then, I've resolved never too use any money found on the ground for personal gains.
Delhi truly offers some of the shadiest beggars I have ever seen. They will literally do anything but beg to obtain money, even if it involves a little bit of 'golmaal'. Once, my uncle came to drop us off at the railway station and as he was backing up we heard a scream and something falling. After getting out of the car, we saw then an old beggar woman had been knocked down. After being helped up she began threatening my uncle with the police and other such stuff till he loosened his purse strings and let a few 100 rupees fly. Later, in the train, a fellow passenger told us he had seen the whole thing and that the woman had thrown a stone at the car and fallen down at the exact moment to simulate the entire episode. Such is life in the capital of 'the greatest democracy in the world'.
Mumbai offers a more business oriented outlook to beggars but not all. When I asked one of them why he was begging when he was able bodied and could go find a proper job, he replied,"Mere paas time nahi ahi, saab." I guess he hasn't heard of the spirit of Mumbai where holding just a day job and not multi-tasking is considered lazy....
Finally, Bangalore offers us a very cosmopolitan beggar as well as the pinnacle of beggar evolution: Eunuchs. I recently dropped a coin in a beggar's bowl and was shocked to hear him say, "Danke" which is thank you in German. Eunuchs on the other hand need no introduction. They are literally highly evolved beggars, steeped in the nuances of the science of beggary. They hunt in packs and rob you of more than just your money. A recent auto ride was the scene for one such encounter where I escaped pretty much unharmed while my friend was poorer by 300 rupees and suffered a traumatic experience that isn't going away anytime soon.
Thus is the geography and diversity of the Indian beggar. I wonder what international ones would be like.....
Çiao!
