Living by Asking...

Begging ...is an art.. every profession in this universe needs skill to come to the top. Good people management and teamwork is the key to many a success stories in building companies and societies. Not so long ago, one could hardly count the beggars in the streets of Bangalore. I was surprised by their presence in different cities that I travelled to thanking god that well we do not have too many beggars, and insane people moving around. To be a beggar is just another easy alternative it seems. With the influx of moneyed junta due to lucrative industries and professions, this art seems to be thriving in this city. It started pretty decently.. with small boys selling magazines at traffic lights.. which was good enough. They do not irritate you much.. Then came the headphones, earbuds, sunglasses, etc. Some smart beggar decided that this was an opportunity that he would not miss.. why not build up and organization of beggars who would have different areas and would have different props each week oor certain parts of the day to keep the public confused. It would be very boring to pay the same bugger money having the same attire.. Different props which will play with the human mind What is the most touching aspect to which almost every human being reacts. ? The ultimate picture of Madonna with child concept. So all women beggars who were presentable age of being a mother.. have been handed babies..who are sedated so that they dont make a noise and are zombified to whats happening all around while the women do their job. Beg.. showing the drugged baby. Young girls who are sometimes stolen or who have grown in this environment. One can only imagine.. how much their minds have been messed up due to the drugs that they have been fed for the sake of the profession. Sometimes its a miracle that they can speak and walk normally. I have a special soft corner for these girls which they wiped out with one go.. when one day I gave a 10/- into her hand.. she promptly hides it and then screams at my face... pointing for more and if possible for a lunch in one of the nearby restaurants... SIGH.. Young uns who have just learnt to walk ... some just sit by the kerb or on the dividers and scream to glory when they do not get any attention.. and nobody is looking since the whole thing is very carefully planned.. .while teenage girls go about knocking in windows... Then comes the shifting of groups and props.. one fine day I see all the known faces in well hidden new crutches made to extract every ounce of sympathy from the drivers... well they forgot to think that the drivers who pass by regularly also have brains.. and how is it that every beggar has a crutch and hey !! I also see somebody getting tired of the crutches and walking while carrying it.. is this the la la land or what... If the teamwork is right, the will definitely make money.. the day when they start fighting among themselves.. out goes their wage.. If they know that there is this car which gives them money.. they will mark it for sure and keep sending their cronies to earn every now and then... thinking that the driver would not notice... As if this was not enough there has been a new strategy to have maimed and grotesque looking souls having the wierdest ailments knocking at the car window.. . If on side there is this little girl with no clothes on and one side of the face and head totally burnt, there is another who is epileptic and there is another soul who has a severe case of shivering and keeps shivering and knocking at the window.. lets not forget the children.. who take great pride in showing of their severed arm or leg.. one soul who had leprosy.. and showing that off to make money... And they all have learnt to co exist between each other marking one's territory very well... This totally eliminates the genuineness of beggardom where we used to see one or two old men or women once in a while. Now its being controlled and organized to go with the present times.. ruled by kids and women ...shouldnt we applaud this ? Why should we be the only ones getting organized.. ? One wonders that they could be better off doing some clean work or something better.. rather than this.. but I have also heard that there are many kids who prefer this kind of life rather then grow up to be what they can be.. with hard work but then again this India.. and to get a good life for the poor seems like us dreaming of going to moon.. So just like adopting the easiest skill, begging becomes an art... and only the best and the worst can survive... the best because they have the skill, worst because they have the defects and do not need skills.. ... it happens only in India...