Beggars ! The word immediately conjures a mental picture of a dirty ,unwashed , blot of humanity kind of vision before our eyes.Especially at signals in any major metro in India or outside a shrine of any religion,hordes of these "beggars" sit braving the sun,stretching out arms at passers by.Most of the times, we the have "alls" shrink our faces and are more worried about their dirty grubby hands touching our body or clothes, in mortal fear that a bit of them may rub off on "us"!Usually there are kids (barely 7-8) carrying a younger tot (may be 2-3) trying to appeal to our charitable side as "emotional props".They are inculcated into this "profession" from that early an age,whilst their family(adopted or natural) sits on the nearby pavement watching them with eagle eyes.Not because they dote these kids but probably they are their main source of income.
I ran into a six year old "Savita"..Whilst I firmly refused to hand her any money,she stood around me taking care not to touch my person,looking at me beseechingly.This pesky girl had a runny nose ,sniffling whilst ranting her "bhook lagyi hai,ek vadapav ke liye paise de do"chant, wore her hair in a matted unwashed manner, was in a flithy red dress ,tiny arms holding a 2 year old who kept omniously slipping down her unformed waist...however her eyes were beautifully captivating..big,brown and impish.I asked her "Kitne saal ki ho ?" she said "Chhe".My next question was "Ginti aati hai?" and she nodded positively with a grin.I guess they are taught numbers,they need to know them while begging.
When I told her to walk with me to the nearby vadapav stall,she delightfully agreed..The vendor of course gave me that "you have been suckered look" while handing over carefully the "vada-pav",ensuring his hand didnt touch Savita's . The next question by Savita took all of us by surprise! "Didi aap nahin loge kya? Yeh bahut accha vadapav banate hain" said Savita.The vendor gave a sheepish grin and looked at me expectantly.Then she hesitatingly added "aap raste se nahin khati hongi na?" while she was taking a small bite.. Before I could react (I love street food) the young tot in Savita's arms started grabbing at the food. A sharp retort by Savita the kid fell silent.She immediately plonked down cross legged on the pavement,extricated bits of pav which were non spicy before thrusting it into the infants mouth. By then, a stray dog which was loitering around came to visit .Savita tore half the wada pav and flung it at the dog before "shooing" it away.She happily gobbled whatever was left .When I asked her whether she wanted another one , she shyly refused "Mujhe jaana hoga, bahut time ho gaya"before rushing away to do her "job" at the signal. I was speechless ,unable to react.That is to say, her behaviour was an eye opening experience.
Very often we live in this veneer of sophistication that we forget simple things like "sharing" "caring" and "responsible behaviour" towards one another. The beggar girl had given me food for thought.. she was not complaining about the state she was in, neither did she resent the fact that almost everybody shunned her;She was'nt greedy nor was she unkind to the dog. She knew there were other rich kids around who lived in tall buildings ,got the best money could buy but all she aspired was a little food and some conversation,with the person she was ,behind her dirty exterior.. And lastly she in that tender age displayed "maturity" by accepting she was a beggar girl and she had to get back to doing her stuff...
All of us feel discontended with what we have and aspire for more.Most of us get love and respect from families, yet are always cribbing.We dont share with other humans what we have let alone stray animals.Lastly we never look at our professions with an open mind as we always feel we deserve something much better.So everyday while a "savita" sleeps on the pavement in her flith with a smile on her face, we sleep in an "AC" room tired and fatigued.Life goes on..
However while Indian government is passing laws on Child labour,I guess these "Savita's" dont have any respite as they get drawn into this vicious circle of poverty and exploitation.
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