Beggars on break, shit on sandal

thirdreel

Today's an odd day in Connaught Place.

The underground walkway across the street was dark, but I had a mini-light with me. (Note to future travelers: take a mini-light.) As I came up the stairs, a man appeared beside me, offering to shine my shoes. I said no, because I was wearing sandals. He said, "Look!" and then for the first time he looked at my feet. I guess he didn't notice what kind of footwear he was throwing shit at. I took the Lord's name in vain with an f-bomb in it, and he hurriedly wiped the shit away. I feel so dirty.

Later a woman with a small child kept touching my arm saying, "please, sir." I ducked into a shop, and she waited outside, resuming her plea as I walked out. My next stop was Cafe Coffee Day, where I intended to kill some serious time. I was wondering if she'd wait for me through all that, if she'd be that persistent.

Through the big glass doors, I saw her wait, then another woman with a child came up with takeout food, and the two women sat and ate it, a little picnic on the street. She was gone when I came out, but a few hours later I came back and she was at it again, touching my arm and crying.

anjunaangel

welcome to india .is it your first time?

freemanx

thirdreel,

this is india indeed!

but just one side of it!!!

i think most of us have a lot to learn when we come to india for the first time.
if you allow these incidences to touch your heart, and i´m sure you do, you´ll not be the same once you leave india

martin

alabamagoa

That's the only thing i dread about the start of the season in Goa, beggers everywhere outside ATM machines, banks, shops on the beachs(though the police did crack down last season) its organised and very profitable for the person or persons sending them out to beg, story in the newspaper about how much money they had made last season big money!!!!!! same beggers year in year out!!!

thirdreel

Yes, it's my first time in India.

In Delhi at least, the beggars are quite different than I had expected. Maybe I'm callous, but so many of them seem a little bit spoiled. The takeout picnic was just the most audacious example. Perhaps it's because I'm a tourist hanging out in travelers' areas, where some can go, knowing that if they can get two tourists to part with one US dollar each, they've just made double the minimum wage.

navinkurian2002

Beggar are bought up in violent surroundings and have hierarchies ,gangs .They dont take a nice NO!. I never look at them and just wave my hand for them to move on. If then persist for more then 5 times the only way to get then off you back is to shout at then and look very angry this is the only message the understand. If there are other beggars around and they see you feeding/giving money one of them you'll have 5-10 on your back see one tourist giving money attract them like bees to honey lol .The only time i really feed a beggar is f its just a small kid who looks really starved and I dont see any other beggars around and Ive got a bag of chips i give the kid the rest of them but only in rare occassion.

Nick-H

Hey! the take-out picnic means they are eating and probably living on the pavement.

Yes, there are gangs, there are scams, there is exploitation of children and I might very well feel different if I visit the bigger cities of the North.

This has been discussed at very great length in other threads and I am not going to repeat myself here (echos of 'phew; thank goodness for that' all over the IM cyberworld ) but...

Remember that beggars are human too, please? And, at least sometimes, give a little. If you don't prejudge the situation and close your ears and eyes you may learn a lot about life, Indian beggars and yourself in the process. You may find that some of the smiles you get will remain among your best and most enduring memories of India.

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machadinha

I found the situation in Delhi particularly tough though, and really found no other way than to ignore them all, because there are just too many and as noted you'll attract them all. Also, in most other places beggars and touts will somehow notice that you're not a newcomer and more or less leave you alone or at least be less persistent; not so in Delhi, it doesn't matter if you've just arrived or not.

You'll get used to it Thirdreel is all I can say. It's all a part of India, in other parts you may find there's a natural system with you giving away some every now and then and it will mostly be OK. I agree though if you do try not to judge what people do with that money, maybe they're far from their slum or street dwelling or it probably doesn't exactly have a fully-equipped kitchen. I don't think many people are out there begging and living on the streets for the fun of it, although it does get exploited but that's a different story. Of course people are looking for tourist dollars, I know I would in their situation.

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rubensb

i totally agree with nick-h and have had just this experience in mexico. we certainly can't begin to judge the impoverished witnessing their homeland, where they can barely afford to survive, overrun by tourists from foreign lands with, what they must perceive as, "money to burn."

byronic

The shit on the shoe at the stairway of Palika Bazar is a famous scam. I am sure there is a thread or two on IM if you use the search mode.

I would not, nor should anyone else feel much sympathy for the "Woman Carrying Child" scam either. The story is that they are organized by crime people who make the woman work for them and "rent" infants and children for these woman to carry with them. The woman are taught how to beg, and made to earn a quota of which the crime people keep and the woman get anything over that quota.

Yes the darker side of the India picture.

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iwanttogoback

when i was in ahmedabad we passed a 'beggar's cafe' with dozens of people squatting outside. it was explained to us that if we donated some money, for every RS10 a person would get a meal. we all donated and because we were quite a large group it seemed that everyone waiting got a meal.
do these exist in all indian cities?

Prof. Lionel Aranha

It's a profession like any other. They appeal to your senses and make a quick buck. They will not work (bend their back) to earn the money.

This is an organised scam. It is a pukka business organisation, with managers......

rangss

Why doesn't it happen to the locals? Because they will beat the shit back into him?

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thirdreel

Good point. But I also think that remembering they are human means holding them to ethical standards, just like you would for any other human being. We've all got to be honest with each other. I'd say when you say, "Please give me money; I'm hungry." you're conveying that you need the money to buy food--you don't know where your next meal is coming from. They wouldn't be likely to say, "Please give me money. Someone's coming by with my lunch in a few minutes but I could use a little extra later."

On the other hand, I'm learning that to be upright with them, I have to be okay with what I'm saying. If I'm not looking them in the eye when I speak to them, it's a sign that I'm avoiding the impact of my decision, and that's not okay. So we all could be a little more ethical.

I did give a few rupees to these contortionist kids who were doing their act at the side of the road as the auto was stopped in traffic... because it was one of the eerily cutest things I've ever seen.