Ok, so I get a lot of ribbing for being a pulp. I sob at sad movies, goo-goo over stray pups, buy anything from any seller with a sad face. BUT – it’s a firm NO to beggars.
This signal on 100 feet Road? – there’s a kid there – a regular. Sometimes, he appears with his head bandaged, after applying ketchup behind a tree. Sometimes, he’s selling ear buds. Today, he had a big God portrait, and a coupla garlands around his neck.
“I have no money to go to Tirupati”
Me : I have no money too.
Kid (looking through my car window) : You’ve got your handbag.
Me : That’s my mother’s handbag.
Kid : You’re so lucky. I have no mother
Me : (heart bleeding a bit)
Kid again : I’ll pray for you to Lord Balaji at Tirupati
Me (last ditch attempt ) : That won’t help me. I’m Christian.
Kid : Then I’ll pray for you at St. Mary's Church on the way.
I lost. I gave him something. Heck, I almost hired him. Trust me, he’s gonna be Big someday. And maybe sponsor my Bleeding Hearts Club.
JANE KIDDING. my life as a pretty (bad) mom, worse manager and good survivor, and how to find everything hysterical (strictly in hindsight).
your tried and still bled, I bleed right away as almost all the time I have my older son who is bleeding more than me to help him and says" mummy he needs food and house - give him money or food". There I bleed and give in to those beggars.
ReplyDeleteheheh suckers!! jane remember we parted ways at sigma mall..i got caught with one group, who came up with a sob story of poor kids...etc...etc. 100bucks.....aaaarrrrgggghh!!
ReplyDeleteno comments!
ReplyDeleteSlumdog?
ReplyDeleteI'm an ex-Marxist. I said goodbye to my comrades because they were either pro-Russian or pro-Chinese. But that doesn't divert my attention from the half a billion Indians who are the poorest in the world.
Go ahead with your writing.
Jane 2 incidents that come to my mind.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, Once we were outside of M.K.Ahmed. Just returned from the US 2 months before this happened where I lived for almost 10 years. I was with my husband, son and my sister(from London- who lived there for 5 years). We saw a cane maker there and he looked so desperate to sell his wares. My husband wanted to buy stuff from him, but I resisted coz then I would have to think of where to keep all the stuff. Once we left the place, we all felt so sorry that we did not buy anything, so we went back and purchased stuff from him. Later I realized that he always stood there and his looking desperate was just a sales gimmick.
Secondly,
My parents were having a party in their house. There were construction worker's kids in the house across the street. They were all playing outside our gate so, I went and asked them what they wanted, coz we did not want them to be around when people came for the party. They said they wanted food, so I told them to come after 2 hours. That was one of the sad times of my life. I thought life is so unfair. Here we were having a nice time all dressed up and enjoying and these kids did not have food to eat. When the party finished, I went to look for the kids and realized they had all gone to sleep. Anyways, I made sure that we kept some food for the kids and them rounded up everyone the next morning and fed them we gave them food in the paper plates, and they just kept it on the mud and dirt on the floor and ate. And here I tell my kid to not play in the mud and dirt, make sure that we boil mineral water for him.
Life true is unfair. But, seeing so much poverty, I guess we get immune to all the poor people around us.
You sentiMENTAL lady. You were always such a sap. And you know who this is...
ReplyDeleteKids are exploited in many ways, and the corporatisation of begging is just one way that happens to shock us the most. There's this mouse called Mickey who built entire cities on multiple continents to exploit kids. There's all the unhealthy fast foods, the must have toys and so on. A dacoit dressed like a clown peddling juvenile obesity. Forget the beggar kid on the road. We should be worrying about how our kids get taken every day by the commercialisation of childhood.
ReplyDeleteHi Jane! I love your blog. At the end of a long day its great to laugh insanely at what you write while noddding away in agreement.
ReplyDeleteI am a friend of Devak's and had met you briefly at his wedding.
Totally looking forward to reading more of your musings!
Smita