Defeated by a beggar's logic
GIVING alms to beggars does little to help them in the long run; instead, it only worsens this socioeconomic problem. If we want a beggar-free world, skill training and job creation must be prioritised. Poverty is generally the cause and beggars are the effect. But my wife has a different take on the matter. She thinks that beggars have professional skills; they have a good sense of timing and ‘site selection’. They have mastered the art of pestering the alms-giver to such an extent that he relents and puts money in the begging bowl. In some cases, begging is a family vocation.
During the Shaheedi Jor Mela last month, I came across a family begging next to a prominent gurdwara. I couldn’t resist the temptation of asking the head of the family a few questions.
I asked him why they were begging beside a shrine where langar was available round the clock and tea as well as sweets were served, thanks to the donations made by devotees; moreover, there was a dispensary to deal with health issues. He replied that there was no ‘variety’ in the menu, and what they needed was ‘medicine’ to keep the body warm at night. It was apparent that he was referring to daaru (liquor).
Finding it difficult to comprehend his curt reply, I asked him why he was making his entire family beg. He stated that every member was expected to chip in to cope with the ever-rising mehangai.
Not one to give up, I asked this man, who hailed from Rajasthan, why he begged while sporting a turban, which was a symbol of pride in Punjab. His answer was that it protected him in winter as well as summer. Getting impatient, my wife told me that she had seen this family many times at this crossing and it was better to leave the place rather than get into an argument. Nevertheless, I asked the beggar why he stayed put at this spot. He shot back that in his profession, there was a code of conduct: They did not trespass on each other’s territory.
In the last roll of the dice, I told him: “You look physically fit. You should not be begging.” His reply was like a bolt from the blue. Pointing a finger at me, he said I was hardly different from him as I begged God for the wellbeing of my family. His parting shot was that the biggest beggars were politicians, who harangued common folk for the sake of votes.
I felt defeated and was finally convinced that begging was indeed a profitable profession.