Well, as I had feared, so it happened. I opened a blog, posted an entry, engaged in some self-indulgence and reverie and then never even visited my website! Nevertheless, I am trying to work on it, and post something else. Of course for now, only the most pressing of thoughts or issues spur me into action or rather writing in this case.
I am visiting family in India these days, and walking on the streets of Chandigarh brings back nostalgia sometimes. As an aside, walking is all I can do in Chandigarh these days, driving on the streets of India is a scary endeavour for me. Coming back to the topic at hand, it has been a wonderful few days being back in India, albeit bitter-sweet at times. I had forgotten some of the issues I felt so strongly about, and one of them was the public officials' erroneous attentions to management. One of the shopping areas in the city is filled with local peddlers making fresh bhelpuri for you - the best I have had in Chandigarh. Nevertheless, they are constantly hassled by the government officials because they are apparently illegally operating on the sidewalks! every five minutes the hoards of these bhelpuri-wallahs have to pick their little makeshift tables filled to overflowing with savoury chutneys, bhel, fresh coriander, limes and an assortment of Indian snacks, run down the sidewalk looking for safe havens, and in the process loosing customers. Oftentimes, they have to throw the materials somewhere so that they are not found with it, in turn causing them to suffer huge losses.
Their plight and the local government's attitude confuses me. I have seen the streets of my city, and those of countless others in India, littered with beggars who are free to roam and harass the public without any fear from the officials. They roam about scot free. Compare them to the bhelpuri-wallahs who are making an honest living through hard-work by selling their goods instead of lounging around in filth to instil false sympathy in the passer-bys and beg for money that will be squandered on alcohol and ice-creams. Believe me on that - I have seen child beggars come and beg for money for food and then run to the ice-cream parlours and eat Baskin-Robbins! I have also seen many beggars abuse and literally turn violent when my parents offered to room and board them and pay them if instead of begging they would work as maids or nannies!
We may be a nation that is tolerant of begging, but begging as a means of supporting the lazy and corrupt is by no means something we should be tolerant of. If I have interpreted it correctly, begging or bhiksha was used as a way of providing for the ascetics, hermits and the scientists of the ancient world. Bhiksha was a way for the Hindu society to support these philosophers, thinkers, scientists and researchers. I look back at it as a form of Research and Development funding that the society arranged for - the society took care of the material needs of these scholars, and they contributed to the society by increasing the knowledge base. What are the modern day beggars contributing to India? Aren't these street-side peddlers a much better recourse than beggars? Are we encouraging sloth and laziness in our country by encouraging beggars and discouraging honest vocation?
I love this post. I noticed the very same thing. In fact, first few times I felt bad for the beggers whom I came across and gave them money, but later on the same day I had to contrast their situation with an OLD lady working her bhutta stall pretty late in the night...and I realized that there is no reason for those perfectly bodied individuals to be roaming around with a second person who is handicapped asking for money while the former could very easily take up some work and EARN that money...and feed the latter too.
ReplyDeleteAnd I love that you have compared it with the original concept of bhiksha. Very true!