Story of beggars

• They choose & change their partners

Richeek Mishra

Agra. Like prostitution, begging is also one of the oldest professions all over the world. A person can adopt different styles of begging varying with geographical area and time. Rich countries like UK and US also have beggars, hence the profession is global and not limited to just poor countries. In Indian mythology, begging has been referred to as a highly respectable job of Sadhus, Rishis, and their disciples who needed supplies that were just enough for the bodily needs of their families, as they devoted their life to meditation and praying to god for well being of the world. But, now in the modern times when begging a full time profession, it is extremely difficult to even earn two meals. Modern beggars are always creating trouble for the local and foreign tourists in City. They can be found in huge numbers at every historical monument, crossings, hospitals, temples, etc. The beggar community feels that the society is selfish and discriminates on grounds of caste and religion due to which they are unable to make a living. A beggar at Hariparvat says that he tried to work but no body allowed us to and the government is also not giving us work. It is an old saying that bad habits die-hard, and ultimately it becomes an addiction. But again the question arises that why do those who are able enough to work and earn their living, choose to beg? Groups of beggars has have even formed their own tribes and name their offspring after their tribe.

Varieties of Begging

It is very difficult to generalize how and where begging begins. Some inherit it from their parents and some are forcefully brought into this dirt pool. Beggars will take anything viz. food or money while some demand specifically food or money. It has been observed that the elderly, the disabled, and the unemployed who do not have any support to live on, start begging. Sometimes people are robbed on a tour and they find themselves with no other option but beg temporarily to return home. There are others who try all sorts of tactics like carrying infants and pets and some even go as far as forcefully injuring the infants to get the passersby to sympathise with them and give them something. Some tell tales of like a pregnant woman crying over her dead child in the past, some want money to arrange for the funeral of their parents or their children and sometimes entire families are found begging on the pretext that they lost everything in a flood in a remote place.

Income

The beggars on the whole are well organized although not unionized. New beggars are looked upon with suspicion and are literally interviewed before being allowed to beg in any particular area. They have their own formula of estimating and budgeting income and expenses. A small town beggar faces a hard time to raise Rs. 50-100 while a city beggar can easily earn between Rs. 200-800. Part-timers earn Rs. 100-400 while full timers earn more than Rs. 500.

Nexus with criminals

Criminals and local mafia directly or indirectly tax (Hafta) these beggars, as told by a beggar. He said some young boys come to them every Saturday to collect the money after all they also need to save and also get to know of better begging zones. These leaders help us in saving our money and return it, when we demand, said Thaggu beggar at Sanjay Place. He further said that there is no rule to pay money to the leader. "Sometimes they leave us with our earning but it all depends on their mood". There are beggar gangs whose leaders take bigger shares, and distribute the rest among the members. The team of blind men and the team of eunuchs belong to this category. Thugs who run begging rackets usually dominate the beggars at the railway stations and bus stands. There are local mafia and criminals who liberate beggars from rehabilitation centers and send them back to the streets for begging.

Social & personal life

Beggars never make home. A sari is tied on two poles with the help of a bamboo stick and voila! there is a bedroom. Like western cultures, they have complete equality of genders and the women choose and change their partners whenever they like. Children are considered to be independent by the time they turn eight. From here on they choose to beg or steal. Professional thieves hire these beggar children as their apprentices. Even if they are caught, being minor they are sent to government remand homes or religious centers from where they are again picked up by the same fraternity. The beggar colonies are fast becoming the breeding grounds for anti-social elements.