“भैया, एक झंडा ले लो ना, बहुत भूख लगी है।” (Brother, please buy a flag, I am very hungry.)
She had seen me taking her photograph across the road.
What made me click are 2 reasons :
- The thought of unfortunate situation of such a great nation, where kids are forced to beggary right under the nose of law enforcement system.
- Practicing street photography / mobile photography.
Though I didn’t buy the flag but offered her oranges and biscuits to eat. She refused and asked for money only.
To mention here, I have a strict principle of not to give money to beggers. But if seems necessary, help them in kind like food, clothing etc.
I offered another option to get her food from a nearby street food joint. To my surprise, she refused that as well.
I asked her, aren’t you hungry?
“Yes, I am.” She replied.
“Then come to that shop, I will buy you parantha.”
“No, my uncle will come with food but will get only if I give him money.” She said. (अभी uncle खाना ले कर आएगा, लेकिन जब पैसे दूंगी तभी खाना मिलेगा).
And she ran away…as if had seen a ghost behind me.
I looked back and saw another elderly man selling dusters and other things on another side of traffic. He took a glimpse of me twice and walked deeper into traffic.
I was shocked and surprised.
…
We are celebrating 69th republic day but it’s unfortunate that kids like her are still forced to sell things at traffic signals or forced to beg. And a majority is controlled by the mafia.
Beggary in India is a major issue which needs to be addressed effectively. If this is the situation of Delhi, then we are ages behind in our goal to be a world leader as a nation.
Post by
Safar The Journey
Image Courtesy: @MyMiniLesn
