It Begs The Question, Is Begging Honourable ?

IT BEGS THE QUESTION, IS BEGGING HONOURABLE ?

Supreme court on a recent PIL to remove beggars forcefully from traffic intersections, pointed out that begging is a socio economic problem that called for a humane and sympathetic approach. There are laws in different states to seize homeless people and send them to detention homes. The centre tried to distinguish between voluntary and involuntary begging. However it is a sign of our weakness in ensuring social protection. Having failed to provide economic security ,the article observes that it is unconscionable to make criminals out of the poor. In general begging is not an enthusiastic choice but a viable alternative to earn their livelihood but beggars are not choosers.

Decades back I came across an old lady sitting in front of Kurinchi Andavar temple at Kodaikanal.in her early seventies. With a red bhindi adorning her forehead and a bewitching toothless smile, she sat with an old polythene sheet spread in front of her with a few notes and coins sprinkled on the sheet. She did not ask for alms but would just say Namaste. I sat by her side and heard her story keenly watched by my wife and daughters .After losing her husband she preferred to stay by herself in her own shed .She had a small piece of land which produced enough grains for herself. She found it offensive when her son and DIL spoke with each other in English. She had sold all her jewellery to educate her son .Now the push cart fellow selling food and snacks near the temple gave her food. In a normal month her monthly collection was around Rs.3000 which would swell to around 8000 during the season .Unable to bear the insult, her son and DIL had moved away to Chennai. With a twinkle in her eye she said that she had enough in her kitty to have treatment in an English Hospital if the need arose. I gave Rs 100 to her and she in turn gave Rs Five each to my two daughters and blessed them. Is she a beggar?

My American boss in Goa called me and showed me a Fax from his friend in US. The message was that his son had come to Goa with one hundred thousand US$ and turned into a Hippie. He requested my boss to have an eye on him. With irritation, he delegated the task to me and cautioned me not to involve myself with the blaggard. I went to one of beautiful beaches of Goa and after searching for him, I found him ,a young man in his early thirties on the beach .He had a tuft, with the frontal area shaved nicely, three vertical lines, two white and one red adorning his forehead and a begging bowl in his hand. Though shocked, I accompanied him on his mission for a while, keeping a safe distance, lest the public should offer some money to me. After a while he took me to his well appointed shantie and explained that he was fed up with life and that is why he turned himself into a hippie. Begging destroyed his individuality and he gave away his daily collections to the children of fisher men. I cautioned him to be careful and not to fall a prey to drugs. Is he a beggar?

Our traditional ethos include the ideals of Bhikshu as a means of demolishing the ego or doing penance. Om,bhavati bhiksham dehi call made women rush to offer rice/grains etc. St.Thyagaraja practiced begging as a sadhana and offered prasadam to God as a medium of communicating with the divine within himself. When Mythili was on her death bed I was advised to beg for her life. It was a prearranged begging from friends’ house. When I stood in front of his house with a bowl for collecting Rice I had a new sensation of weightlessness as if I was in a spacecraft. This exercise extended her life by around eight months. Are the people who undertake such missions out of sheer desperation and as a last resort, are beggars?

I beg your pardon is what we said when we did not hear the other person on phone.Now we shout-your voice is breaking and I can’t hear you,****.I beg to differ was a polite way of expressing your disagreement. Now it is replaced by “you are talking rubbish” but older people say nonsense instead of rubbish. I beg to submit ,I beg your attention, I beg your forgiveness are polite expressions. The icing on the cake is when our great parliamentarians” beg to ask leave to withdraw the amendment”.Afterall begging is honourable.

 

Wrong economic policies, natural disasters to name a few have driven many to begging. However the Varsha cyclone in Chennai a few years back and the corona pandemic have brought the finer instincts of Indians.Anand Mahindra rightly tweeted that there is still hope for the have nots to have a dignified life.
SLN

 

We are in darkness
but don't want to be hopeless
This is what I like most in the poem.
We read heart- rending stories of erstwhile sports persons struggling for two square meals a day. Thanks to the active social and other media ,help pours in from helpful individuals. Recently our car cleaner, from NE and in his early forties met with an accident almost immobilizing him for life. You will be surprised that his discounted medical bills amounting to Rs.2.5 lakhs were settled by the residents. Rice, wheat and groceries to last for a few months have been provided. Plans are under discussion to rehabilitate him and his family. Basically human beings are kind and good. Competition for success makes them tough until something tragic strikes a chord. A potential begging situation was averted.
SLN

 

You are right. Mafia gangs operate in cities and train children in pick pocketing or begging. Horror stories of maiming the children before letting them loose on the streets are abound though declining of late. Vocational training depending on their ability to catch up will go a long way in redirecting them from begging.
SLN

 

I am sorry to learn that in US there is a general feeling that poverty is ones own making.Idont think that poverty and begging can be voluntary. I know a couple of cases where medical complications have reduced the families to almost begging. Thanks to still some energy left, the old lady is cooking in houses and eking out her livelihood. If you visit Vishranthi, a destitute home for old women in Chennai, you will not come out without a tear in your eyes. Any amount of help is not enough as the number has increased after the pandemic.
SLN