Beggars are very different in India than in the U.S.
Of course they are! If you've ever seen a picture or scene from a movie set in India, I'm sure you're well aware of the vast number of impoverished individuals living here. They are not generally doped up on drugs or drunken alcoholics either. They are, at times, skeletal reflections of our own bodies. Some come from downtrodden villages nearby, walking 30 to 45 minutes to McLeod Ganj in hopes of finding a kind, confused traveler not yet numbed by the poverty that surrounds them. Some of these beggars are even immensely handicapped.
There is a man in town who has one finger, only a thumb on his left hand. His legs are either too decrepit to maintain the strength to stand, or else he only has one. Honestly, it pains me to look too closely, so I have yet to determine the exact condition of his legs. This man sits on a wheeled board, with a cushioned top very low to the ground. It's so low that when you see him maneuvering around town on this makeshift wheelchair, you would think that he were sitting on the ground if you didn't see the wheels beneath him. He strategically places himself around town asking travelers of all sorts for food. That's right, they want food, not money. Difference number one.
Once you've been in India for a few weeks though, you become almost numb to the immense poverty that surrounds you. There are so many beggars who have lost hope of finding a job that they find more ways for travelers to feel sympathy for them, and emphasize their misfortune so that travelers will offer food.
I already knew of the poverty that many of these people live in, but hearing about it on television and seeing it in person gives you a different perspective. In the U.S. it feels easier to pass by a homeless person without giving money, because, true or not, a common assumption is that the homeless person will use the money for booze or drugs.
When I first came to India, I had to let go of that generalized assumption, and come to terms with the fact, that these people truly need the money. Many of them do not have hot water, homes, 3 meals a day. It's a whole different mindset. And whereas in the U.S. I really think most homeless people have an opportunity to build a better life for themselves through homeless shelters, and organizations that will help them off the streets if they so wish.
In India, it's much different. I'm starting to believe that many of these people have no other choice. I'm still learning how true this is.
Do the teenage girls pinching their babies to make them cry, really not have an opportunity to work for their money? Must they use the tears of a baby to bring food to their families? Are they really this helpless or is it the easiest way for them to acquire food and funds? I'm still unsure, and hesitate to ask until I know a smidgeon more of Hindi. In English, the girls only know, “Please buy milk and rice for my baby. We have no food. No need money, just food.” These are the words they repeat day-in an day-out.
We certainly have given beggars food and money throughout our stay in India. It is a given that a couple days will not go by without offering some sort of donation to the people. Eric is boundlessly generous at times, one time buying an exuberant amount of food for one family... probably lasting them three weeks if they ration it well enough.
I aspire to be as generous as he, but I am disheartened when I give a beggar bread, and his response is, "Will you buy me chai with my bread?" Or when a shoe repair man trying to earn a few rupees to feed his family takes me to a store to buy rice and milk and picks up as many bags as he can carry, not understanding that I do not carry 1000's of rupees in my pocket. I was very disheartened by the lack of appreciation beggars had for what was given to them. But I think this is an American ideal that has been ingrained in my mind.
See, after giving the man with one finger a loaf of Tibetan bread, and then hearing he would like chai tea with his bread, a young Israeli woman walked past and chuckled. She pointed back at him and told me, “That man, he is a very lucky man. I and many others who pass by give him food.” I took note of this and said how as soon as I gave him the bread, he expected chai as well. I explained how it didn't even feel like he appreciated the bread that was given to him. The woman just chuckled and said, “Ah, yes. That is the Indian way.”
So I thought about her lax perspective on the “beggar way.” Perhaps I should take a different perspective on this. The American sentiment is that they should be appreciative of what they are offered, and not ask for me than what was given.
Now if I think of it this way... I also enjoy having chai with my bread so it's logical for him to also make this request.
It's still taking time for me to get used to their many requests, but by understanding and not being disheartened by their constant request for more, I feel that I am more open to giving one loaf of bread here, one package of milk there. Because I am starting to understand why they never seem to be satisfied with what you give them, I am still open to giving them food on a more a consistent basis. This may seem like a no-brainer to give the thin, handicapped beggar food, but when you pass by 10 to 20 of them on the street everyday, and each wants bags and bags of rice, milk, and bread; you begin to realize that you need to ration your offerings so that you don't spend your entire savings. But giving little by little helps to put your mind at ease knowing that they will have at least some nourishment for the day.
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