“I am hungry, please give
me ten rupee,” a teenager beggar boy begs near world-famous Indian Institute of
Management building in Ahmedabad. A local daily carries a news story on trendy
‘beggars’ of Gujarat’s economic capital which boasts of hundreds of charitable
trusts begging millions of rupees for sick, aged and crippled cows. The
‘apprentice’ reporter said that he was surprised when he saw such an
English-speaking beggar.
It is not surprising that beggars
learn English. Reason is simple. They are real beggars. And if you are a
political beggar like Rajnath, you may not realize importance of English. The
real beggars know that they can’t beg in Sanskrit. Because, begging in Sanskrit
demand unique attire – a pot belly wrapped in yellow silky cloth; a sacred, stinking
thread entwined around ear and above all a caste certificate given by divine
order.
Begging in English is
constitutional. Begging in English is revolutionary. It is anti thesis of
institutional begging practised by religious mendicants and political parties.
Long live India’s new generation of belligerent beggars!
