Friday, April 27, 2007

Civilization’s oldest profession - Begging

Begging is the practice whereby a person obtains money, food, shelter or other things from people they encounter by request.

In larger cities, it is common to see beggars asking for money, food, or other items.
Typically, beggars often beg for spare change equipped with coffee cups, mugs, small boxes, hats, or other items into which money can be placed and sometimes narrate sob stories as well.
We’re sort of immune to them-
Their faces, their pleas, their sob stories. Yet, beggars generate the most diverse emotions in us: sympathy, pity, scare, sneer, disrespect.
Often quoted as one of civilization’s oldest professions, beggary rarely receives the legislative cover ‘professions’ usually get.

Begging raises questions that peer into the heart of social security and human dignity. While common people, in order to earn Punya, donate generously to one-armed people hiding the other arm in their shirts, the police kick and prick lepers and disabled beggars not even capable of moving an inch.
Only when the laws are diversified to target various forms of begging-related activities differently and work together with NGOs to rehabilitate truly incapacitated persons, significant change will take place.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is so true..
The begging menace in Blore is reaching new heights.

The traffic signals are now a breeding ground for beggars.

Anonymous said...

The movie 'traffic signal' highlighted the entire network of beggars and their actual life.

It was indeed a lil disturbing,but these are hard facts of life and rather than running away from it - it is wise to understand what really goes beyond those clumsy looking ppl in signals and other places of worship.