To Give or Not to Give?

To Give or Not to Give?
A dime to a beggar.

The question in present day scenario is: Is it Right or Wrong?
Are we actually helping by keeping few coins in their dirt smeared hands? Or, are we just encouraging the Big Whole Begging Mafia, where the children are caught in villages and amputated to arouse sympathy in the people at a Traffic signal.

Its true we will never be able to find out the reality behind these Traffic Signals. At the same time, It is equally hard not be shaken up by these small children carrying babies and telling you they have not eaten anything since days! We 'intellectuals' read and are aware, we know the behind-the-scenes truth of it all, That, these children are exploited by the Street Mafia for street money. Which makes it a conflicting situation for us, It is not charity anymore. It has become a question of Right or Wrong.

Few days back on the Railway station, a small girl- Imagine any child artist from Slumdog Millionaire of the age 6-8; tugged my Kurta and looked into my Eyes with a hopeless expression. Her Eyes swayed with total nonchalance. But in that one instant, I heard her say a thousand words.. Not of her hard life, but of the fact that she did not expect me to comply to her demand. I could sense that she was restless to go to the next person and was just waiting for me to nod my head and shoo her away! Her Child Like Innocence which was so ignorant of the hardships she has unknowingly set herself to endure in her growing years, crushed my heart!
That was her Routine. That is what she was taught to make a living. That is what she has learned at her impressionable age.

Asking. Begging.

Her Remarkable Eyes.. told the story of her nonchalance to the rejection she faced everytime she uttered those words- probably the only words she knows how to speak fluently in 3 languages!.... kuch nahi khaya is and in native etc etc.

At that moment all my senses were focused on her. The heinous cruelty of this world hit me yet another time, and I just gave away all the change I had to that girl. She looked at me, smiled and then with the same charateristic nonchalance ran to her next target.

I don't know what I did was right or not. Whether I contributed to her exploitation or I did a good thing. All I know is, that one flash of smile, That particular moment has stayed with me since then. It made me think, reflect and perpetuated this blog.

The dilemma to comply to a beggars demands still remains unresolved for me. But, that one fine moment gave me something to savour for a life time. I finally understood what I could not understand even through various master pieces of art!

That moment.. That wet girl.. Those eyes.. That flash of smile......

So Innocent..
So Ignorant..
So Heart wrenching..
So Tragic..
Yet Beautiful in a way..

Yes.. I finally understood the paradox: Tragically Beautiful.