The other day I was at a stop light in an auto-rickshaw, when 2 men approached us begging for money. These gents were adorned in women’s sauris, with lipstick and earrings. Yes, these cross-dressing men are commonly called the “3rd gender” in India. They make a living from begging, sometimes prostitution, and… party-crashing (weddings, specifically). They are said to be good luck to have at a wedding, and so they will show up in big groups demanding food and money. And people have to give it to them, or amen to that marriage. Or so I hear.
Begging is a difficult conundrum here in India. It is much more intrusive, persistent, and prevalent than any place I have been. It is a constant debate in my mind as to what to do about it. I have talked with a couple of NGOs here that focus on the most vulnerable populations. All have insisted that resources are available (such as shelters), but begging is much more lucrative for many of them.
In the past couple of months there have been a few stories on CNN online about the uncovering of the current issue with gangs in India kidnapping children, maiming them, and then forcing them to beg. I certainly don’t want to feed that kind of system.
And above all, everything that we are pushing for here in India is to build self-reliance and sustainability, rather than enabling dependence.
On the other hand, every day I am passing human beings that are hungry. Yes, it may not even go to them at the end of the day. Yes, there may be some other resources available. Yes, contributing to the practice may help perpetuate it. But these are people with needs, undoubtedly.
I don’t have a good answer as to what to do at this point.
Ok, back to my story. So, there they were reaching into our auto saying “Money, money, give me 10 rupees” with the typical accompanying hand motions, but much more adamant than common beggars. My friend here said that when you don’t give them money, they yell curses upon you. However… I guess for fun I said “You give ME ten rupees.” Thinking I didn’t understand, one pulled out a one-rupee coin and repeated it, and I replied the same. He smiled and said “Ok, one rupee. Give me one rupee.” I said “Oh, that rupee is for me? Thank you!” and held out my hand. At this point, the light changed, and suddenly, he dropped the rupee in my hand, burst out laughing, and blew me a kiss as we drove off. YEAH. I got money from a beggar. I don’t know what this means coming from a 3rd gender, cross-dressing, wedding-crashing beggar. But I think it has got to be some kind of good luck.
(Note: The only thing this picture has to do with this blog post, is that I'm the only woman in this picture. I watched these "ladies" do some traditional dancing... then met them and realized...)
