Straps of prosperity
National indicators show that
Kerala is one of the leading prosperous states. The benchmark for evaluation of
prosperity and equitability nationally, is a comparison of the average standard
of living and equitability. Kerala is thus placed in the high average standard
of living index with less disparity amongst households according to the
analytical firm CRISIL.
A drive along the country side
and everywhere surfaces houses built in western tradition with sometimes a
touch of local flavour. Households compete with each other to outspend the
other as far as building costs is concerned. Outsiders who visit the state for
the first time are taken in by these lavish sights and colourful parade of
houses lining the streets even in the hinterland.
Beggary of the normal kind is
almost considered a taboo and most of the sparse population of beggars is from
outside the state. However there is another sophisticated trend of beggary
doing the rounds in Kerala especially in the rural and semi urban areas. This
involves a touch of nostalgia, lies, deceit and misrepresentation bordering on
falsehood mixed with emotions and religious blackmail.
Every morning till mid afternoon
one can see a steady stream of these sophisticated beggars trooping down the
lanes of shining houses amidst a splash of conspicuous consumption. They carry
the religious texts, discharge and treatment slips from reputed hospitals and
various other materials with which they start their quest for their daily
bread.
The one with the holy text under
his arm pit will open his sales pitch with a prayer. Now any family with even
an iota of cultured faith and religious fermentation will not have the stomach
to ask the gentleman to stop. Taking this cue, the man will go on to offer his
unwanted blessings and stand firm after the sales pitch ends.
By the end of this the lady or
the habitants of this household is reminded of the religious lessons of early
childhood and the text where he/she grew up with the words ‘when I was hungry
you fed me, when naked you clothed me….” And fearing the wrath of the same God
he accedes lest he and his family suffer as a consequence.
The sophisticated beggar moves on
to the next house and displays the same passion with his skills. This is an
occupation that they choose and excel at, and herein lays their daily pay
check.
Another of their kind will appear
from thin air and thrust his yellowing and worm out papers/appeals/certificates
from respected hospitals to prove his sales pitch. He will try to gain your
trust by asking for a token amount to rid him or his ailing family member from
the curse of the dreaded disease called cancer. Sometimes one wonders how he
will manage to collect the required funds in this manner in small doses bit by
bit, meandering between rows of houses and crisscrossing the vast tracts of
land, when the amount required is so huge?
But the emotional pitch underpins
your emotions and you contribute thanking God that you are free from this
dreaded disease and patting yourself for contributing a single brick to say the
least towards this man’s efforts to build up his corpus of funds before the
threat extinguishes the being. After all they say “a good deed a day keeps the
doctor away”. This you are sure passes the test of a good deed and through this
you hope the doctor can be kept away for a longer time.
Some of them will appear on your
door step ring your doorbell and greet you warmly as your peep out in a manner
that tells you that you were once chums. You may have a perplexed look on your
face not knowing who this assuming gentleman is, but his sales pitch is one of
‘for old time sake’. He reminds you forcefully and at times reassuringly about
his association with your family and how he has since fallen on bad days and
needs a leg up from your side.
After all, isn’t that what
acquaintances, pals and known people are for to help the other when he falls on
bad times. You hurriedly try to train your mind to recollect your association
with him, but he will make a mockery of your trail of thoughts while assuring
you that you and your family have been regularly contributing to his cause and
the last time was just a year or a few months back.
Through this he wants to prove
that he is not a habitual offender but maintains a discreet respectability
about his method of begging.
Well, at the end of it all you
give up, since you are blackmailed, emotionally drained and reminded of the
purpose of your existence. The best you can do, to fight these dancing devils
in your mind, is to quietly pay up and feel happy that you have been able to discharge
your worldly obligations at a low maintenance cost while thanking the almighty
for having kept you and your loved ones outside this loop of troubled existence.
Robin Varghese
29th June 2018
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