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Bombay beggars expandBombay town, the gateway to India, is a modernistic community with the usual traffic hassles and the know-it-all taxicab drivers. The town Is a natural peninsula with various modes of transportation from '20th century 7*37 jumbo jets to the primitive bullock cart.To the average traveler, Bombay is a likable place except for the numerous beggars and panhandlers.The beggers, as I understand from my 1*4 years’ stay in the country, are a caste whose occupation is to beg or ask for money, food, or whatever else is available from the higher castes of Hindus.Oftentimes the beggar child Is maimed by the parents to make him more physically authentic to go about begging.To this foreigner this seems incomprehensible in more than one case. Initially, in fact, the foreign traveler is overwhelmed emotionally by those street beggars.I personally observed that when a traveler gave pisa (Indian coin currency} to a beggar, Immediately a small flock of other beggarsswarmed the neophyfee, After one of these situations, the traveler starts the process of conditioning and shows more vehement signs of refusal when confronted by thebeggars,But life goes on around Bombay town for the beggar in his “trapped” social and economic status. And what has recently developed in a loose sense in Bombay Town is that the beggar caste is feeling pressure from the building influx of the western type beggar.These panhandlers are from the different countries of the technically developed nations. The excuses they give to panhandle range from drug addiction to “Someone” ripped me off at the airport for all I had.”And Bombay, the gateway to India, is the “best spot to “pick up” on the traveler.So, for the traveler to walk the streets and enjoy the feeling of Bombay is a con-tinous pisa problem, which has left him with a bitter feeling in his mind and a constant hand in his pocket for the beggars and panhandlers.The beautiful sights and experiences are sometimes forgotten when one is continuously hassled by the fellow man who does not have the monetary capital.JOHN T. VAN HOOK, Jr.. Peace Corps Cuttack, India (EDITOR'S NOTE: John T. Van Hook, Jr. is an Altonian now serving in the Peace Corps.)
Newspaper Details
Alton Evening Telegraph
Alton, Illinois, US
Mon, Apr 17, 1972
Page 3
Full Page
Clipped by
Hayner P.
IL, USA 14 Dec 2023
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