Social Slur

I live my life by a certain defined set of rules, and I totally hate myself for the massive amount of non-compliance with a simple set! I just keep making exceptions and exceptions and some more exceptions till I know the whole thing just nibbles on me slowly like red ants. Finally it’s a complete ant hill to carry. However there are some exceptions which I really follow. I am a firm believer in "You get what you deserve. You work for what you want!" Now the Bourneville guys were totally inspired from this but this is just more than cocoa. This is definitely some food for thought!

I was on my way back home from the counsellor when I was stuck at the Amar Mahal signal. This little boy, strikingly similar boy from Slumdog came asking for money. Now came in the strong play of my set of rules. I haven’t seen the world, but I've seen enough to pass a judgement here. I never give them money; always turn my face away thinking he needs to earn it. Now for the initial few years, it worked wonders because I was so absorbed in my self-righteousness and I never cared to look beyond my own plate.

Its only when you allow a certain degree of freedom can you cut some slack and have a broader view of things. However it does not encompass thorough solvency of rules, because in that case it would be severely detrimental! Anyway I was thinking, that kid is one third my size, he's not wearing any clothes and is just wandering around with a small bowl in his hand. Initial response was to pound in some change into the bowl, but then experience pinches, they'll all be coming like a pack of wolves and keep haunting till the signal turns green.

My retrospections got me to a certain degree of understanding which I never had before. For God's sake, he's 7 years old, how able is he? He doesn’t know there are 26 alphabets in the English language and I expect him to earn that money! He's been forced into something he isn’t supposed to and I expect him to earn that money! He hardly has the capability to fill his own stomach and I expect him to earn that money! I have to agree that my attitude might be heralded as the perfect way for the future but it was a bit harsh on my part to expect the same thing out of the poor soul. You could be lax once in a while, and it won’t really make your wallet lighter if a few coins could bring a smile on someone’s face but you surely are to think twice at this point. There are various facets that actually rise at this point.

1.The temporary smile on his face is obviously a good deed worth commemorating. It’s coming back to you, that’s karma. However looking at the bigger picture, you’ve encouraged an unnecessary evil prevalent in the society. I’m not trying to blame the kid here; he’s just doing the things he’s being told to do. I’m not even trying to delineate the fact that you need to be a cold hearted animal and just snuff the poor boy away. But as he grows, he will tend to do the same. It’s like an epidemic and needs to be taken care of in the right way.

2.You could do it once in a while. Now that seems to be a good and practical solution out. Not to forget diplomatic as well! Life will look sweeter because it’s only being done once in a while, when you’re in those generous moods and just want to do good to the world. Mumbai’s population is near about 17 million, imagine the number of people who think that way. So if the previous option is out of question, option 2 leads to the same conclusion of the eclipsing obscurity.

3.I’m an honest tax payer and the government should utilise the funds better. Okay let’s play around the first adjective, honest. We should probably leave it to your walls and crevices in your house. Probably a little conventional, but old is gold! But you do have a point there. You’re paying tax, where is the monetary support that these people are bound to receive? Super question. If you’d asked me a few days back, I would have been of the same opinion. Then I had a Buddha moment. The government coffers are usually up to brim but does the general public actually deserve the stuff that comes out of that money? And with the term general, it includes you, me and that boy as well. Okay the boy doesn’t have say over there. Narrowing down on you and me, we don’t deserve the public services, not one bit. We can’t even imagine of maintaining them, staining them with red spit and engraving names. Sure you’d feel like Michelangelo or perhaps you just got your Juliet but you’re nothing more than stupid roadside Romeo/Rascal. So it’s a little harsh on the government every time because you need to refer the commencement of the post and its implications. No we don’t deserve it, so don’t ask for it.

I might be straying from the primary point of the post but it was important to establish a firm view against the generally held perception of “I AM GOD.”
My point here is not to elucidate the fact that charity is something heinous rather than the hackneyed belief of it as a panegyric task, because it is worth the laud. But we fail to see the creeping lassitude which is slowly but surely a parasite and will threatens to grow big.

So, what’s the solution? Well I’ve been looking for one myself. Totally awaiting another Buddha moment. I am not a very big fan of social service but I have deep respect for the people who opt for it. Teach India foundation was one such good cause but we need to delve deeper to get to the roots. We need to elevate the standard of living, not only ours but others around us as well! As responsible citizens we could also try and sponsor education for one of these guys. Imagine how many people could be swept off the streets. I’m talking from experience, and I know it can work wonders. The government could build designated areas in the suburbs to fight congestion in downtown. Have a school for these kids. If I had my way, I’d take the right to produce kids from these guys. I know devilish but we need to CONTROL!

As for the guy at the signal, I could’ve ripped my wallet apart with all the change and make him happy for a day or two. Use the other 100 bucks to have a meal at McDonalds. Or I could go home and have mom’s food and buy a football worth 100 bucks and gift it to the boy. It’d have the same outcome, definitely but I did my bit against fighting the immoral and abject conditions he’s being poised to. Get up, do your bit, let’s make this a better place to live in!