The Street Beggar

The Street Beggar Essay

In India, begging is a profession and people are pushed into this “business”. Today one can see young healthy persons begging. Not only this, today young and healthy girls are seen on all red light intersections of the city.

India is a vast country. Owing to its vastness, big resources are needed to supply the basic needs to her very large population. This is one of the causes of its being economically poor. That is why many people earn their living even by begging.

We can see scores of beggars in every city. We can find them almost everywhere but they are more at the busy market-crossings, in front of the temples and outside the railway stations. We can also see them before all the religious places. Some beggars are able-bodied but some are blind, lame or cripple.

A beggar is always clad in rags. He carries a begging bowl. Some weak and old ones keep a stick. The beggar goes for begging alone, rarely in groups. He tries to excite our sense of pity. Sometimes these beggars – especially the women – carry an infant in their laps. This they do to make us feel pity over them. We may have sympathy for the beggars but not at all for the able-bodied ones. They are actually not beggars but lazy fellows who do not want to work. Some beggars may be cheaters or rogue. We should be cautious about them and help only those who really need our help.