I think I was too busy enjoying my Fruit & Nut flavoured ice cream for I could not see beggar kids sitting and staring at us across the road divider. It was Dhanteerus - the day when people buy metal (utensils or gold) considering it to be auspicious for the coming year ahead. I did not know about this and was just accompanying Sachin, Shashank and Neearaj for some shopping that Sachin wanted to do for this day. Buying something in Gold from Tanishq for his mother at the Paradise Crossing in Hyderabad. May be the extra rush on the road or me liking the flavour could be blamed for me not watching around whats happening...
Suddenly I could see a child in filthiest shorts and torn shirt, almost hopping towards us, his hands in air begging for some money. For those who have been in Hyderabad for a while would definitely know that there is abundance of beggars present in Hyderabad especially on S.P. Road. You can find a variety of them: Some being beggars just because of laziness, some with lost limbs, and some with crutchers which can be thrown away in a corner when they walk back home after the city falls asleep and is no longer watching them. So here was one of them standing in front of Neeraj begging for anything that could come out of Neeraj's pocket.
Giving a rupee or two doesn't really hurt anybody these days but the pain of paying it to next 10 beggars who would rush to you seeing you pay it to one of them, does give everybody a headache. He tried to shoo away the kid and finally handed him over the ice cream that he was eating. I am sure even if my vocab was best in the world then also I would have been unable to describe the smile that was there on that child's face. While I got entangled in that smile, the mother of that kid was busy in pushing the rest of her kids to us; as she could see potential donors standing on this side of street. Soon we were surrounded by alteast 4-5 kids all begging for money and eyeing what was there in our hands. We all handed over our ice creams to those kids who seemed to happy as if they had earned their Dhan on this Dhanteerus day.
One of us quickly pointed out..."Arre yaar...bache ko jhoothi ice cream kyun de di khaane ko??" Lekin every one of us pratically knew the answer that us bache ko fresh ice cream to shayad hi koyi leke deta. I am pretty sure those last few spoons of ice cream would have given him more happiness and content than 1 or two rupees which would have gone to his Mom's pouch. Though they would have been added in the Monthly Family Savings but it would have definitly not brought that smile on his face.
It was definitely a Dhanteerus day for us and for that kid, while we earned the Dhan of that kid's smile and a silent thanks in a language which we all could understand inspite of being from diff regions; and the child earned the Dhan of enjoying the flavour of a Baskin Robbins ice cream which he may not be able to afford.....may be not in this life.
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