Is he the son ?

This boy, I presume, is the son of the lady in yesterday’s picture. The boy came up to me after his mother had, and stretched his hand out. I rolled down the window this time and asked him why he was begging, first in Tamil and then in Hindi. He didn’t open his mouth. I asked him if I could take a picture of his, he didn’t reply to that either. I then clicked this picture and he then put his hand out again, and I paid him ten rupees for it. I wanted to tell him that he should go to school and become smart, and that the ten rupees were not alms but just fees for modeling, just like the people in the hoarding behind him and maybe he would someday be a big film star. Just words of encouragement. But alas, he wouldn’t listen; the moment money exchanged hands he walked away towards the next car, leaving me think about the things that I wanted to tell him.

I am saying that that ladies son, but I couldn’t be sure about it at all. Beggars here generally don’t have any family. They just tag along together to earn pity. Father and daughter, mother and son. Man with old crumbled parents. More time than not, its all just a set up. They can change their families and blood relatives just for the sake of a few rupees, but if what I hear is true, it’s just not a few rupees. Begging is a multi million dollar industry.