The trouble with Indians is that we love bragging how great our country is and how ancient our religion is and on. But does it really matter if children like these have to sell and beg to make a living? If you are going on holiday to India then you are going to see a lot of these. In fact, every time your taxi stops at the traffic light in Delhi then a boy or girl just like in the picture will come up to you to beg or approach you to sell something. Coming from abroad, you might find this heartbreaking and out of pity you might end up buying whatever they’re selling. But we as Indians are almost immune to sights like these and most of us would probably turn a blind eye and even shoo them away.
The boy pictured was selling pens and was asking for Rupees 100 per pen (£1 GBR or about $1.6 USD). Mind you, the price will depend on the clothes you are wearing and type of vehicle you are on. What I am saying is that the more expensive looking clothes you are wearing, the higher the price. Anyway, the fact is that these pens don’t cost more than Rupees 10 (about £0.10 GBR or $0.16 USD) a piece.
The question is – would you buy a pen and would you pay the highly inflated price of Rupees 100 or would you bargain? To most tourists coming to India, 100 Indian Rupees is not a lot of money.
It’s not a quiz or a contest. I am really interested in what you think and how you would handle the situation.
