Am I a beggar?

I’d once given a beggar-boy ten rupees… He was ecstatic. The most I’ve ever given a beggar is fifty rupees… That old fellow thought I was drunk!!!

In the three weeks that I’ve been in Oakland, I’ve been asked for cigarettes 5 times… In the 9 other years that I’ve been in India, no stranger has ever asked me for cigarettes! The other time this old man asked me for $2 for a bagel (can any of the Indians imagine?) and I opened my wallet and the least change I had was $5. I gave it to him…. It took me a few seconds to realize that I’d just given more money to a beggar just then than I’d ever given before!

What would he have if done I’d given him the equivalent of 2rupees (200/45 =~5cents)? Thrown it back at me? Have you ever had a beggar throw 50p back at you? I’ve had.

I’m debating the scales by which one measures the money one earns… I know lots of people (~5 :D ) who’d be delighted to move to the US for 50K a year… They’d live an Indian life in the US… would it be worth it?

Who am I to complain? If I go to the US I’d go just to earn the money. My wife’s doing an MBA in Finance, but I don’t think I’d understand why it is sooooo much more comfortable living in India than in the US. Somehow buying power doesn’t follow inflation rates… I can always get my RKM (roti kapda makan) cheaper in India than I’d get in the US…

So the question comes down to this… Who _is_ the beggar who asked me for ninety rupees for a bagel? Is he poor? Or is he just handicapped?

Am I a beggar?