And this is what you call alms for shanti

BANGALORE: Waiting at traffic signals for your turn can be a bit of a hassle, especially if you have someone harassing you for money. The beggars in the city patiently wait for their next target. Over the years they seem to have added and improved on their tactics to extract money. Gone are the days when they would just come and beg for money, and probably after waiting for a few seconds by your side, move over to the next vehicle to try their luck.These days, they have not just progressed in their methods, but have also become more aggressive, and they refuse to budge unless and until they get some money.Fake injuries and illness are passe now. “I was travelling to work in an auto, when a eunuch grabbed me. She came to my auto to ask for money, but when I ignored her demands she came right at me. It was a little startling,” said Samiha, a copywriter.She also recalled another incident when she saw a beggar begging at the signal near her office, and the next second take out a fancy cellphone to take a call.Chahita, a software engineer had a rather strange experience last week. “I was outside a well known pub on St Mark’s Road, when this lady carrying an infant came charging towards me.The scary part was that she had a brick in her hand. A few feet away, she smashed the brick near my feet and then started hitting me on my hand while begging for money. I was stumped for a few seconds, but the moment I regained my senses I ran into the pub,” she says.Then there are the eunuchs.Harassment by them is not something new.However, it is usually the men who they target. Ravi a shopkeeper was literally hounded by a few on MG Road recently. “I was on MG Road heading towards the bike parking area, when two of them came charging at me with their comments  and taunts. It was pretty evident that these were just men who had worn sarees and were pretending to be eunuchs, for they had a slight stubble. Their hair was short and wrapped in a scarf. They wouldn’t let me go till I gave them money,” he recalls.Pramod Kumar, a student has been harassed by the eunuchs on a number of occasions while he patiently waits at the traffic signal.“Once, on Kamraja Road, a eunuch asked me for money.When I refused, she pulled her saree up. It was very embarrassing,” he informs. On yet another occasion, he had   a similar experience, only this time according to him it was worse. “I was returning home in the office cab.This was sometime in the afternoon. There were five of us in the cab. I was sitting in front. From no where, a hand found its way to the door handle and opened the door from the outside. The next thing I knew was that there was a eunuch sitting next to me. She started running her hands over me. And no matter how much I resisted, she wouldn’t stop till she got the money. Thankfully the driver handed her some and she left,” he says.Gayatri Iyer, a homemaker recalls yet another incident.“I bought myself an ice cream on Brigade Road. A young girl came up to me.Initially she was begging for money. When I refused she started tugging at my hand.She followed me till the end of Brigade Road, all the way asking for the ice cream. Fed up I finally gave it to her,” she says.There is yet another tactic that is widely being used these days. A family carrying luggage or an old woman claiming that her kids abandoned her usually approaches an unsuspecting person. “A family once came to me asking for directions.They then said that they were lost with no penny on them. They looked at me and said that ‘you are not from here, please help us. Give us some money’. I believed them and gave them `200. A month later I saw the same family near Majestic bus stand, saying the same thing to someone else,” says Aabas Bhardwaj, a student.    

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