Of street vendors in pune......

This post is probably going to sound really insensitive to certain people. Just so you know I am NOT making fun of poverty and NOBODY hates the thought of poverty more than I do. But there are certain things that you observe that you just have to put down, so apologies to any hurt sentiments out there.

Just got back after a really tiring day outside. My flatmate needed to get her stuff from her other house which is all the way on the other side of town. In fact, it's so far away that we sometimes consider applying for visas before leaving.

Anyway, we are on the road on the bike, and its blistering hot when suddenly we are flocked by a bunch of "disguised beggars". I call them disguised beggars because they try to pretend that they are selling you stuff for your money. However, in reality, the stuff they sell you are the kind that you would only buy out of pity so its mostly emotional blackmail that goes on there.

So today, we stopped at a signal ans this young boy comes up to us (and we are both 20 years old mind you) and tries to sell us this toy. I wouldn't have thought it an incident worth writing about if it wasn't for the fact that it was THAT PARTICULAR TOY. I only wish I had a camera on me then so that I could have taken a photograph but since I did not my verbal description will have to suffice, and I shall try my best to do it justice.

Okay, so first, imagine a thing that is fluorescent green and plastic. You will have to keep this description in mind all throughout to imagine it exactly right. Now it starts of with this long plastic tube of that very colour that is around a foot and a half long which eventually joins this creature on wheels ALSO of the exact same colour. (in case I haven't mentioned it also had blue polka dots on it.) It took me a while what this hideous creature was supposed to be as it had some strange thing with springs attached to both sides bobbing up and down. A closer look told me that it was supposed to be a butterfly.

I guess it may function as a toy in some way to some kid (MAYBE) but WHAT ON EARTH was he thinking by trying to sell it to us? In what possible situation would the two of us who are too old for toys and too young to have kids who play with toys want that thing? Even otherwise, would the people on the streets who drive cards want to buy these toys from these roadside vendors? It saddens me to think that we are unable to provide these people who are willing to work with decent jobs so that they are forced to try and sell hideous animal imitations to people who will never buy them.