Penang Hawkers In The 30's

Old photos: Penang Street Hawkers

AH, THE GOOD OLD DAYS!!!!

Read More

TRUE REALITY: The Beggars of Mumbai

NAME : Massu or Malana, 60
Massu'sAssets
Rs.30lakh in properties alone
Day's earnings Rs.1,000 to Rs.1,500 

Begs at : Lokhandwala.. Mostly outside high-end restaurants visited by TV and film stars. 
Working hours : 8.00 p.m. to 3.00 a.m. 
Home is : A one BHK at Amboli in Andheri (west).  He owns another 1 BHK nearby.

Massu's 1BHK room at Amboli. Both houses are duplexes 
Family : Wife, two sons and a daughter-in-law share the apartment with him. 
Day's earnings : Rs 1000 to 1500. 
Assets : Rs 30 lakh in just properties. One son makes and sells brooms, while the other hawks knick-knacks near Andheri station. He has substantial savings, but would not reveal details. 

Cool quotient : Massu is dressed in spotless clothes when he takes an auto-rickshaw to Lokhandwala every evening. He changes into his beggar attire near Ad Labs. During his working hours, he has a complete sway over the area. You will never find another beggar in his vicinity. He takes an auto on his way home too. Stops at Yashraj Studios for a change of clothes.  

 NAME: Krishna Kumar Gite, 42 
Krishna 's Assets
Rs50 lakh in properties alone
Day's earnings
Rs 1500 to 2000 

Begs at: CP Tank, Charni Road
Working hours: Early morning to late evening
Home is : I BHK apartment at Nallasopara, which he shares with his brother.
Family : Brother, sister-in-law and their children.
Day's earnings : Rs 1500 to 2000. 
His worth : The Nallasopara apartment is worth nearly Rs 5 lakh. Krishna claimed he has substantial savings but would not put a figure to it. 'My brother manages everything,' he said. 

Cool quotient : Claims he can't be bothered with money matters. He retires every evening to his Nallasopara home and hands over the day's earnings to his brother. 'My bhabhi and brother know best what to do with the money.'   

NAME : Bharat Jain, 45
Bharat'sAssets
Rs70 lakh in properties alone
Day's earnings Rs 2000 to 2500 

Begs at : Azad Maidan and Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus. 
Working hours : Early morning to late evening. 
Home is : Two adjacent 1 BHK apartments in Parel, where his family stays. Bharat, however, visits home only once in a week. His family, which deals in school notebooks and other study material, has tried on many occasions to get Bharat to give up begging and join the family business.

Bharat's Parel house where he stays with his family. (right) The Bhandup shop the family has rented out to a juice centre 
Family : Wife, two sons -- one studying in class X and the other in class XII -- father and brother. 
Day's earnings : Rs 2000 to 2500. 
His worth : The family apartments are worth close to Rs 60 lakh. The family also has rented out a shop in Bhandup to a juice centre and gets Rs 7,000-a-month in rent. The rent is collected every month by Bharat's wife. 

Cool quotient : Bharat speaks impeccable English. He is soft spoken and you will never find him harassing people for alms.   


Name : Haji, 26
Haji'sAssets Rs 15 lakh
Day's earnings Rs 1000 to 2000

Begs at : Deonar and Chembur. Usually begs near mosques and
temples. 
Working hours : Flexi. Picks the best time to be at a temple or a mosque. 
Home is : A room at Cheetah Camp, where his mother and sister run a zari workshop, employing 15 people. 
Family : Mother and sister.. 
Day's earnings : Rs 1000 to 2000
Earnings increase mani-folds during festivals. 
His worth : The Cheetah Camp room worth anything between Rs 3 and 5 lakh. The zari workshop could be worth 10 lakh. The family earns a steady income from the zari business and his mother has tried every trick to get him to give up begging and join the family business. 

Cool quotient : 
He says managing the zari workshop is too much
hardwork. 'I can't be bothered with all that. I like to be left alone.. Also, I make a decent amount every day. 

Name : Doesn't matter, A Software Engineer (Double Graduate :D)

S/W Enggr 's Assets : Some old C, C++, Java, Flex Cryptography Books worth 10,000 INR. Rest all Assets are based on EMI's (Easy Monthly Installment) so it's the bank that owns it and not me.

Day's earning : Peanuts :)

Working Hours : Day and Night

Family : 1 intel Pentium 4 3.8 GHz CPU, 1 Flat monitor, 1 mouse and 1 keyboard.

His worth : Depends on the Tester, If tester files several critical bugs @ a time then he's useless :)

Cool Quotient : Whenever he opens his mouth he knows speaks only C, C++ and Java. Never fires anyone, only he gets fired everywhere. The only time he stays cool is when he gulps down two large shots of JD (Jack Daniel, Obvious someone else is paying for those shots :D)...    

Read More