UNLIKELY BEGGAR

He looked like a beggar. When he stretched out his hand to me, the melancholic look he gave me melted my heart. I fished in my pocket and came up with a five-rupee coin which I promptly handed over. Happy that I had done my good deed for the day, I went to the bus stop to wait for the bus that would take me home. Suddenly, a sleek limousine drew up and came to a halt near the guy who had just been the recipient of my munificence. A driver leapt out of the vehicle and saluted the beggar who, looking around surreptitiously to see whether anyone was watching him, rushed into the vehicle. I stood flummoxed wondering whether the per capita income of beggars in the country had risen so sharply that they could afford chauffeur-driven cars.

I had caught sight of the chauffeur before the car sped off and he turned out to be an old buddy of mine. It was he who let the cat out of the bag. "That was indeed my boss you saw the other day in the guise of a beggar", he began. "My boss is a millionaire but his father had lived and died a beggar. The boss had longed to give a better deal to his father but the old bloke died before our man could make his money. So, as a mark of respect to his father and his profession, our friend goes out begging every second Wednesday. Usually he manages to escape detection. But I would like to sound a warning to you. If you value your well being just keep this to yourself and if at all you see him again and it is most likely that you will, drop a coin on his plate and be done with it. My boss is like Mogambo in real life." A shiver ran down my spine. These days when I spot a beggar and that too a beggar who can be a chooser like the one above, I take to my heels without a second thought.