Begging child performers swept through Paharganj today. They are very small (in need of better nourishment?), dark, filthy, brazen, and somehow very beautiful. We were walking down the scorching street when, practically beneath my feet, a barefoot 4-year old girl began turning inhuman flips (ala Slinky) while contorting and pulling her entire body through the hoop created by one of her tiny hands clutching one of her tiny legs. It did not look real. Her 6-year old brother, sporting a fake moustache, accompanied her with his exquisitely raw and remarkable drumming. Their act was utterly amazing and stunk of exploitation. As they tugged on my pants pleading for rupees, I scanned the busy street for someone who might be putting them up to this, their "beggarmaster".
I suppose the roots of circus, public spectacle, and perhaps all performance arts are thusly tangled in money (ah, the children have just now performed their act again outside the glass door of this air conditioned internet cafe, waving forlornly at any one of us who makes the mistake of glancing their way, such ludicrous juxtapositions here). Over the past decade, I've watched myself attempt to eschew any commodification of my arts. I've held to the notion that any art driven by money rather than valid experience and transformation (of audience, artist, media...) is no art at all. The result for me thus far? Confusion, relative poverty, and baskets upon baskets of joy. But then, joy doesn't fill my stomach with food, and sometimes I wonder if my ego is my beggarmaster.
A few parting notes:
Uh, where are all the women? I swear there must be 10 Indian men for every woman on the street.
In celebration of Independence day, fully grown men have been gleefully flying kites (thousands & thousands of kites) from rooftops all across the city today. Incredible.
Outside the fenced-off Independence day festivities at the massive Red Fort, we were standing in a crowd of people when everyone ran in absolute terror from a lone, approaching police motorcycle. Scary and strange.
