perseverance

per·se·ver·ance (pûrs-vîrns) n.
Steady persistence in adhering to a course of action, a belief, or a purpose; steadfastness.

this has been my picture of him from the day i've seen him. its been a year now, and my colleague has seen him for four. i call him the madhyakailash beggar. etymology will reveal that he is a destitue found near the madhyakailash temple (adyar, chennai), under a lush shadowy tree. proximity to a busy bus stop is his locational advantage. or so i presume.

never does he fail to ask for alms from a passerby. age or gender is not a point of differentiation for him. but if you are well dressed, his pleas are louder. i did catch him once in a distracted mode and tried to sneak behind him - attempting to miss getting noticed. cannot say that i was successful. spotted me from the corner of his eye and out came his cry! in hindsight i think it was my eagerness to scoot that i must have stepped heavily behind him.

but there is something that baffles me about this chap. there must be something thats kept him at that place all these years. he probably has the pavement tile too marked out as his space! not everybody donates and i am not one to add to his coffers. he is not a senseless machine programmed to sit there all day. he certainly must be making enough to help him pull the day through. in that case, why has that place not attracted more of his type? surely there are more people using the bus stop than those visiting the temple! does he have a dual clientele!? people from the temple using the bus stop!? i wonder.