Mumbaikars are softies, believe it. MiD DAY reporters fanned out in the city and found almost everyone they approached was willing to spread cheer with Diwali baksheesh or donate to a charity
Mumbaikars are softies, believe it. MiD DAY reporters fanned out in the city and found almost everyone they approached was willing to spread cheer with Diwali baksheesh or donate to a charity
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Vaidehi Limaye
Impersonating: Hearing and speech-impaired person, living in an orphanage in Satara
Needs: Money as a donation
It was 12.30 pm and there were enough potential targets at Ghatkopar. I walked up to a man handed him the introduction paper on my problems I was hearing and speech impaired and needed money for the orphanage I was staying at. The man read it quietly, looked up and mimed that he too couldn't hear or speak. Then, in brisk sign language, he began asking me questions. Let's just say, I was dumbfounded and I scooted. The next man read my letter, and without asking me a single question, dipped into his wallet and gave me Rs 150*. Reason for the destination college students are generally gullible, or so I thought. I walked up to a couple who looked at me skeptically and said I was too old to be living in an orphanage. But my
persuasion skills worked and they gave me Rs 10.
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Dil Se: Nalini Rai gives Urvashi Seth Rs 21 at her Shivaji Park home. |
Who: Urvashi Seth
Impersonating: NGO worker for street kids
Needs: Money or clothes or toys
At an apartment in Bandra, I sneaked past the watchman, rang the first doorbell I saw. The man slammed the door on my face, likewise the people on the first and second floor. And then there was Eruch M Mullan, who asked me very kindly to come in and then donated Rs 100 for my NGO. He told me he could only give me money, not clothes or toys.
At Shivaji Park, people shouted at me and told me they didn't care about the NGO, and certainly did not want to help out. But then came Nalini Rai of Silver Inn Society at Shivaji Park. She heard me out and said her nephew was also contributing towards children's welfare. When I told her nobody in Shivaji Park helped me out, she immediately contributed Rs 21.
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Thank You: Sanjeev Devasia and Varun Singh at Teacher's Colony, Bandra. |
Who: Sanjeev Devasia and Varun Singh
Impersonating: BMC fumigators
Needs: Money for baksheesh
Outside Teacher's Colony, Bandra, we go to the second floor and ring the doorbell. We tell the 75-year-old man, who later tells us he's a teacher, we want baksheesh. Vishwanath Kadam directs us to the office bearers of the building's managing committee on the top floor. "They take care of such matters," he said.u00a0 We tell him we'll go to the office bearers, but ask him to give us baksheesh as well. It's only when we reveal our identities that Kadam tells us, "I was about to give you Rs 10 on humanitarian grounds." Sure.u00a0
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Doing Their Bit: The attendants at Mahavir Book Store believe in giving baksheesh. |
Who: Varun Singh and Bipin Kumar Singh
Impersonating: Postmen
Needs: Money for baksheesh
We want to know how stores would react to baksheesh and chose Mahavir Book Store at Fort. The shopowners welcomed us and asked us who we were. When we said that we were postmen and had come to collect baksheesh, another man, Jagdish Bhatia (42), got a bit suspicious and said he hadn't seen us before. We told him we were new at the job and hadn't visited the building often. Bhatia seemed convinced after asking our names. He immediately asked another attendant to hand us Rs 50. We then revealed our identities. Bhatia laughed and said, "I don't mind giving baksheesh to postmen because they deserve the money."
What is Baksheesh?
Baksheesh is a term used in South Asia and the Middle East to describe tipping, charitable giving and certain forms of political corruption and bribery.
In India, baksheesh is not always motivated by greed, and is often a survival tactic, both by the giver to ensure prompt service in the future, and the recipient to make a quick buck to shore up a meagre salary.
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