Pani Puri

On a normal Saturday in Hyderabad, after work I was sitting in a small park in front of the lake, just reading and relaxing. I had a huge bag of carrots with me and a good book; I was completely content. For those of you who know me well, you are aware of the fact that I eat stalks of parsley; I truly think it is my favorite food. Unfortunately I am unable to find parsley in the land of India, thus my addiction has transferred to my now infamous “bag o carrots”. As I chomped on my carrots this boy and his little posy of friends decide they want to bug me for some carrots, just being stupid teenage boys. I turned to concentrate on my book and ignore them. A minute later I saw them bugging an obvious tourist, fumbling with his hair and making fun of him to his face. Just as I thought they had finally left I looked up to see these boys throwing rocks towards my direction as well as the man they were hassling. I was frustrated with their actions and had to forced myself to remain calm as boys will always be boys. As the group of little terrors walked away, another boy of the same age walked up to me. He was wearing no shoes, had tattered clothes and was carrying a heavy basket on his head. He asked me if I wanted to buy any Pani Puri (an Indian snack), and as I declined he walked away and continued to the next bench in the park.

There I was reminded of the overwhelmingly obvious difference between socio economic statuses. The gap between rich and poor is already very large in India and is continuing to increase its size. As those little havoc raisers walk around, having nothing better to do but pick on foreigners, this boy has to walk bare foot in the streets of Hyderabad, attempting to sell Pani Puri for a very minute profit. It’s odd to me that I felt such strong sentiments watching this, as I go to the slums everyday and constantly see people in worse conditions than this boy. Maybe it was because I had his opposite right in front of me at the same time. In any case… I wish I had bought some Pani Puri from him.