On leave…. to beg!
Enjoy flexible working hours, work for just 3-4 hours , and pocket Rs 500 daily per day that too without doing anything other than sitting comfortably in one place! In case you are trying to make a wild guess on this cushy , white collar job, you could be in for a surprise as we are not talking about any ordinary job but begging! Going by the turn of events , it seems that begging has become a lucrative part time job for many to rake in a few extra mullah at their free hours. Before shrugging this piece of news as silly, read on to find how it begging has come a long way from being a poor man’s sustenance to a rich man’s profession and a menace in the modern world.
A pilot study conducted by the Kerala State Social Security Mission in cities including Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode and suburbs in May this year. found that begging around religious places has become the latest fad in Kerala. Begging is an attractive option for many as it ensures a steady income of around 200-500 rupees every day, well complimented by free meals provided by the religious places and limited working hours. The fact that alms givers prefer bills between Rs.2 and Rs. 10 instead of coins unlike in the past, which has made it all the more rosy and irresistible!
Don’t be startled in case you see any familiar faces among the beggars making a long queue in front of the religious places as it is very much possible that you might bump across your neighbor or well heeled colleague too one day. Recently an employee of BSNL who was on leave was spotted begging in front of a temple in Thiruvananthapuram. “We traced his house and found that he took a long unauthorised break from work to engage in begging,” said Major Dinesh Bhaskaran, regional director of Kerala State Social Security Mission who was one of the investigators.
Begging might well be banned in the cities, which has greatly reduced the number of poor people on the roads seeking alms to feed their hungry mouths; now begging has become a well organised business and a lucrative profession of the able bodied!
Is Multitasking the real way to success
The proverb that taught us ‘eat while you eat, play while you play ‘ seems to have no takers these days. The new generation youth who finds 24 hours a day insufficient for all their chores, have mastered the art of multitasking to make the most of their time.
As we race against increasing expectations and moving up target lines, we are forced to squeeze in as many tasks into our day. There is simply no other way out as it is a do or die situation. Thanks to the modern gadgets like android phones that keep the modern man well entertained and informed all the time, multi tasking has become fairly easy these days. Now you can check your mails, reply to the clients, enjoy your favorite songs, watch a movie and get on with your work – all with these tiny and super smart gadgets as you wheel around to your office to be in time!
Multitasking has taken the tiny state of Kerala too by storm! Even small kids juggle too many tasks at the same time these days. Be it the students who learn listening to the favorite songs in their ipod all the while munching grubs or the new generation moms who work from home tend to their babies all the while pattering away on the keyboard and keep an eye on the kitchen gadgets that are at work around her, multitasking seems to be the norm of life in Kerala today. How good are you at doing multiple tasks at the same time? If you think you cannot juggle too many tasks, make sure you fine hone that skill as that is what is going to take you to professional excellence in the coming days! At least that is what the trends suggest 
Is that the modern man has learned to utilize the brain power in a much more efficient way than his forefathers or is it that the prevailing economic conditions force him to work well beyond his optimum speed? Either way, the fact is that life is moving at a much higher speed than it was a decade back. In the process the older generation is increasingly being pushed into oblivion as they stand isolated, bewildered and helpless amidst the break neck speed of life around.