Shoe shine?

There is no town, temple, city, or street in India that does not have people begging for money on the fringes. There is a group of 12 year olds who work the streets in Dharamshala we have a daily routine worked out. They hold out their hand for money and ask “please madam” I take one of their cupped hands and say, “I would rather you went to school,” they laugh. Then Soraj remembers he has his shoe shine kit, looks down at my feet in earnest and tells me I need a shoe shine. I reply “Soraj I am wearing flip-flops.” He laughs and pretends to clean off my feet anyway, a big joke.

It is a small exchange that I am sure occurs across the sub continent, this is a poor country, and life is difficult—but India is not without a sense of humor.