KOCHI: Since last week, Das has been living in ‘Theruvu Velicham’—a shelter home at Kakkanad in Kerala. Police picked him up during a street brawl at Eramellor in the city. It’s an everyday case that ends up as a mere footnote in crime files. But this story has more layers.
The 50-year-old Das, native of a North Indian city which he struggled to name, holds a post-graduate degree. He was employed abroad. He is fluent in Hindi and English. He is passionate about photography and knows the intricacies of Nikon cameras. But here he’s living the life of a mendicant. Das is not alone in the ‘educated beggar’ club.
Registrar General of India data reveal that 41.3 per cent of the beggars in Kerala are literate. The state has 3,715 beggars and among them 1,533 are literate; 1,115 are qualified below matriculation level and 198 are undergraduates while 16 have technical diploma or certificates not equal to a degree. Twenty-four are graduates. Five persons, including a woman, hold technical degree.