December 16, 1995
Web posted at: 11:50 p.m. EST (0450 GMT)
CALCUTTA, India (CNN) -- With the movie "City of Joy," Calcutta gained world-wide notoriety for its poverty, its squalor -- and its beggars . But one resident is on a larger quest: to go beyond that grim reality and shed light on the lives of this Indian city's panhandlers.
Calcutta is home to some 60,000 beggars, one of the largest beggar populations in the world. And 79-year-old researcher Shyam Bandopadhyaya is their self-proclaimed godfather. He follows them around, records conversations with them, goes over to their homes, and ultimately wants to write the definitive book on the city's beggars.
His knowledge is more than just second-hand. Bandopadhyaya, too, begs for a living.
Bandopadhyaya's findings are interesting, to say the least. His research shows that nearly one of every 11 beggars can read and write, and hold strong political opinions. More than half of them have bank accounts, and some have saved up to Rs. 50,000 (U.S. $1,500). Some others own tracts of land. Many can afford to send their children to school.
His research contradicts notions that most beggars are rural migrants. Bandopadhyaya found that many panhandlers were from the city itself, and had turned to begging in desperation -- in some cases, after losing a job.
One day, hopes this economics graduate, his data will help in rehabilitating beggars and transforming their lives.
His single-minded mission to provide a different perspective on the city's beggars has cost Bandopadhyaya heavily. He lost his job as a government clerk because of his preoccupation with beggars, and his family deserted him for the same reason.
But Bandopadhyaya is far from feeling defeated, and wears his nickname Shyam Pagla, or Shyam the Madman, like a badge of honor. "Based on their (beggars') talk, I wrote their life histories. Now I am trying to publish one book with about 40 stories -- 40 life histories," he said, his weathered face creasing into a big smile.
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