Yesterday as I was walking towards home at night, all engrossed and not paying attention to what was happening around me; suddenly someone was standing in front of me. Startled, I looked up to see a Eunuch blocking my way, asking for money.
I admit I was scared. This is not the first time a eunuch has crossed my path. But they look so intimidating every time. I wanted to run away, but I couldn’t move. I didn’t want to give any money as well. I mean why? They are healthy people who can earn their living like normal people do. All that crap about them not being considered normal and no one wanting to give them jobs is just an excuse.
In India, if they say a bad word to you, it is taken as a curse. I mean, it happens so many times. They ask for money, you say ‘NO’, and they leave shouting obscenities like ‘you will never get married, you will never have children, your shop will go bankrupt’. And people actually consider it bad Omen as they are believed to have occult powers, so they end up paying. And so many of them are just not genuine. They are men who dress up as women to get money out of people.
I watched a documentary on CNN past weekend on Eunuchs. One of them said that real eunuchs never trouble people; they earn their living out of hardships.
I don’t know how true it is.
Also I am aware that these people have a hard life, I am not denying that. I am no one to criticize anybody’s lifestyle. I think they can live the way they want to unless they don’t trouble others. Stopping people on road asking for money, cursing if they don’t come up with it, IS trouble. And I am against it.
But then sometimes you don’t have any choice. What is one supposed to do when they block your way and refuse to move?
Book-Shelved 
Wow! That must have been a bit scarey too! You’re having a bit of a traumatic week, Violet!
Must say, I’ve never heard of the eunuchs before. I take it that they are not GENUINE eunuchs are they? (As in had THE operation?!!)
I guess it’s better to give them money than to be frightened out of your wits though, even if it does feel a bit like blackmail…
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CM: They are like guys who want to become woman. Most of them have operations if they can afford it. But others simply cross-dress.
Some just do it to force money out of people, as I said, not many can refuse them.
You won’t find them in UK, or even if you do, they are not in this form (wrong word, can’t think of any other though). They are a very Indian or let’s say South Asian, say from Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and maybe Nepal.
Good you haven’t come across them 🙂
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Ah right! I guess that’s a proper sex-change operation, though? Rather than the ‘less subtle’ approach of the historical eunuchs…?!
But nope, it does sound like a very different culture from anything in the UK.
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What I saw on CNN was this. Generally these people don’t have enough money for operations. Whenever a new guy is taken in their community, they have a ceremony where they actually cut off the male body parts. Then they have to stay in seclusion and on medication for around a month. THAT is quite scary.
Then maybe they go in for the rest of the operation, hormonal changes and all, I am not sure.
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OOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUCH! Now my eyes are watering…!
(btw, I’m on-line!)
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Nope you are NOT, i checked…may be there is a problem from my side, but i doubt it.
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That doesn’t sound like a nice experience.
I had heard of Eunuchs, but never knew they did things like this.
Let’s hope you don’t cross paths with them again.
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Rebecca: Blogspot is blocked in our company; that is so sad. They don’t understand the importance of it 😦
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Hehe! I was at lunch… but I left it on-line?!
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Oh, how horrid. I hate people who get abusive if you don’t give them money that you worked hard to earn!
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Hey I just have one thing to say.. if you think you have it bad, try travelling by train and notice how the males get harassed? It’s freaking embarassing and you simply want to give in…. they touch you all over and yada yada… But I agree.. it’s kinda bad, the way things are here.
Take it easy.
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Hehe, I know, I have seen that, ‘tu mera salman hai’ and all those comments. It looks very funny and I can never help laughing, but yes, I do pity the guy who has to undergo this 🙂
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Thank you.. though thankfully it never happened to me.. I was a *chmart* boy who would have 5 bucks handy for such occasions 😀
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Oh, I didn’t know they actually leave with just 5 bucks, one of my friends gave them a 20 rupee note and asked them to take 10 and return the rest back. LOL, I am not kidding 🙂
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Oh I know.. but then did I mentioned I was *chmart*? The Eunuch approach to such problems of collecting money is based on fear. If you refuse or fuble with bigger notes, etc.. they will say “oye salman, oye mere shahrukh, dena baba”.. and so you give them whatever you have and ask for change, which usually they gladly give…
So coming back to the main issue, if they ask, then they extract. I was a nice boy who would have 5 bucks ready before they ask, so usually they would be ultra happy ke bacha samne se de raha hai.. and hence not bother me for more/less 😀
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