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There are a plethora of reasons why Pondicherry is lovable. With its grid-like plan to facilitate underlying canals and drainage system and colourful houses that call out to fishermen out at sea, it is mesmerizing and a haven for a diverse range of people. All of these led us to select Pondi as one of the places to visit for our 2nd year South India tour. After some Instagram-worthy streets and French-bars, four of us decide to take a stroll through Promanade beach. We were just about to turn to the fancy Italian ice-cream joint we had spotted that morning. When all of a sudden there was a squeak, “PUPPIES!!!” One woman was holding a litter of puppies in her hand and one of them was about to fall off. We rushed to her aid and quickly got acquainted with Molly and her boyfriend, Viraj. Molly was a British citizen settled in Pondicherry and Viraj was from Mumbai. They taught surfing lessons at the beach in the morning. Pondicherry had a diverse range of people- from Tamilians speaking French to Europeans speaking the colloquial Tamil, better than we ever could. At first, we were suspicious of Viraj’s intentions. The intent behind most Indian men following around foreign women usually doesn't stem from a pure heart. But Viraj proved to be very sweet. He brought Molly her favourite ice-cream as we sat down by one of the concrete benches at the beach. It’s not every day you meet an interracial surfer couple. We were so immersed in our chit chat that we barely noticed the raggedy street urchins that had gathered around us. They weren’t begging for arms but they begged to touch the puppies. Just a handful of kids around the ages of 5 to 10 ganging up around us. The tallest one among them who I assume is the leader, spoke up, “kodunga Amma..” Molly protectively wrapped her hands around her puppies. My mind ran wild. They are ill-fed and looked like they hadn't showered in weeks. I was moved to be honest and made a suggestion that it wouldn’t be that bad to let the kids hold one of the puppies. Molly’s face turned serious, “No” Then after a pause, she pleaded, “They will take the puppies and run away”. The 4 of us looked at each other. This was not the first time we had heard of foreigners being mistreated by the locals. Wasn't it that very morning itself, that we had seen a bunch of locals arguing with the foreigners? And the very offensive racial slurs that followed didn’t have any hint of “Atithi Devo Bhava” “Thalli ninnu paarungo..” I managed to say in broken Tamil. We all picked up one puppy each. The smallest kid of the lot welled up in tears as he pushed me with his small grimy hands. The dirt from his small hands staining my well-ironed top. I felt pity for him. “No kid should be denied a puppy” His disappointed face broke my heart. But Molly and Viraj had to be saved. An uncle who was sitting nearby got up and was trying to dismiss the urchins before things got worse. We stood around Molly as she collected all the puppies and made a quick exit with Viraj. We were left with a bunch of disappointed kids who soon went back to begging for alms. I was so overcome with guilt just looking at the teary-eyed kid who pushed me. He doesn’t even reach my waist when he stands next to me. As one kid after another stood before us with extended arms, we kept on handing out loose change. Occasionally reminding them not to push other people however I can. It had started to drizzle and everyone was running away from the downpour to take shelter under the safety under their umbrellas and nearby stalls. But the urchins stayed taking great joy in nature's miracle. Some of them gathered around to do a small dance, one of them was openly peeing on to the flooded pavements, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw the little one bathing… giggling in the rain.