India, Oct. 26 -- She had red powder smeared on her pre-teen cheeks. Her lips had paint on them. Her eyebrows glistened with black polish. And she wore a dazzling smile as she jumped from a kerb in near the Taj Hotel in Lutyens' New Delhi to catch my eye at a traffic junction, ready to do a somersault. Let me call her Kalyani, Kalyani for well-being. She seemed to say "I am not just another beggar". With a sideway nod, she readiedto present acrobatic skills. Kalyani was going to do cartwheels coupled with hazard, real risk, as the queue of hissing vehicles could start any moment all around her.

I had seen other children like her before, but, this time, I shuddered for reasons I would explain in a moment. But before doing so, I will say t...