I'm frustrated on seeing the dark skinned begging women in the street walking around carrying babies, using the standard and persistent "my baby" begging angle. These beggars are not local, or from the next state, they have traveled with (possibly their own) children over 1000km to beg during the tourist season. I asked one of these beggars where she was from and she replied Rajastan. This wasn't my first guess, of Uttar Pradesh, but they are both dry dusty poverty stricken dumps, so it makes little difference. In the traditional Indian cast system those with the darkest coloured skin are often placed at the bottom of society and perform the 'lowest' jobs. But in ladakh, the native population are a largely separate group slightly closer in appearance to Tibetans, and without such an obvious distinction on skin colour. Thanks to migration the worst jobs in town are again held by those with the darkest skin, who will walk up and down in the hot sun all day carrying balloons, or selling drums, for low pay.
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