Street smarts and savvy beggars

We are staying in an area crawling with westerners, thus it is a great target for beggars and vendors, taxis and rickshaw pullers. You can hardly step out of your hotel without someone offering to sell you something or asking for something. If you stay long enough (which we have hardly done), you start to see through the stories (for better or worse) and find most of the people to be quite endearing. There is one woman who begs around the corner from our hotel. She sits in a stupor with one hand to her mouth, gesturing a need for food, and the other hand shakes a tin plate that rattles against the dark concrete. It is an image that certainly makes you pause and her situation grabs you. However, another day when passing, we found her sitting upright in a heated argument with the beggar seated next to her. Another trip past, she was back to her stupor...seemingly unable to move her body. It was a glimpse at the layers of her story and made me realize that we certainly don't have a clue what her story is. (And, I do not suggest she isn't in need...just that her situation is different from the one she conveys to collect spare change). On principal, Tim and I decided a while back that we would not give out money to people, but rather food when we could. We often are carrying some fruit along in our bag, so when someone asks for money gesturing that they are hungry...we happily give them some fruit or crackers. Usually we find that the person is less than pleased (particularly in the tourist areas) to walk away with food instead of money.
There is also a pack of women who work the street our hotel is situated on. Each one has a child on her hip and a sad looking bottle. She comes up to you and immediately says, 'No money, no money...just milk', nodding at the young child and waving the bottle around. We have heard from volunteers staying in the area (there are so many charitable organizations working in this city!) that the women turn around and sell the milk to the chai stands to make money, and you are strongly discouraged from giving milk.
Then there is 'Pinky' who calls out 'Hello, sister!!' everytime I stroll out onto the street. She seems the savviest of them all, clearly 'friends' with many of the travelers. Her english is quite sharp and her persistence is commendable. The young boy she always has with her immediately crawls into your lap or plays with your hands as she talks with you. The first time she was begging for money...then she seemed to befriend me and asked me to come back the next day for henna...then Tim and I bought her a kilo of rice for her and her 'family' and she seems to have lost interest. She always flashes a beautiful smile (even though it reveals her betel nut stained teeth) and I have seen her run out to hug travelers from the space on the sidewalk where she can always be found. My interactions with her will be lasting memories of my time in Kolkata.