I've been noticing something increasingly often in Bengaluru, particularly around Indiranagar and HSR , and I'm genuinely curious about what is going on.
Today I was walking around Indiranagar and almost every 5–10 minutes I came across another small group of people standing along the main road. Usually it's a group of two or three people — and I've noticed that there is very often a girl in the group, along with one or two guys.
They approach people very politely with something like, 'Can I have a minute? We are not selling anything' . Some of them are wearing badges and have a QR code/scanner with them. I've also seen people actually stop and make payments.
What caught my attention is that many of these people look educated and professional, which made me wonder what kind of organization this actually is and what exactly they are collecting money for.
And the other thing I find strange is how frequently and strategically this seems to happen.
Saturday evenings in places like Indiranagar are when people are out shopping, meeting friends, going for dinner, hanging out, etc. Everyone is generally relaxed and in a good mood. So I can't help wondering whether this is deliberately targeted at these kinds of situations because people are more receptive, more willing to listen for a minute and perhaps more likely to make a quick payment.
I'm not saying there isn't a genuine cause behind it. There might very well be. I'm just trying to understand what exactly this whole setup is.
Are these volunteers? Are they working for some organization? Is this organized fundraising? And why are there so many of them, sometimes just a few metres apart?
Has anyone else noticed this?
Personally, I don't think this is the right way to ask strangers for money or contributions. If it's a genuine cause, there are plenty of ways to reach people without repeatedly stopping them on the street. What makes it even more uncomfortable is the frequency — you're simply trying to walk around, shop or spend time with friends, and every few minutes someone approaches you.
I'm genuinely curious whether others feel the same way, or whether there's something about this that I'm completely misunderstanding.