Amusing, funny or stupid?

Just read this article on The Guardian where it says Indian Railways has employed a man to pretend to be a monkey to scare of other monkeys. And its been working so far. I would certainly be amused if I was to come across such a sight. But then when I read the article I started thinking on what these poor people have to do to make ends meet. He does it to earn money. To provide for food and living for himself and family. Somehow I felt it can be quite humiliating for a person. Or probably not. Like they say it all depends on the outlook. He definitely sounds quite proud of himself. So as they say it all depends on the outlook.


I've extracted the article here. There is one video also available if you go to the article page.

Indian railway employs 'monkey-man' to protect passengers

42-year-old man walks around on all fours to prevent animals snatching food from travellers

James Sturcke, guardian.co.uk, Wednesday October 01 2008 15:56 BST

Walking round on all fours, with a tail sticking out of his red shorts and a brown face mask, Acchan Miyan scares the monkeys at Lucknow station, northern India.

Railway bosses insist their "monkey-man" is an effective way to protect their passengers from the mischievous animals, which are prone to snatch food from travellers and tear seat covers from trains.

The 42-year-old says he has been driven to the unusual profession by poverty, but is convinced that his efforts are helping passengers.

But it is hard to tell who is the more bemused, the passengers, or the remaining monkeys sitting around on roof rafters, munching on bunches of bananas, watching the show below.