--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There was just enough room for the tonga…" description: "\"“There was just enough room for the tonga to get through among the bullock-carts, rickshaws, cycles and pedestrians who thronged both the road and the ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d29/vikram-seth-4208_india_there-was-just-enough-room-for-the-tonga_1575796.jpg" --- # There was just enough room for the tonga to get through… ![“There was just enough room for the tonga to get through among the bullock-carts, rickshaws, cycles and pedestrians who thronged both the road and the pavement--which they shared with barbers plying their trade out of doors, fortune-tellers, flimsy tea-stalls, vegetable-stands, monkey-trainers…” quote by Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d29/vikram-seth-4208_india_there-was-just-enough-room-for-the-tonga_1575796.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d29/vikram-seth-4208_india_there-was-just-enough-room-for-the-tonga_1575796.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d29/vikram-seth-4208_india_there-was-just-enough-room-for-the-tonga_1575796.jpg) > ““There was just enough room for the tonga to get through among the bullock-carts, rickshaws, cycles and pedestrians who thronged both the road and the pavement--which they shared with barbers plying their trade out of doors, fortune-tellers, flimsy tea-stalls, vegetable-stands, monkey-trainers, ear-cleaners, pickpockets, stray cattle, the odd sleepy policeman sauntering along in faded khaki, sweat-soaked men carrying impossible loads of copper, steel rods, glass or scrap paper on their backs as they yelled 'Look out! Look out!' in voices that somehow pierced though the din, shops of brassware and cloth (the owners attempting with shouts and gestures to entice uncertain shoppers in), the small carved stone entrance of the Tinny Tots (English Medium) School which opened out onto the courtyard of the reconverted haveli of a bankrupt aristocrat, and beggars--young and old, aggressive and meek, leprous, maimed or blinded--who would quietly invade Nabiganj as evening fell, attempting to avoid the police as they worked the queues in front of the cinema-halls. Crows cawed, small boys in rags rushed around on errands (one balancing six small dirty glasses of tea on a cheap tin tray as he weaved through the crowd) monkeys chattered in and bounded about a great shivering-leafed pipal tree and tried to raid unwary customers as they left the well-guarded fruit-stand, women shuffled along in anonymous burqas or bright saris, with or without their menfolk, a few students from the university lounging around a chaat-stand shouted at each other from a foot away either out of habit or in order to be heard, mangy dogs snapped and were kicked, skeletal cats mewed and were stoned, and flies settled everywhere: on heaps of foetid, rotting rubbish, on the uncovered sweets at the sweetseller's in whose huge curved pans of ghee sizzled delicioius jalebis, on the faces of the sari-clad but not the burqa-clad women, and on the horse's nostrils as he shook his blinkered head and tried to forge his way through Old Brahmpur in the direction of the Barsaat Mahal.”” [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A bustling Indian street scene illustrates the chaotic, sensory overload of daily life, where diverse people and activities intersect in cramped, shared spaces. **In simple terms:** City life is noisy, crowded, and full of varied characters. Key Takeaway Observe and appreciate the richness of everyday urban environments. Themes urban life diversity chaos community sensory overload Mood vibrant overwhelming reflective Type descriptive observational literary When to use this quote - street market navigation - public safety planning - cultural tourism - urban planning - social work Key Concepts social anthropology human geography urban studies Questions to Reflect On - How does this scene reflect broader social inequalities? - What can be learned about resilience from such environments? A Different Perspective The vivid description may romanticize poverty and overlook systemic issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beggars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beggars/) [India](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/india/) [Invade Nabiganj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invade-nabiganj-5941817/) [Police Worked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/police-worked-5460976/) [Policeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/policeman/) [Thronged Road](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thronged-road-5941818/) ## Related quotes > [We felt that the police needed a label, a label other than that fear image that they carried in the community. So we used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huey-newton/we-felt-that-the-police-needed-a-label-a-label-other-than-that-fear/) [Huey Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huey-newton/) > [One ought not to encourage beggars, and yes, you are right, it is far better to donate to charities that address the causes of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/one-ought-not-to-encourage-beggars-and-yes-you-are-right-it-is-far/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [English law in 1572 decreed that beggars above 14 years of age are to be severely flogged and branded on the left ear unless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/english-law-in-1572-decreed-that-beggars-above-14-years-of-age-are-to/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [He had a head which statuaries loved to copy, and a foot the deformity of which the beggars in the streets mimicked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/he-had-a-head-which-statuaries-loved-to-copy-and-a-foot-the-deformity/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [“Capability can handle challenges, it doesn't accept charity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/capability-can-handle-challenges-it-doesn-t-accept-charity/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [“We need to work with the young. Where will we find them, I ask? They drift, travel, abandon everything, and dress as beggars or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/we-need-to-work-with-the-young-where-will-we-find-them-i-ask-they/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [But what if I should discover that the least amongst them all, the poorest of all beggars, the most impudent of all offenders, yea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/but-what-if-i-should-discover-that-the-least-amongst-them-all-the/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [“If wishes were fishes, even beggars would eat”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lili-st-crow/if-wishes-were-fishes-even-beggars-would-eat/) [Lili St. Crow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lili-st-crow/) > [Writers, you know, are the beggars of Western society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/writers-you-know-are-the-beggars-of-western-society/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Philosophy is best practised by people in general and not by philosophers alone. Philosophy is too often a luxury now, but in ancient Greece,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-onfray/philosophy-is-best-practised-by-people-in-general-and-not-by/) [Michel Onfray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-onfray/) > [Those who have not found their true wealth, which is the radiant joy of Being and the deep, unshakable peace that comes with it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/those-who-have-not-found-their-true-wealth-which-is-the-radiant-joy/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [“People will rather pass by the weak, the lame, the beggars, the orphans, the tormented, the widows and take their large offerings to church,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/people-will-rather-pass-by-the-weak-the-lame-the-beggars-the-orphans/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [Hurrah for revolution and more cannon-shot! A beggar upon horseback lashes a beggar on foot. Hurrah for revolution and cannon come again! The beggars…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/hurrah-for-revolution-and-more-cannon-shot-a-beggar-upon-horseback/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Beggars fear no rebellion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/proverb/beggars-fear-no-rebellion/) [Proverb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/proverb/) > [“As far as I can see, Italy, for fifteen hundred years, has turned all her energies, all her finances, and all her industry to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/as-far-as-i-can-see-italy-for-fifteen-hundred-years-has-turned-all/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## More by Vikram Seth > [Realism hasn't fallen out of favor with most people, who are interested in people's lives rather than gymnastics of style or literary trends. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/realism-hasn-t-fallen-out-of-favor-with-most-people-who-are/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) > [I don't think anyone should be banned. If you don't like a book, set it aside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/i-don-t-think-anyone-should-be-banned-if-you-don-t-like-a-book-set-it/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) > [It's not the gods But our own hearts We need to fear. The evil starts Against all odds Not there but here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/it-s-not-the-gods-but-our-own-hearts-we-need-to-fear-the-evil-starts/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) > [“But what should I do?' Varun was saying. 'I'm not good for anything.' 'Write a book! Pull a rickshaw! Live! Don't make excuses,' said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/but-what-should-i-do-varun-was-saying-i-m-not-good-for-anything-write/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) > [“In a clear brook With joyful haste The whimsical trout Shot past me like an arrow I play the line of the song, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/in-a-clear-brook-with-joyful-haste-the-whimsical-trout-shot-past-me/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) > [Boredom provides a stronger inclination to write than anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/boredom-provides-a-stronger-inclination-to-write-than-anything/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) > [I don't think people give Indian society enough credit. We may not like to talk much about things but we do, basically, want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/i-don-t-think-people-give-indian-society-enough-credit-we-may-not/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) > [The problem with too beautiful a view is that it's alright for the mulling stage. But for the writing stage, you want to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/the-problem-with-too-beautiful-a-view-is-that-it-s-alright-for-the/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) > [“Romantic retrospect aside, the night spent in the truck is distinctly unpleasant. We are cramped and cold. The much-vaunted heating of the truck is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/romantic-retrospect-aside-the-night-spent-in-the-truck-is-distinctly/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) > [Is it not love that knows how to make smooth things rough and rough things smooth?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/is-it-not-love-that-knows-how-to-make-smooth-things-rough-and-rough/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) > [“Well, what do you think? Avanti?" "Avanti," cries everyone, and, after a few quick re-tunings of our instruments, and re-initialisings of our hearts, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/well-what-do-you-think-avanti-avanti-cries-everyone-and-after-a-few/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) > [Behind every door on every ordinary street, in every hut in every ordinary village in this middling planet of a trivial star, such riches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/behind-every-door-on-every-ordinary-street-in-every-hut-in-every/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) > [“Perhaps it is true that for all the evidence of the mirror, one pictures oneself in some deep niche of the mind as forever 18.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/perhaps-it-is-true-that-for-all-the-evidence-of-the-mirror-one/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) > [What is the difference between my life and my love? One gets me low, the other lets me go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/what-is-the-difference-between-my-life-and-my-love-one-gets-me-low/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) > [“The past is the past, and he can't make amends, only hope that the gain will outlast the damage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/the-past-is-the-past-and-he-can-t-make-amends-only-hope-that-the-gain/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) [Explore all 113 Vikram Seth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) ## More Beggars quotes > [“As far as I can see, Italy, for fifteen hundred years, has turned all her energies, all her finances, and all her industry to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/as-far-as-i-can-see-italy-for-fifteen-hundred-years-has-turned-all/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Beggars fear no rebellion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/proverb/beggars-fear-no-rebellion/) [Proverb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/proverb/) > [Hurrah for revolution and more cannon-shot! A beggar upon horseback lashes a beggar on foot. Hurrah for revolution and cannon come again! The beggars…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/hurrah-for-revolution-and-more-cannon-shot-a-beggar-upon-horseback/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“People will rather pass by the weak, the lame, the beggars, the orphans, the tormented, the widows and take their large offerings to church,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/people-will-rather-pass-by-the-weak-the-lame-the-beggars-the-orphans/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [Those who have not found their true wealth, which is the radiant joy of Being and the deep, unshakable peace that comes with it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/those-who-have-not-found-their-true-wealth-which-is-the-radiant-joy/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Philosophy is best practised by people in general and not by philosophers alone. Philosophy is too often a luxury now, but in ancient Greece,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-onfray/philosophy-is-best-practised-by-people-in-general-and-not-by/) [Michel Onfray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-onfray/) > [Writers, you know, are the beggars of Western society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/writers-you-know-are-the-beggars-of-western-society/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [“If wishes were fishes, even beggars would eat”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lili-st-crow/if-wishes-were-fishes-even-beggars-would-eat/) [Lili St. Crow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lili-st-crow/) > [But what if I should discover that the least amongst them all, the poorest of all beggars, the most impudent of all offenders, yea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/but-what-if-i-should-discover-that-the-least-amongst-them-all-the/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [“We need to work with the young. Where will we find them, I ask? They drift, travel, abandon everything, and dress as beggars or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/we-need-to-work-with-the-young-where-will-we-find-them-i-ask-they/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“Capability can handle challenges, it doesn't accept charity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/capability-can-handle-challenges-it-doesn-t-accept-charity/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [He had a head which statuaries loved to copy, and a foot the deformity of which the beggars in the streets mimicked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/he-had-a-head-which-statuaries-loved-to-copy-and-a-foot-the-deformity/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [English law in 1572 decreed that beggars above 14 years of age are to be severely flogged and branded on the left ear unless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/english-law-in-1572-decreed-that-beggars-above-14-years-of-age-are-to/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [One ought not to encourage beggars, and yes, you are right, it is far better to donate to charities that address the causes of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/one-ought-not-to-encourage-beggars-and-yes-you-are-right-it-is-far/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [Grace finds us beggars but leaves us debtors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustus-toplady/grace-finds-us-beggars-but-leaves-us-debtors/) [Augustus Toplady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustus-toplady/) [Browse all 138 Beggars quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beggars/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There was just enough room for the tonga to get through among the bullock-carts, rickshaws, cycles and pedestrians who thronged both the road and the pavement--which they shared with barbers plying their trade out of doors, fortune-tellers, flimsy tea-stalls, vegetable-stands, monkey-trainers, ear-cleaners, pickpockets, stray cattle, the odd sleepy policeman sauntering along in faded khaki, sweat-soaked men carrying impossible loads of copper, steel rods, glass or scrap paper on their backs as they yelled 'Look out! Look out!' in voices that somehow pierced though the din, shops of brassware and cloth (the owners attempting with shouts and gestures to entice uncertain shoppers in), the small carved stone entrance of the Tinny Tots (English Medium) School which opened out onto the courtyard of the reconverted haveli of a bankrupt aristocrat, and beggars--young and old, aggressive and meek, leprous, maimed or blinded--who would quietly invade Nabiganj as evening fell, attempting to avoid the police as they worked the queues in front of the cinema-halls. Crows cawed, small boys in rags rushed around on errands (one balancing six small dirty glasses of tea on a cheap tin tray as he weaved through the crowd) monkeys chattered in and bounded about a great shivering-leafed pipal tree and tried to raid unwary customers as they left the well-guarded fruit-stand, women shuffled along in anonymous burqas or bright saris, with or without their menfolk, a few students from the university lounging around a chaat-stand shouted at each other from a foot away either out of habit or in order to be heard, mangy dogs snapped and were kicked, skeletal cats mewed and were stoned, and flies settled everywhere: on heaps of foetid, rotting rubbish, on the uncovered sweets at the sweetseller's in whose huge curved pans of ghee sizzled delicioius jalebis, on the faces of the sari-clad but not the burqa-clad women, and on the horse's nostrils as he shook his blinkered head and tried to forge his way through Old Brahmpur in the direction of the Barsaat Mahal.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Vikram Seth" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/there-was-just-enough-room-for-the-tonga-to-get-through-among-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Beggars" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/there-was-just-enough-room-for-the-tonga-to-get-through-among-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d29/vikram-seth-4208_india_there-was-just-enough-room-for-the-tonga_1575796.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d29/vikram-seth-4208_india_there-was-just-enough-room-for-the-tonga_1575796.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d29/vikram-seth-4208_india_there-was-just-enough-room-for-the-tonga_1575796.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There was just enough room for the tonga to get through among the bullock-carts, rickshaws, cycles and…” — Vikram Seth", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Vikram Seth", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“There was just enough room for...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/there-was-just-enough-room-for-the-tonga-to-get-through-among-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/there-was-just-enough-room-for-the-tonga-to-get-through-among-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```