Hijras Roza and Ramzan

Hijras Roza and Ramzan, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

People have a very wrong notion about Hijras ..Hijras are as human as you and me.
I know hijras at Peela Housae, the Muslim Hijras who do not solicit for sex but fast do ibadat and read the Holy Scriptures, Namaz and thereby unite with the Almighty ..in the most mubarak month of the Muslim calendar Ramzan or Ramadhan.

As the Muslim hijra at Peela house Mumbai Redlight Area Cages and the Hindu hijra have a common Hindu Guru Lachmi.. this is a different one from Laxmi Narayan Tripathi ..
they have adjoining room separated from each other, Lord Ganesha is worshiped here and a few yeas back I had gifted their deity an American diamond crystal ..

The Muslim Hijras Ibatakhana is stark room , a janamaz, the Holy Sciptures and totally sacrosanct , out of respect to their privacy and their spirituality I did not shoot this room or the room of Lord Ganesha.

My patron at Peela House was Heena Hijra , we have not met since a very long time..but there was an incident I did not mention , it was during my walk with Lalbagh Cha Raja..on Visarjan day, I met a young Muslim boy, who accosted me at Chincpokli ..he befriended me and told me that he was a reader of my Hijra Blogs at Word Press , than he told me that he was besotted by Heena Hijra and tried to visit her at the Red Light area , where she has her rooms..but was denied access..this guy was barely 24 or 25..

I was not shocked by his revelation as Hijras like Heena can impose their personality on your will very strongly..however I was busy shooting so the young lad told me would meet me at Girgaum Chowpatty the final destination of the Raja of Lalbagh..I never met him because I aborted my walk from Kumbharwada and came back to Bandra.

So this is another aspect of blogging cutting across various fronts of the secluded mind..

Hijras like the one in the picture Reshma of Lal Mitti , there are two of them both from Lal Mitti Bandra Reclamation...they are dancers at weddings badhais and other joyful Muslim occasions.

Reshma keeps all her fast and we meet from time to time.

Her only grouse is that the Bandra Bazar Road hunks harass and torment her so avoids this road like plague.

Back to Heena , Heena does a lot of charity during Ramzan , feeding the poor , paying the school fees of needy school children, and the welfare of the female prostitutes of Peela House.

Heena is into designer wear and wears only branded stuff , and is a fabulous host to the hijras from Delhi and elsewhere.

Heena's best friend is Salma Hijra both are devout Muslims..

I hope once my work problems vanish to go and wish them Idd hopefully..

One thing I must mention most of the Hijras are converts to Islam follow Sufism, I have met Wahabbi Hijras too and this is no cheek n jowl, this Hijra has done Hajj and we met at the 40 day Chalisva of late Naik Ragini..

He wore men's clothes but was a hijra all the same.

The Shia Hijras are a minority the most famous being Hijra Bulundshaher who passed away recently.her love for Ahle Bayt and Hazrat Imam Hussain was formidable to say the least .The Hijras of the Shia sect are also devout followers of the First Imam and are known as Aliwale.

I have met Hijras who hate the Shias with a ferocity not seen in normal life too..this Hijra is related to a blue blooded feudal family in northern India.


Overall Hijras follow a simple code of religious ethics known as Sarv Dharm Ek.. All religion are One.
They are at home with all religiosity, be it Bhauchara Ma, Lord Iravan or Nanga Pir of Uran and the greatest Saint of All Khwajah Gharib Nawaz the ultimate Protector of the Hijras ..

My Hijra Guru Laxmi Narayan Tripathi is the greatest authority on Muslim hijras and well versed in Hinduism as well as Sufism.


Lastly Hijras who renounce materialism , glamor and glitz and become shamans or healers and are known as Hijra Bawas.. mostly found at Char Yar in Ajmer sharing space with Malangs and Rafaees..