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I think it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of the needle but to evolve as Maulana Mirza Mohomed Athar Saab one has to be blessed from above, Athar Saab is a pride of our Shia community and an eminent scholar of Islam.
A non controversial Maulana hailing from the city of my birth Shaan e Avadh Lucknow,
Maulana Athar Saab is Humility and Humanity combined in one.. reciting Majlis continuously at the Moghul Masjid Mumbai for over 50 years speaks volumes of his caliber and his expertise on Islamic affairs spiritual and temporal, his Majlis the discourses on the Martyrdom of Imam Hussain, at Karbala the genocide the unnecessary killings under an Islamic tyrant and despot Yazid of the Ummayad Dyasty. shows the path of divergence between the Shias and the Sunnis .
And as this is my humble tribute to a polite person of great standing , whom I have known for several years and shot passionately, and Maulana Saab is the link with my Shia heritage and past, my maternal grand father Daroga Nabban Saab a poet who lived at Pata Nala close to Kankar Kua , a direct descendant of Shia poet Mir Anees.
I was born in my maternal grand fathers house and though I have distance myself from the city of my birth completely it is a memorable moment meeting Maulana Saab or his sons and shooting them at Moghul Masjid.
This time I did miss his son Maulana Yasoob Saab , and Athar Saab was getting ready to go for a recital of majlis at Breach Candy.
Mumbaikar Shias are hardcore fans of Athar Saab and at his majlis at Moghul Masjid which is telecast live all over Mumbai, people come from far flung areas to hear him out his message of Peace for all of us irrespective of caste color or creed.
There is no hate malice or double speak in his discourses ,he speaks as an Indian and a lover of Hussain and a kingdom without borders or barriers called Hussainiyat.
I shoot all religiosity and I am proud of the saffron in my soul which is part of my Indian culture , I am a Hindu Shia and proud of my ancestry and it was this noble country above all not Africa or Abyssinia that Imam Hussain wanted to come to , in order not provoke blood shed among dissenting Muslims during the reign Yazid and I believe because the Almighty could not fulfill this wish he created the Hindu Shias , Shias from the womb of Hindustan a land of Brahma Vishnu Mahadev..and this is my personal opinion as a poet photographer blogger who promotes Shia Sunni amity Hindu Muslim amity at all cost..this does nor include Wahabbism or other Shia hating factions and splinter groups.
I have shot a lot of Maulanas , but shooting Maulana Athar Saab in his humble quarters , spartan and frugal is the crux of a simple man with a goal of spreading peace through his wisdom and the depth of his knowledge,
Verily Maulana Athar Saab is a Banyan tree giving us shade and the fruit of wisdom and the values of our rituals our traditions that have kept Shiasm Alive ..just a single drop of a tear that fell from a Mothers eye was the birth of the soul of a Shia his pain.. Ghame Hussain His Life Maksade Karbala Maksade Hussain.
And because of Mashke Sakina and Alamdar the ocean of pain not running dry he created a reservoir bursting forth like an uncontrollable dam.. now you know why the Shia cries ..the Shia eyes is where our Faith lives and blooms from one generation to the next...
