The Hijras and Dargah Divinity Go Hand In Hand, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.
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The Hijra motto is exemplary and thought and mind provoking.. Sarv Dharm Ek..
All Religion are one and they invoke the Lord or the Holy Saints with the ghungroos on their dainty feet..and be it any place the hijra comes into glittering mystical light at Ajmer Sharif and Haji Malang Dargah.
The hijra invariably will leave everything to be at both these dargahs during Urus time..they come as brides , all decked up, in glory, but they are humble in spite of their grand ostentatious display of wealth..they feed the poor , they give charity and their chaddar to the Holy Saint is the most expensive.
Every vendor beggar malishwala is at their doorstep they give generously, they dont hurt people , they are dignified at the Dargah though some of them come from Red Light areas of Mumbai called Peela House and Kamatipura.
They are the pride of humanity , treated as untouchable looked down upon , ostracized humiliated raped sodomized here they come to the Holy Saint of Haji Malang for protection , and I am sure he loves them more than those who stand outside the Dargah doors dressed as custodians of the Dargah and find fault that I give more importance to the Hijras than the Holy Shrine.
I was shocked when I was accused of this fault , I am not a Sufi adherent , I respect the Holy Saint but my beliefs my personal allegiance as a Shia lies elsewhere..but does that matter , I come to Haji Malang not as a Shia but as a lover of the Holy Saint and Humanity.
What really surprises me that with so much funds so much wealth why the Haji Malang Trust did not create their own website it would have bought the Holy Saint Haji Malang close to all his followers across the globe ..they could do the darshan or ziyarat at the click of a mouse and this would have generated much needed succor to a Dargah infrastructure where there is not a single womans toilet or public bath..
Imagine paying Rs 15 for a pail of bucket but the pilgrims dont complain, and I have never ever written derogatory about any religious place , but it hurts that at the very foot of the mountains is a Wine shop, I mean this is a spiritual destination not a lovers haunt..I have nothing against any business but I have said what I have to say.
And I am happy that by humiliating me in front of everyone just a few minutes before the Dhamal the trustee showed his bias towards me for being friendly with the other set of Ketkars whose guest I am namely Kumar and Abhijeet Ketkar.
I have vowed never to climb the mountains ..and I am also sad and distressed that those who call this place Shri Malangad have done nothing for the comforts of the pilgrims, Haji Malang can become one of the finest spiritual tourist spots on par with Tirupathi and Vaishno Devi..
The Holy Saint of Haji Malang does not oppose anyone's religiosity , instead he makes you believe firmly;y in your own faith whether you are a Sikh Hindu Muslim or any other community.
The edict of the Holy Saint is very simple you leave your car your ego your wealth downstairs you climb the mountain in humility and take back the offerings of love hope peace and harmony.
Haji Malang is exemplary National Integration , Hindu Khadims taking care of a Sufi Shrine , and all are welcome, he gives abundantly without holding anything back..
Along the path to the Dargah are Hindu temples and I pay my respect to all these places as I climb up barefeet.
All my pictures are uploaded at Flickr and I have made separate sets for the Urus of Haji Malang, the Hijras of Haji Malang , The Dargah of Sultan Shah Bab and even the cross dressers so as to give respect to each community.
From Flickr I cross blog to my Hijra Eunuch blog site at Word Press , to my other sites on Blogspot.. and finally Twitter .
And as a blogger I do what I can to showcase the pride of my culture all over the vast internet.
And here at Flickr is the bulk of my pictures of all faith 170000 plus.. and I must tell you that an American Jew Dr Glenn Losack has paid for my membership as a Pro member so my work can be seen by all .. I have no sponsors , a battered bleeding camera but I shoot none the less as a photographer as a poet and as a blogger.
Thanks for passing by...
