The Muslim Beggar From Agra

The Muslim Beggar From Agra, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

178,482 items / 1,396,469 views

Sometimes I wonder what pulls beggars to me , why are they dawn to the karmic consciousness of my camera lens..he came to my workplace I gave him something he asked for some more , I told him to go to the mosque for more substantial or adequate help.. he gave me mocking smile and simply because though Allah is benevolent kind merciful his custodians most of them are worse than this beggar..they are beggars a notch higher than him , beneath the mosque beggars are the madrsa beggars who come with mini trucks and blaring loudspeakers wake the entire locality with their sales spiel.

And begging is an integral part of Moslem society embedded in the soul of its religiosity ...I cannot escape beggars as much as some who cant escape me and I remember when I first joined Flickr and posted Muslim beggar all Mosems from the Far East were gunning for my poetic pedantic pedestrian ass.


The Arabs of the Middle East have no issue with beggars they always thought the rest of the Asian Moslem world is where the beggars live..today the Arab world is changing evolving trying to come out free from shackles of hate and slavery.

I think in India the Moslem is much happier and much closer to the reality of peace hope and humanity than anywhere else.. because culturally the Moslem in India is more Indian bound to humility and hospitality and the brotherhood of Man.

I find and this is my personal view arrogance in the Moslem enters the soul through Tablik where he thinks only he is Gods chosen one and the rest are second class citizens ..

Being good or bad as a Moslem is more to do with your parentage and your surroundings my parents made me cosmopolitan, I became a better Moslem simply because I was made to respect all religiosity by my parents , we were Maharashtrians our caretaker as kids was a Marathi lady we called Aiee .or Mother.And she was like our mother keeping us alive with stories of Shivaji Maharaj and Marathi Asmita.


So my thoughts now at the age of 58 reflect her teachings her upbringing , and that is visible in the pictures I shoot of all faith including the Hijras.

And I don't blame Facebook friends even Shias from my community who knock me of from their Friends list the day I post too many hijra links as my wall posts..

And I have a Naga Sadu Guru , I have a Hijra Guru I have a Sufi Guru I have a Christian Guru..and I never needed a Shia Guru because I follow Imam Ali from the time I entered my mothers womb.

And so back to beggars and this bearded Moslem beggar in particular he told me his son was a beggar too.. in bad shape and God save them both.

Beggary in mot cases is a profitable option of survival, I once politely told a Moslem beggar lady why she did not do domestic chores she looked at me as though I was insane and told me she made more money as a beggar and was happy in more ways than one.

And than this morning I shot the creative works of children bought up in a AIDS environment , some of them are HIV positive , some are here where I shot their work because their parents are HIV positive and I would have never shot them anyway , as the stigma attached to AIDS ..they were so excited seeing me in my fancy dress rings etc, they kept touching me as though I was some apparition or ghost, and they saw me shooting their works on the wall, not one of them said Uncle take my picture..a foreboding thought even as a poet.

They were Moslems Hindus Christians among these kids but they were human , they seemed happy because they were flocked with their own.. this is one photo shoot I will never forget in my life..and when actors get their pictures taken with the cancer kids I think it is the greatest insult to Humanity ...

So as a blogger a mere picture of a Moslem beggar can take you from one layer to the next , from one thread of thought to another...yes I shoot beggars because as poet I am a beggar too their karmic existence connecting with my own..

And I dont sell my pictures forget hijra pictures or beggar pictures.