Eye Ball Piercing Rafaee .. Chalak Ali

Eye Ball Piercing Rafaee .. Chalak Ali, a photo by firoze shakir photographerno1 on Flickr.

This is what I shoot , this is my passion for photography and this is hard core photography, these are fakirs or Sufi mendicants who do this to earn a living and they are people who give allegiance to Khwajah Garib Nawaz of ajmer.

I have documented this group Chancawalli Rafaees , shared their food their lives without joining them,and the late Handi Sai Peer told me many a times to become a part of them simply because I walked barefeet I dressed like them but I carried a camera .. to the public that came to see them at Mahim Dargah I was exotic unique and added mystery to their surroundings as a beggar in their group I got more money , I gave it all to Handi Sai.. and this was my essence of humility ..self destructing my ego..

I had problems because I documented their lives , some took offense as it is an esoteric group , they smoked hash freely I dont and posted my pictures online ..

They also knew I was a Shia and cut my head for real every Ashura and Chehlum..I was not inclined to become a Rafaee ..I was not interested I walk on fire during Moharam ..

But fate had some surprises in store for me I became a Malang by accident a higher holistic Sufi order..along with my Belgian photographer friend Marc De Clercq,,we have the same Peer and though we come from different worlds we became brothers for life.

And I am a known face among the various Rafaee and Malang orders ..it was my association with the Rafaees that got me into shooting the hijra and eunuch community who are great believers of the Holy Sufi Shrines..


The rafaees are volatile people they pierce their eyeballs , their necks cut and split their tongues , at one of the Urus procession a Rafaee with dread head went into a trance and slashed my stomach with a sword.. and I stiffened my muscles nothing happened , my tshirt tore but my stomach had no marks , he was a crazy dude , he hugged me cried and said we were brothers ..

I too go into a trance called Kaif fall on the floor with my camera .. but am revived by the other rafaees with chants and holy water..

I also know an ascetic Monk I call Pagan baba , his order predates Adam and I have not met him for a long time..he is a nice old man who recites Sanskrit shlokas ..