Hot Headed Shia Youth And The Humility of Imam Hussain, a photo by firoze shakir photographerno1 on Flickr.
With this picture I bring to an end the Kaisar Bagh 9 moharam event , though this set here at my flickr photo stream has about 2086 images ..
There were quite a few on my stolen Power Shot Canon G9..
The boys from Bangalore made the most of Moharam and were liked by everybody , they were the representatives of the city of Bangalaru, they were here on a mission sharing with their Mumbai brothers the grief of Imam Hussain.
I must mention something here which might upset a few Shia minds, but the Shia youth , some of them are a shame to Shia society on the whole, there was a skirmish between two Shia group of boys on 9 Moharam, leading to fisticuffs, this on a night like Shab e Ashur..
I mean we are all in mourning and leaving aside ur personal ego and spiritual conceit we must ponder over the humility of Imam Hussain.. follow in his footsteps , he never hurt any one and this is his Moharam we celebrate..
Some time back the same thing happened at the Shia Bandra Khoja Mosque during Ramzan two group of Shia people coming to blows in the Mosque..
I was shooting the Ag Ka Matam, at the Arambagh Shia Khoja cemetery, and accidentally brushed a Shia youth, I immediately apologized , he gave me a mouthful.. I am old enough to be his father, but this is the new face of aggression that is uncalled for in a austere month like Moharam.
Everything is important in Moharam, bu how we carry ourselves is more important , how we behave with others ...and how we inter act..
Mumbai is one of the most peaceful cities celebrating Moharam.. we should see that our kids should not tarnish this image ..or give our peaceful community a bad name unintentionally because they are stressed or hotheaded .
Sometimes I think it is more as a personal attack on me as a photographer , I fail to understand..
Even guys who cut their heads and if we shoot them they are rude insulting, for what , I mean is this the message they want to share in the grief of our beloved Imam..
Little kids want to ape them , and this aggression is not what we would want to give them..
I think the Shia elders and the Shia Mullahs must talk about this in their discourse..
One person who does talk of not intimidating other communities with our outbursts of nohas in the local trains is Maulana Mirza Athar Saab..
Every Masjlis he has spoken of tolerance and harmony..
Hussain does not just belong to the Shias but to all communities.
There are times I think I am better off not shooting all this and just watching from a distance .. and for 17 years I kept away from Moharam in public , it was Habib Nassar and Baqar Nassar who bought me back into the fold..
I have seen so many hot headed Shia boys who have been intimidating and aggressive, at times I think it is their credentials of their parentage that they mock with their misplaced actions ..
I thought I should write my views without any bias .. I write what I experienced in these few days shooting the Moharam proceedings..
Barring this Moharam went off smoothly, and people were exemplary..the Mumbai police deserve full marks for their excellent bandobast, the Mohalla committees ..and all the JUST guys IVT.led from the front always on their toes and never once complaining..
God bless all of them for their selfless work and spiritual zeal...
So this ends one long series..
Shah ast Hussain, Badshah ast Hussain
Deen ast Hussain, Deen Panah ast Hussain
Sardad na dad dast, dar dast-e-yazeed,
Haqaa key binaey La ila ast Hussain
