The Shias Of Mumbai

The Shias Of Mumbai, a photo by firoze shakir photographerno1 on Flickr.

an intriguing race
living in mumbai
from every place
from lucknow
delhi kolkatta
hyderabad
chennai
migrants once
now mumbaikars
holding on to their
space ..congregating
for maulana athar sabs
majlis at moghul masjid
tears running down their
face or at kaisar bagh..
with alams in their hands
with dignity and grace
or at imamiya masjid
amin imamabada ..as
always .. imamwada
sabils kava hyderi
kutub khana ..thoughts
surface .. getting the
zanjir kama blades
sharpened ..mast
dhar lagana bambaiya
phrase .. the shias
of mumbai dressed
in black..ghame
hussain embrace
every land is karbala
every day is ashura
be it your birthplace
hussain al mini
wa ana minal hussain
i am from hussain
hussain is from me
words they tried
but could not erase
the shias persecuted
bombed killed
murdered plundered
by the yazidis ..
suicide bombers their
so called .. jihad
martyrdom misplaced