My most visited sets at Flickr was my Hijras In India set , Cross dressers Gay Parade Mumbai that I locked up completely from public view with absolutely no regrets .
People have to grow up to understand the Hijra ethos and not approach them as voyeuristic titillating pastime and those who stole my Hijra pictures posted them on their sites will never see what I shot ..what I am still shooting .. this genre of people photography sadly is out of bound to all of them and in all humility nobody has shot the Hijra as sensitively humanly as I have .
And photography is about trust faith ,you cant just walk in as a cowboy and shoot ethnicity that is esoteric by nature ,,
Well back to the Rafaees that I have documented pictorially are simple people who turned their backs on domesticity and left homes to become ascetics living in groups performing at Urus and thus sustaining themselves .
Most of the Rafaees because of their prowess and mind over stuff impress the poor and become holistic healers exorcists and do Dua Tawiz.
I dont endorse the people I shoot , I dont know what they do is real fake or sleigh of hand I merely shoot them you make your evaluation and estimations and this is not just a disclaimer but the way I am.. I am a photographer first and last and by shooting any community I am neither promoting their views or proselytizing their Order or Faith.
I have not shot the Rafaes for almost three years now , ever since I joined the order of the Malangs I began documenting the Madarriya order .. but the Rafaees who impresses me most is Mehboob Ali Bawa and Noubat Ali Bawa.
A lot of strait laced pristine minded Muslims we have so many types of Muslims these days look down upon the Rafaee as drug users riffraff .. and keep away from them but the Rifai Silsila is not aggressive and promotes peace at all levels ..Sufism in India is basically a large overdose of Sunni thought in most cases.. is something I dont have to mention.
We dont have Nakshbandi or other orders the most famous all time favorite touched by all is the Chishtiya Order , the Qadri order that includes the Rifais too.
Than come the Malangs of the Madarriya Order owing spiritual allegiance to Hazrat Zinda Shah Madar Of Makanpur .
I am miles away from the theology or Tawassuf part of Sufi Islam I follow my Shia faith but I shoot Sufism as I see it in India .I try no to miss the Ajmer Sharif Urus come what may and my mentor is Peersab Fakhru Miya of Hujra No .6.
Most of the Murshads of this Chancawalli Raffaee order have passed away.. and the group splintered up too.
