When I first visited Ajmer in 2005 .. my first visit to Ajmer I was about 50 years old ,, and I was fascinated by this spiritual Sufi city of the Holy Saint Of Ajmer .
I was shooting everything that came on my camera s vision , Malangs Rafaees Monks Hijras and ubiquitous Ajmer beggars ..
I shot documented what others would hardly shoot in Ajmer ,, and as years passed I had shot so much , that I began to shoot selectively I shot the Malangs and beggars , I shot the Hijras as most were connected to my Malang Guru .. but I had lost my passion and drive .
And now I hardly document their picture publicly ,,I missed shooting the beggars of Taragadh . the rarest form of burnt out humanity ,, and I tried to spend some time with my friend beggar of Dhai Djinn Ka Jhopda begging along with him .. erasing my self my ego .. trampling it under my beggars bowl.
I finally gave away to my beggar friend he needed it more than me .
I have shot over 5000 images of Muslim beggars all over India , places I visited , I did not meet Muslim beggars at Maha Kumbh at Allahabad .. but I met them everywhere else ..
Muslim beggars is my journey into the dark souls of these Untouchables of Muslim society ,, they are kept at arms length , means to do charity and sadly in Muslim society I saw lot of charity but no heartfelt compassion.. Fuck give a few coins and move on.
Muslim beggars will never be rehabilitated by the Government or Muslim society and most of them become professionals and are absorbed as foot soldiers of the powerful politically well connected Beggar Mafia ,,it is alleged even cops go soft on this group... for monetary rewards and returns.
