He has been selling hankies for last 60 years , and we met recently and he told me his tragic life story, he spent all his money on his wifes terminal illness sold off everything ,,his wife did not survive and he has been selling hankies .
This time he was very happy to see me , he normally offers me tea , I buy some of his hankies and give it to the beggars for Friday namaz.
He is a very peaceful Muslim , he has no ego, totally down to earth, he is God fearing but he boats to all the vendors about his friendship with me , he was more excited as he saw the movie where I play a cameo with Shahid Kapoor ,, so now he really felt happy ,, and he is poor , but always clean ,always fresh.. and I ruffled a myopic Muslim through a comment on a post on Shastri Nagar slums , the ugliest filthiest in Bandra , all I happened to say to my friend Merck D'Silva who posted the picture that Islam as a religion preempts cleanliness we have wuzu, istanja cleaning of the private parts after urination and yet Muslim slums ghettos are the dirtiest totally unhygienic and why do the Muslim leaders clergy not emphasize this important aspect ,, to the slumdwellers ,,I mean we cant just blame the Municipality every time and this so called social activist thought my comment was communal made me puke all over my shirt front.'
So when I see this hanky seller a slum dweller to I feel gratified , we have to change for the greater good if not now than when.. distributing note books to poor children is the only contribution of our leaders if only they could distribute some common sense to the parents too.
Every Muslim ghetto and I cannot be wrong as I have pictorial evidence, is always ugly , and I talk of my backyard ,, where I stay it matters to me ,, as a senior citizen and a concerned one too.
I respect this hanky seller , he once told me he was very sick with high temperature but he came to work selling hankies for Rs 20 , he said he would die before he stretched out his hands for begging.. I felt like touching his feet ,,,These are the humble heroes of my Blogs ,, away from Bandra
