Does she know me ..I have been shooting her pictures since she was a tiny baby in her mothers lap, begging on the lane at Bandra Bazar close to where I stay ,, and she has grown into a young lady she has survived the vagaries of life as a street beggar.
Perhaps this is the only thing she knows , stretch her tiny hands and beg.. will she go to school , will she be able to play with a doll ,will she draw paint or learn ABC Ba Ba Black Sheep I doubt very much..not even Alif Bey Pe Te
These are the children of the Lost tribe of Allah ,, Muslim beggars born in the wilderness of remorse and despair.. I was with my wife when I shot both mother and daughter , I asked my wife to give them money and told the lady we will give her some children s clothes later.
I feel sorry for these beggar souls in search of elusive hope , some succor , some love not just a few coins given to them in oxymoron haste ,, rushing towards the mosque ,,
The hypocrisy among Muslims is highly sanctimonious ,, they give coins and expect a mansion in paradise ,, at least a one room kitchen with attached bath.. it amazes me and this morning I met a bunch of Madrsa kids in a park.. damaging the gym equipment and I wondered what Hafiz ji was really teaching them..I asked the few Madrsa kids what would they like to be in the future they looked at me clueless ,, they thought I was more stupid than Hafizji who was teaching them Arabic..
I am blessed my parents though poor did not send me to a Madrsa ,,,and I am blessed that my parents were not myopic and finally made me what I am they made me feel pain humanly and poetically too ,
And I am blessed that my parent did not keep brainwashing me that I was only a Muslim .. they made sure I was a Hindu Christian Parsi Buddhist too along with my friends from those communities ,,and it was friends that shared their faith beliefs with me and made me what I am...not just a Muslim but a humanbeing too..
