I have decided to give up Makanpur and my Khilafatnama

I have decided never to got to Makanpur at all I have decided to be what I am a a Shia born Muslim as one of the Malangs has been very insulting writing adverse remarks about my Shia faith on my Facebook post.

I spoke to Syed Masoom Ali Baba and Syed Rafiq Ali Malang that I do not want to be part of a Malang culture that insults other cultures I sent a message to Syed Zafar Mujeeb Madari his family are the custodians of Makanpur Dargah and the rogue abusive insulting Malang Roshan Ali belongs to their Order ,,

I have promoted Sufism I have promoted Hinduism as a photographer I dont think I can take this targeted harassment for being a Shia ..

I have already given up Ajmer for Good.

I think I am better of documenting Hinduism and other faiths at least they dont insult me ..I dont shoot or document diverse faiths for money I do it to show India as the only country that preaches Humanity above Religiosity and I am not talking about the fringe as they are not the representing the Hinduism that I shoot ,,

I am deeply hurt ... I did not become a Malang to be abused humiliated even during the Chadiyan the group of Madaris I walked with openly insulted me for being a Shia ..

And when I came to Ajmer or Makanpur I did not come as a Shia but as a person promoting the Sweetness of Sufism..


I have shut my Facebook Account tonight

The Malang shot by ace portrait artist Laurent Salesse

Laurent Salesse 
was fascinated 
with my Sufi 
personna
my turban 
my rings 
my pendants
that added to 
the intriguing 
nature of my 
Malang dress 
but he rebuked 
me for having 
cut of my long 
hair my flowing 
tress ..
Laurent shoots 
without stress 
every shot of his 
you will surely be
impressed we have 
been friends for 11 
long years ,,
shooting Makanpur 
shooting Khamakhya 
God Bless ..we are 
humble people 
photographers 
million light years 
from photographers 
of the press ,

The truth is lived, not taught.

a quote by 

Hermann Hesse

108 Year Old Syed Masoom Ali Baba Asqan Madari..

Loved revered by his followers held in high esteem by the Hindus of Panihar where he stays he has built clinics schools for them they call him an avtar of Shiva because of his dreadlocks ..long hair.

For them he is the pride of Panihar promoting love peace humanity between both Hindus Muslims in mutual co existence ..

Presidents ministers flock to him but he lives in austerity as I mentioned earlier I met him in 2005 at Ajmer Sharif he liked me and I respected him ..all my foreign photographer friends were totally in awe of him many drank the pyala from his hands and along with a Belgian friend I too drank the pyala ..my purpose was to document them truthfully sincerely and so I became a Malang in 2011 .

Many journeys later and in 2017 he surprised me making me his Khalifa at Makanpur ..and he is one face I can go on shooting it mesmerizes me fascinates me the calmness the holiness and his sanctified grace ..

He is felicitated by his Khalifas at Makanpur and Khalifa Iqbal bhai from Runiza does it beautifully offering him a shower of rose petals sweets turban cloth his new garments ..

His confidante companion is Syed Rafiq Ali Baba Masoomi my Murshad from Gujrat .

I dont think anyone has documented the Dam Madar Malang as I have prolifically and poetically ...

Both Syed Masoom Ali baba and Syed Rafiq Ali baba call me Maulaiee .. follower of Ali.

Twice a year I meet the malangs both at Makanpur and Ajmer sharif ,,,I cannot deny I love shooting them..it has nothing to do with their spiritual ideology or mine own..

I was lucky to shoot them both at Vasai East when they came for the funeral of one of their Khalifas at Kurla .

My connection with Syed Masoom Ali baba is cosmic..I bask in his humility and I found peace and though a Shia Muslim I partake share the sweetness of the Madarriya Silsila and Sufism..through my pictures ..my pictures are cryptic words seeking you out ,,, 

I learnt photography I honed it as a holistic art shooting diverse faiths in bloom in this beautiful garden India . country of my birth and my worth...

 “You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean in a drop” – Rumi

“Raise your words, not voice. It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder.” ― Rumi

Syed Masoomi Baba Aqsan is head of the Dam Madar Malangs a senior monk highly respected revered for his humility ,he is also a holistic healer and an exorcist,..

I have know Syed Masoomi Baba and Syed Rafiq Baba his  main Murid right hand since 2005 ,, I documented their Madarriya order along with the Rifai Silsila ,,

But call it divine interpretation I became a Malang too in 2011 along with a Belgian friend ,, and the Malangs come in great numbers to the Urus of Khwajah Garib Nawaz,, The Greatest Sufi Saint of the Chishtiya Order in India ,,though the Malangs dont miss the Urus of their own patron saint Zinda Shah Madar at Makanpur UP.

Sadly this Holy Shrine close to Kannauj the constituency of Mrs Dimple Akhilesh Yadav .. has no infrastructure , no hotels no toliets , no ladies toilets , gents ladies children defecate in the fields ,,and Zinda Shah Madar is a great Sufi Malang pilgrim center , but it saddened me , bad roads , bad transport and the sufferings of the North Indian pilgrims ,,,Hindus Muslims all come to this Holy Shrine , women are not allowed in the Dargah concourse and watch from far. the Holy Shrine is shaped like the Kaba , and nobody can enter the entrance is a small trapdoor ,,,

If any place fascinated me after Ajmer Sharif it is Makanpur , and I went there in 2013 ,, never been able to go back.. but next year I will be going with my French photographer friend ,,

The Mystical World Of Dam Madar Malangs

Once a year I get to shoot them when I go to Ajmer Sharif for the Urus .After I have settled down at the Feet of Fakhru Miya Hujra No 6 my host connected to the Sufi Chishtiya Order .. taken his blessings I than go to meet Sayed Masoom Ali Baba Aqsan Madari head of the Malang order of Aqsan.. their spiritual seat connected to Hazrat Zinda Shah Madar Makanpur close to Kannauj UP ,.. sadly the Uttar Pradesh government has done nothing for Makanpur one of the major annual pilgrimage of this Holy Saint ,, it is an oasis in a sea of fields . the pilgrims bear the sufferings hardships and come here from all over India ,,
I have been documenting the Dam Madar Malangs since 2005 and got initiated into their Order with my Belgian friend in 2011 by Masoomi Baba himself..and visited Makanpur in 2013 - 896 Urus of Zinda Shah Madar .

And I can go on shooting the malangs , its is a heady brew for my soul.. And along with the Malangs I shot the Jalali Rafaees of the Rifai Order too.. I have been documenting the Rifais for over 15 years or more ,,mostly in Mumbai and other Shrines that they visit during the Urus circuit.

Meeting the Malangs at Makanpur is an experience that never ends sadly there are no lodges hotels near the Holy Shrine ,, I was lucky to stay in a room of my Malang brother Liaqat Ali Baba ..thanks to Masoomi Babas main right hand Syed Rafiq Ali Baba ,, he is the only one in touch with me on phone ,,

Masoomi Baba is of frail health and stays at Gwalior ..Panihar ..he hardly travels unless it is a major event like Ajmer Sharif ..or other major Urus .

The pictures of the Malangs at Flickr are housed in two sets ,, ""Dam Madar Malangs'" and ""Sufism Rafaees Malangs Dargahs "".. Sufism that I have documented in India their culture , rituals and lifestyle ,,But the Sufism in India is an extension of Sunni Islam..more as a middle path without spiritual strictures or soul lashing Fatwas that we see merely used as a weapon to bully Muslim women and celebrities for a few seconds of news filling pages of our Press ..

I enjoy shooting the Malangs and lately I began shooting their videos .. they are simple people leading simple lives and most of them live in austerity ,, they do exorcism and dua tawiz.. to help possessed souls ,,

I have somehow not been able to go to Makanpur in recent years where on the Main day of the Urus ,the Malangs release their dread heads about 18 feet long holding the great bunch in their hands they do Kaif.. The Malangs are staunch followers of Imam Ali,...

Syed Masoomi Baba Madari Asqan .. Dam Madar Malang

This was shot many years back and I shot the Malangs from 2005 on wards both Masoomi Baba and Rafiq Baba .. And I found them hospitable caring and when I shot them I never once had the urge or desire of joining their order ,,

My joining their order was a a travesty of cosmic accident , my friend from Belgium wanted to become a Malang and I took him to Masooomi Baba in 2011 and became a Malang too.

And I documented them every year during the Urus of Khwajah Moinuddin Chishti and once went to the Makanpur Urus of Zinda Shah Madar .

I like shooting the Malangs they are a handsome very photogenic and proud of their order , and humble too.

And Dam Madar Malangs is a set At Flickr.com


Dam Madar Malangs