The Beggar Poet

shoots stories
disseminates
on the wide 
screen of
the internet
he shoots
pictures
of people
you will
never forget
a gambhir singh
of khumbong
village Manipurs
Best Story of
Homecoming
Ghar Wapsi .
At Bandra
Jmate Jamooriya
jab we met ..
I am not Nepali
I am Manipuri
I am an Indian
my eyes got wet
for the love that
his people gave
me I shall always
be in their debt
Map Karo Malik
memorable words
that reverberate
nostalgically in
my ears bringing
tears of love
seeking an outlet

If i had not helped Gambhir Singh at Bandra
As a beggar poet street storyteller it would have
my greatest regret ..thank you Parsoi Police Station
Officer Amitabh Singh Officer Priyobartan Singh
You two mission accomplished are Manipur Police s
greatest asset ....love is chant of the hearts minaret

HIS SON ARE IN AMERICA HE IS DYING ON THE STREETS OF BANDRA SV ROAD

DNANEWS

Documenting the Naga Sadhus Ujjain Kumbh 2016

posted at FB

As a Muslim Press Photographer you can shoot the Hindu ethos of the Naga Sadhus but as a Muslim to have lived with the Naga Sadhus it was only possible because of my secular minded Naga Guru Vijay Giri Maharaj some bigoted sadhus objected to my presence some spat at me some cursed me but my Guru stood by me took up cudgels for me ,,some complained to the Maha Mandleshwar Swami Krishna Giri but he ignored them.

I had met Maha Mandleshwarji and told him that all my efforts of documenting the Naga ethos was a step towards Hindu Muslim amity I wanted Hindus Muslims both eyes of Mother India to live in peace harmoniously .
He patted me and this made some of the rogue sadhus more angry,, but I am not bad mouthing them they were wary of my agenda I was a meat eating Muslim in their eyes nothing could change that though I ate Satvik meals at the Akhara .

But I met more good sadhus than bad sadhus there was a Naga Sahu who was also a devotee of Kalliar Sharif there was another Naga Sadhu who was also a Qalandari and quoted Imam Ali .

Because I was a Sufi malang both loved me and I shot the Nagas from within ,,I walked with them chanting Har Har Mahadev..the mantra of the Naga cry towards th banks of the River Sipra .

As a photographer I shot the soil of Hinduism as a Message of Universal Peace ...15 years I lived like a sadhu with the Nagas .

Than I shot the Naga Sadhus at Khamkhya Assam.

I am now documenting the Aghoris the Aghoris consider me their brother and call me respectfully Aghori Malang /

Yes I am the Soul of my Camera I have no sponsors no financial support but God has been great ,,,

In The Eyes of the Beholder I am a Hindu

posted at Facebook

Before becoming a Muslim a Hindu a Sikh or a Christian lets become Human first Sant Guru Nanak ji

The picture is of my Late Guru Shri Vijay Giri Maharaj Juna Akhara 13 Madi the red bead round his neck is coral that I gifted him..he wore them to cherish my love for him I was first Muslim disciple he was my first Naga Sadhu Guru.

Shri Vijay Giri Maharaj was from a village in Mangalore he was married had a son his parents had promised their Seer they would give Vijay Giri to the Akhara but they absolved from their promise they loved their son too dearly.
They him married he had a son but he had no peace he was tortured by his parents broken promise to their Seer .

He sought forgiveness from his wife parents family and joined the Juna Akhara .
Cut to his life in his village he was a teacher and an Islamic scholar he loved Muslims and he was a painter and artist too.

This picture above is our last meeting at Ujjain Kumbh 2016 .

It changed my life it changed his too on the day of the Shahi Snan there was a great rush to reach the Sipra but on that auspicious day as his disciple went ahead he was left behind with me he collapsed he was vomiting he sat in a corner looked me i the eye and told me to go ahead shoot the Shahi Snan I refused I am not a very strong man I lifted him on my shoulders and bought him a long distance away to the Naga Sadhu base camp he was checked given some black coffee and his disciples caught up with us .
Both my Guru and I took the holy dip in the Sipra he looked much better and I requested his permission to shoot 
Maha Mandlshwar Of Juna Akhara Swami Avdesh Anandji I shot his video and Swamiji refuses to believe I am a Muslim he says deep down in that part of your Humanity you are not just a Muslim or a Hindu you are all Faith .

This was the last Kumbh of my Guru an Islamic scholar lover of Hussain he spoke of Imam Ali would call me before I went for Moharam Ashura to cut my head with a dagger the Kama Matm ritual,, he would tell me dont hit yourself hard or you will be hurting me too,
When we left Ujjain he took an ordinary train ticket I had a reservation so I asked him to come along with me he sat near the door of the train .
When the TT came I told him about my Guru if I could adjust him on my seat I would sit and sleep on the floor he said it is fine as long as no one objects I sat at his feet pressing his legs kept awake all night as my Gurus fever returned there were two boys with Guru but they kept away as they did not have reservation so they sat near the train toilet .

When the time came for him to leave my Guru wept a lot hugging me and that was our last meeting .

I reached home he called me and said that what I had done none of his disciples had done I told him I had done nothing he was my Guru I had to take care of him he was my Father our religions were different but our blood was same our humanity was same .
My Guru died tragically in his village at Mangalore .

The other part of my Naga Guru he was a master tantric he was a shaman he would become a woman gesticulate like a woman speak like a woman and the Devi entered his body this phenomenon I never witnessed but it was described to me by his man disciple Mahesh Bhardwaj from Haridwar who had seen it he shot the maximum videos of our Guru.

I normally dont post pictures at Facebook but I will give you the link to my photo set Ujjain Kumbh at Flickr.com

Guru Shri Vijay Giri came home once saw my granddaughter Nerjis and prostrated before her I was puzzled I asked him.. all he said she is Shakti ..
And what shocked me 4 year old 

Nerjis  and he got along as they knew each other since a along time than she gave my camera to my Guru told him how to shoot a picture on my DSLR and Guru shot my energetic granddaughter Nerjis Asif Shakir .

I will go to the Ardh Kumbh with my Gurus ..Guru Bhai Bhagwatiji my oldest Naga Guru contact since Maha Kumbh Allahabad in 2013 .

I met my Naga Guru at Nasikh Kumbh 2003.

That is another interesting chapter of my life ,,,

Just got a call from Gambhir Singh Kumbong Village Imphal Manipur.

posted at FB

I could not recognize his voice it had changed from Maf Karo Malik it was more positive and had a renewed vigor.

He thanked me for all I had done I told him as I tell everyone I have done nothing.

Whatever happened was God's Mercy and the love of the Manipuri people their love made him visible I am too small a man I cannot perform miracles he began to cry I told him to hold himself be strong.

His medical check up is going on he said I should have accompanied him to Manipur I told him it was his Victory march he deserved this glorious moment.

He and the people of Manipur had shown the world the real meaning of Hope and Humanity.

This episode of human bonding could have never happened in any other city or state.
It happened in Mumbai that became the heartbeat of love for the people of Manipur.

I reiterate the story is not about a viral video nor about Gambhir missing from Kumbong village since 40 years the story is the power of social media used positively that connected a man to his countrymen.

This story is of Manipur.. Manipur Police and Bandra Police Mumbai Police this story is of the power of a You Tube video.

I was merely an anchor and I take a back step as humility would never let me bask in another man's achievement.

He kept himself Alive for his family though the odds were against him and here I must mention Find Gambhir What's up group they relentlessly left no stone unturned to seek out Ghambhir.

I must thank all you Manipur friends and those who commented on the viral video I opened the comment box only for them.
I type with a single finger of a permanently damaged hand so I cannot reply to their comments.

This was a indeed a very Good Morning Sunday wish from Gambhir Singh to me he hopes I come and see him one day

And I told him he will very soon become a successful politician as every party will now want to endorse him as their candidate.

He Gambhir Singh made Manipur famous..through his humbleness through his humility.

I have been asked to remove the medical check up pictures.. From the person who sent the pictures to me. Sorry.

VIDEO

Maria the Leper Lady Bandra Boran Road

I had known Maria since the time I lived at 21 De Monte Street an extension of Bandra Bazar Road where we stayed for about 11 years .

But I was not into beggar photography at all I was caught between fine art and photojournalism.

But when an ace American photographer Dr Glenn Losack MD from Manhattan New York saw my Moharam matam bleeding pictures he befriended me and came down to shoot Ashura in Mumbai with me .

He shot leper affected people beggars lunatic asylum patients and he was also an eminent psychiatrist and photographer .

He saw Maria the leper lady and shot her extensively including her grandchildren son daughter of Mary also a beggar and Marias daughter .

So this was my tryst with shooting Maria the leper lady a photo set on my Flickr timeline ..

Dr Glenn was hoping to get Maria treated but Maria just wanted money her plaint was if she is healed who will give her money.

I took over helping Maria once Glenn left than my granddaughter Marziya and Nerjis began shooting her .both were very small..Marziy was about 3 year old and Nerjis was about a few months old.

I wanted both my granddaughter to see pain feel pain and understand the cryptic meaning of Charity .

Both Marziya and Nerjis gave her their pocket money ,,time passed and just before the onset of monsoon Maria would leve Mumbai as her soft parts of her body began to fall off ,

But an amazing part of Maria she has sockets for eyes ..she was smart as the drug addicts stole her money or ran away with her beggars tin..

She would tie this tin to the stump of her leg and hide the notes beneath another bowl within the begging tin.

Once Glenn left she would pester me when will he come yes sh had fallen in love with my American friend and almost all women fell in love with Glenn,,

Years passed and Maria who had disappeared returned back to Bandra this time sitting on a wheelbarrow like a queen..and her companion was Kadappa a leper who was connected to Sharda leper mother .

Kadappa was a shrewd man he told me he was Marias brother but I did not bother I would buy breakfast for both of them every morning while returning from tennis ..

Maria they say was a Hindu she saw light and converted to Hinduism along with her daughter Mary and there was a nun Sister Cristobal from the Order of Mother St Theresa who had a small space opposite Bhabha Hospital who bathed beggars gave them food medicine etc

I mentioned to her about Maria but than St Cristobal was inflicted by a terminal disease shifted to UK.

Maria and Kadappa have both disappeared and last few week when I met them it was Mary pushing the wheelbarrow ,

Now even Mary has disappeared but Mary was trying to become a Muslim and begged as a Muslim outside the Boran street Sunni Jamatkhana .

In all these two leper stories of Maria and Sharda I terribly miss Shardas son Arjun..

Marias video is on You Tube ,,

But sadly nobody not een media came forward to help her Media comes only when a nondescript photographers video goes viral on You Tube ,,

All my beggar stories ar on You Tube ..only the Muslim beggars are part of a playlist ..

The other part of Marias story is though she could not see she knew I was around was it my footsteps or was it sense of smell. God knows .

My Name Is Arjun My Mother is a Leper

posted at Facebook

I first met Arjun and his mother Sharda on a wheel barrow being driven by a leper and I was returning from my the tennis court at Bandra Bazar Road December 16 2015 ,,

I dont know why Arjun seemed to be drawn by me and these were new beggars in my area I walked a few steps ahead and came back to them I gave them money and asked them from where they had come ,, they were from Karnataka mother and son and the man pushing their cart she said was her brother he looked street smart and there was something about him that mystically told me he was not her brother but was using them for his own misadventures .

But she Sharda the leper mother was not the pioneer of my leper story my biggest story was of Maria the beggar lady which I will talk abou in my next post .

As time passed I saw Arjun and his mother Sharda begging at the next lane of the bazar and in real bad shape I gave her a cotton saree and some clothes for Arjun,,
She told me that her brother had abandoned them and so with a friend called Nur a friend on Facebook I began helping her ,,

Arjun became my friend buddy he would light up each time I saw him I gave him biscuits sweets cake .

Arjuns story is scattered on Flickr on my street photography photo album..so it is not that I only shoot Muslim beggars .

Arjun and his mother Sharda also begged outside St Peter Church Bandra .

Months passed and quite recently I was shocked to see Arjuns mother Sharda begging alone I inquired about Arjun she told me that she had given Arjun to an ashram in Mangalore ,

But she said she would visit him.. and so very week I gave some ration to Arjuns mother till on day she disappeared forever ,,

Cut into my meeting with Maria my ongoing leper story Maria too had disappeared for many years her daughter Mary used to give me her news Mary begs at Bandra Bazar Road and both mother and daughter had converted to Christianity from Hinduism.. but their bad days did not go the Church could not perform the miracles of Jesus Christ in their lives .

Mary began wearing a head scarf outside a Sunni Jamatkhana and was hoping to become a Muslim soon but this is not the crux of my story but it has a connection with Arjuns mother ,,

The leper man Kadappa who used to draw Arjuns mother Shardas cart and had abandoned her was now taking Maria all over Bandra in a cart that has cost Rs 5000 .

I asked Kadappa what had happened to Arjuns mother Sharda ..Maria told me that a man had fallen in love with Sharda he had got her a job and was getting her treated for leprosy ..but a part of me did no believe it as Sharda was an upright women.

As I write this I shot videos of Maria a month back and now both Kadappa and Maria have disappeared too,

The will resurface and here is the catch you can run away from begging but begging won't run away from you ,

So when I am abused by people for shooting beggars and showing our country in bad light ,,I keep silent I dont hit back with the case of Asifa or Unnao or the Surat case .

I am human I shoot humanity ,,I did not give Gambhir Singh from Kumbong village a second chance I was an alcoholic for the large part of my life God pulled me out I was Prometheus bound to a devil in the booze bottle I broke the shackles ,.

It is the prayers of Gambhir Singhs family that touched God and using me as an instrument of his divine Mercy he saved Gambhir and bought cheer on the faces of all Manipuris.

He performed a miracle it took 40 years and put Manipur on a world map as a harbinger of hope love and peace.

This was the best story in such painful hard times of Kathua Unnao and Surat.

It gave hope Gambhir Singh has become a global hero every political party would want to endorse him as their winning candidate

I am not a mystic but mark my words.

I gave up drinking 20 years back I dont have the urge to drink..

But Gambhir Singh and the people of Manipur changed me with their love for an old man living in Bandra and I am shocked as I am not a Saint what I did even you would have done if you were in my place ,,

As a photographer who shoots people I put my camera to good use I dont have the money to go shoot Kashmir or nature trails I save every pnny to buy an air ticket to Khamakhya yes I am a Muslim but also a disciple of Goddess Khamakhya she calls me and I go to shoot the Ambubachi fair the Naga Sadhus Hijra Shaman and Aghoris ... I might take Diksha as an Aghori I dont know ,,,without changing my basic inner ethos .
I will do it to shoot the Aghoris I am documenting for last two years .

First year at Khamkhaya I did not enter her Shrine being a diabetic I cannot stand in the line for 36 hours ,,
But in 2017 she connected me to Niku Sarma scion of a Panda family they gave me a room to stay food and took care of me without taking a single dime from me through Niku and his brother Abhijeet she called me into the Shrine .the moment I entered in I went into a trance and fainted ..Nikus friend bodily lifted me out of the Shrine ,,, now you can interpret this they way you want for me Khamakhya is not my religion but my cultural inheritance and so I hardly add Muslims to my timeline as they would never understand this feature of my life ,,,I dont want to shock them as most Muslims dont come to terms with my head cutting during Moharam or my whirling emotions as a Sufi Malang.
Perhaps I dont know this part of my Sufism might hurt the sentiments of conservative Shias I am after all a Shia born Muslim .

But it is the love of Manipur people I opened the floodgates of my Facebook personal space ,,
If you feel shocked by my views if it antagonizes you feel free to leave ..once the Gambhir story dies down you will not find any meaning in your attachment to me.

Come 2019 I will leave to live among my Naga Sadhu friends on the banks of the Ganges Ardh Kumbh Allahabad .

Come Moharam I will be bleeding on the streets of Hyderabad to the chant of Ya Hussain Ya Hussain.

I am Nothing ..you your love people of Imphal Manipur added something to my Nothingness ..with your holitic love I was blessed ...a Sufi man in a Lamas dress .

Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it. Rumi