In the name of god

I have been thinking of an apt introduction to this note, decided to ignore all that and be upfront, just like how my experience to one of the most coveted holy spots in Bombay was.



The plight of the people I saw outside the mosque is all I can remember of Haji Ali. Besides being a tourist spot, it is also a place of worship very well known to the people of India.



I’m agnostic, and probably the only reason I remain as one is because I still believe that there is an overwhelming energy that surpasses me most of the times, when I enter a holy place. Be it a Church, a Hindu temple or a Mosque, is supposed to evoke that boundless energy in you, it surely does that for me.



As much as I’m perceptive am not very judgmental. I was genuinely giving it a try from the moment I stepped into the walkover bridge of Haji Ali. How do I find peace when the entrance to the mosque is ushered by hungry, lecherous hawkers, all kinds of beggars, lepers, stray animals, physically challenged, mentally challenged, photographers with their printing machines to give you an instant copy, local guides, you name it and this place is a congregation of them all. This is perhaps the only place I know of where retail therapy and religion co-exist in a single platform!



As I entered the mosque, I refused to remove my footwear, that’s how clean the place was. As I walked around the Dargah, I often heard something break under my feet. Added to which, there were eagles hovering above my head, and for all that am not a very tall person! They were fluttering right above me, waiting for me to move away from what I happened to have crushed, there were bone pieces all over the floor. I choose to ignore, and step outside and see people exiting towards the rocks bordering the sea. Some spit, some dump the left-overs from their picnic baskets, some urinate and some vomit, in the midst of all this some pose for a picture or two!

I am not being pessimistic about the place or the religion; I will be lying if I said none of this happens in a Hindu temple or a church for that matter. Just for relevance, even Sidhi Vinayak temple isn’t as clean as it could be. But there is this overwhelming energy one cannot deny while sitting inside the prayer hall. Amidst the crowd chanting “Ganapati Bappa Moriya”, you will not have to try too hard to find peace. The Cathedral church, in Chennai leaves you with such a lasting impression that you yearn to go back there again.



I am mighty disappointed that my first visit to a mosque had to be this way. Forget the people visiting this place, even for the ones who stay at the mosque, the one’s who sell wares on the footpath to the mosque, if faith and belief is not the foundation of this place, then what is?



Is it a set of like-minded sexist men who like to cover their woman from head to toe while they wander the street passing lewd comments about other women, the reason for them to be united as a religion? Because I do wonder if there is a Mother Mary, goddess Lakshmi, I’d like to see a Muslim goddess who laid the path for how women of her religion should be.



I’d be more than happy to be proved wrong about all that have said above, not in the name of terrorism but in the name of reasoning.


I have tried to capture, to my best effort without any bias. Have a look and share your thoughts/criticisms - http://www.flickr.com/photos/sowmyaportfolio/sets/72157623109886349/with/4284198045/