by Iqra Akhoon
SRINAGAR: At the base of Hari Parbat mountain lies the renowned Makhdoom Sahib RA shrine. Visitors from across Kashmir come to pay their respects at the revered shrine.
Along the shrine’s staircase, impoverished individuals sit in long queues, pleading for assistance from the visitors. Sometimes, these visitors offer small amounts of rice—barely enough to sustain a single person—or reluctantly give a rupee or two after persistent requests.
Among these beggars is a woman who lives nearby and has been coming to the shrine to beg for the past three years. Once part of a family of five, she now supports her three daughters alone after her husband’s sudden death from a heart attack. She is in her fifties and revealed to Kashmir Life that she receives no visits from neighbours or relatives, leaving her feeling out of place and isolated.
She puts on a veil every morning that protects her identity and spends the day on the stairs seeking alms. “If the well-to-do society would take care of our food, why should I be here,” she said.
