Picture of the Day: Aaj ke gham ke naam

Posted on December 13, 2006
Filed Under >Owais Mughal, Economy & Development, Photo of the Day, Poetry, Society, Urdu
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Owais Mughal

aadmiat se hai baala aadmi ka martaba
pust himmat ye na howay, pust qaamat ho to ho

(A man’s destiny is much higher than humanity.
He can be short in height but should not be short on courage)

This photograph in Dawn (December 13, 2006) shows a homeless man on Karachi roads. The poor guy has wrapped himself in a cloth banner of a political party to save himself from winter temperatures.

I tried to read the urdu message on the banner. To me it seems like the words ‘huqooq ke-khilaf‘ (against the rights) are written on the banner. The dawn caption says that old man is put on the streets by his irresponsible children and is left to fend for himself by seeking alms.

kia hai qed mujhay os jagah pe zalim ne
jahaaN se saaf mera ghar dikhai deta hai

(I’ve been imprisoned at such a place,
that I can see from here my home clearly)

I was just touched by this photo and wanted to share with our readership. Imagine spending a winter night out in just 2 layers of clothing. lag pata jaaye ga! (You’ll know the reality).

chal ae hawa-e-zamistaaN, chal aur zor se chal
tu sard-mohri-e-ehbaab se ziyada nahiN

(O cold breeze, blow even stronger
You are not cooler than my cold acquaintances)

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15 responses to “Picture of the Day: Aaj ke gham ke naam

  1. Umar Shah says:

    Just take it as a glimpse of life (for most of us I hope) on the other side of the fence. It’s easy to be judgemental but difficult to know the circumstances which forced him to be in this situation.

    There are NGO’s who provide services for the poor, homeless and destitute like Edhi’s organisation. Also, all mosques do not close at night Adnan. Anwar sahab, best option for donation would be to work with existing NGO’s and provide your funds to them. That will give you an easier start and satisfaction that your hard earned money is being well spent through an already established network, check out the following:


  2. Ghalib says:

    its true its everywhere right next to buckingham palace in london is a big cardboard city where homeless people live in card board homes!in NY i see homeless in subway staions an now winter setting in they are seen much more in number!its sad to see in pakistan Dawn has juss shown one man there are millions like this!
    i agree but before callin it mafia one shud linger y even these people are a part for it as they are poor!the ones that own these mafias are the politicians tht we even support!
    Regarding ZAKAT an USHR everyone knows wat happens to it its distributed among all the Ministry people!its terible as theres no law and justice and we the people of pakistan after so many years of injustice have lost hope in truth!but we have to come up with the solution no one will do it for us!
    Help people in need provide them with shelter if one is able thats what even our humane religion tells us!we will be questione for our actions and for what we did to the people!try to help these people directly thru verified organisations like edhi ansar burney etc.we the youth has to come forward so to make things look better!

  3. why mosque care takers should be concerned when this is a state issue which it couldn’t solve? At one side mosques are cursed and damned and on other hand same mosques should take care of every evil as if it’s not someone else responsibility. Why govt is so impotennt that they can’t have land to make temp houses for homeless people? Infact those who are suggesting for mosques and really concerned then should call their relatives in karachi and ask them to bring such homeless men at their homes for shelter.

    As someone mentioned above that its a “Beggar Mafia” and I bet this guy wouldn’t have stayed whole night on street and somenoe would have come and brought him back to his destination. It happens as I myself have seen some “mashkook” people whispering with such beggars and exchanging “stuff”.

  4. Mariam says:


    I agree with you. Govt. took away so much in the form of zakat but who really gets it thatâ€™s another business. Mosques caretaker can easily take care of these few unfortunate souls and make them leave in the morning. I saw the people who talk more about religion are the one who knew nothing about the basic structure of Islam. Which is to take care of your fellow men, one canâ€™t have food until everyone in adjacent houses is fed and thatâ€™s what I learned while growing up (my grand mother always make sure of it). We talk about suffering of faraway Muslims but forgot that there are people in need around us.

  5. TURAB says:

    [quote comment=”16291″]Oh My Lord, thats a really sad picture.
    Its heartbreaking seeings such people. I always find it worse seeing children, But since I dont have much understanding of such peoples circumstances, many questions cross my mind, where is his family? his children? his relatives?……………..[/quote]

    It is not an occupation but its a mafia with beggars being organized to the extent of having bank accounts, we as citizen encourage it …
    its a norm more than as being a bad thing / occupation…

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