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Seeking inspiration from stations of the cross

Christians take out processions to experience the pain and sacrifice Christ went through.

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At Pratirakhsa Nagar, Vakola, fashion designer Firoze Shakir stands out in the thousands gathered to see the enactment of crucifixion of Christ. A Muslim by faith, it is not his fancy Malang wardrobe, but his bare feet in the scorching summer afternoon, which draws attentions. Apparently, he is here to see the “passion of Christ”.

Though he is clothed and even sits in a truck sometimes, the scorching ground does make it unbearable for his bare feet. “Christ walked barefoot. And it is the physicality of this pain that I wanted to go through. For me, walking barefoot is giving back to the society, as taught in my convent school,” says Shakir.

The 40-year-old Shakir, who has studied in the Holy Name High School at Colaba, has been covering the ‘stations of cross’, as the enactment plays are called, for five years now. “I even go for the Lalbaug Raja ganapati too and take pictures for posting them on flicker for people to see and follow,” he adds.

A self-confessed poet, Shakir wants to prove that walking aside Christians helps him “appreciate beauty of other religions” and “identify with their pain”, thus making more human. “I like the passion of the Christ. I see his pain like that of Imam Hussein. As a poet I see a metaphor there,” he says.

While Shakir attended the stations of cross to prove his point of religious harmony, many others came to learn from the Christ’s sufferings and the forgiveness he preached. “The walk is a small act of reverence I make for his sacrifice for us. It’s a day of prayers and we look to learn from him,” said Judith Daftary, a 39-year-old who had come alone all the way from Marol alone.

The D’Souzas who had come with their entire family wanted their children to learn from Christ. “I want my kids to know the sufferings He went through,” said Ivy D’Souza, 36-year-old Santa Cruz resident and mother of two.

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