Ode to a pavement dweller

The Karwan-e-Mohabbat video has ensured that at least his death was noticed - even though he'd been faceless, invisible and alone when he was alive

His name was Mohammed Abdul Kasim Ali Shaikh. He’d run away from home at the age of eight, been sexually abused repeatedly and soon realised that the best way to survive was to engage in sex work. Later, when he contracted HIV, doctors assured him of treatment as long as he furnished his Aadhaar card. He didn’t have one. So he came to the shelter for the homeless run by Aman Biradari in Geeta Ghat on the Yamuna’s banks where he received medical treatment and embarked on a quest for a dignified life. He gave up sex work and started