Anne-Marie Bernier | Lover of the Poor

Here's the very first audio slideshow of the annual Urs Festival commemorating the death of the Sufi Saint Khwaja Moinuddin Hasan Chishti as produced by Anne-Marie Bernier, a photographer and one of the group members in my just completed Sufi Saints of Rajasthan & Kashmir Photo Expedition-Workshop. 

It captures with complete realism the religious event which some 700,000 pilgrims are said to have attended earlier this month. Moinuddin Hasan Chishti is the most revered Sufi saint in South Asia, and for good reasons. He was reputed to have been a liberal religious figure, with numerous devotees amongst Muslims (Sunni and Shi'a), Hindus, Sikhs and others who consider his brand of Sufism and universal acceptance of all creeds as ideal.

Anne-Marie chose the title of her audio slideshow very well, as it was inspired by an interview given by one of the devotees at the festival. You can also see it on Vimeo.

Aside photography, Anne-Marie teaches at a university in Canada, and has traveled far and wide internationally. She spent weeks in Ethiopia, photographing the country from top to bottom, as well as Cuba, Namibia, Mexico, Iceland, and others.