For about three hours last Monday, September 7, Parag Shah walked through Ghatkopar dressed as a beggar. He went to the station, crossed the bridge, walked along roads in his constituency and approached people for food.

At one point, he went to his own office, where even the security guard did not recognise him and asked him to leave, Parag Shah says. The same thing happened when he visited a friend’s family office. He was not allowed in.

This was not all. Even his own family members did not recognise him.

Story continues below.
Subscribe to see fewer ads.

The episode has since gone viral on social media, largely because of who this beggar is.

Who is he? Parag Shah is a two-time Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Ghatkopar East, a businessman and real-estate developer.

In his 2024 election affidavit, Parag Shah declared assets of Rs 3,383.06 crore, making him the richest candidate in that year’s Maharashtra Assembly elections.

Shah said the exercise was not a political stunt. It followed a suggestion from his Jain guru, Naman Muni Maharaj, during a religious discourse.

Story continues below this ad

The message, Shah said, was that people often believe they are recognised because of who they are, while in reality they may be recognised because of their position, power or wealth.

“I may also have started believing that everyone recognises me,” Shah said.

🙏 पवित्र पर्युषण पर्व पर एक प्रेरणादायी अनुभव 🙏

परम पूज्य राष्ट्रसंत श्री नम्रमुनि महाराज साहेब ने अपने प्रवचन में समाज के जरूरतमंद लोगों के प्रति संवेदनशीलता, करुणा और मानवता का संदेश दिया।

गुरुदेव की आज्ञा का पालन करते हुए वेशभूषा बदलकर घाटकोपर रेलवे स्टेशन परिसर में आम… pic.twitter.com/mFL2cWWfne

— Parag Shah (@ParagShahBJP) September 14, 2026

His guru then asked him to change his appearance, go to places in his constituency where he believed people knew him, and see how they responded. He was to return to the same places in his usual identity on the same day.

Parag Shah said he spent about three hours around Ghatkopar station, on the bridge and on different roads in the area.

But the exercise, he said, ended up teaching him something beyond whether he could go unnoticed.

Story continues below this ad

Near the station, Parag Shah visited a food distribution point where meals are provided free of charge. He arrived towards the end of the distribution and asked if there was anything left to eat. A staff member, who did not recognise him, offered him dal and rice and a bottle of water.

Shah then approached a samosa seller and told him that he had no money but wanted to eat. The vendor gave him five samosas.

The encounters made Shah reconsider his own perception of people living with little money.

“I had believed that poor people only ask for help,” he said, adding that he realised they also help one another.

Story continues below this ad

Shah said the experience had made him think about reducing personal expenditure and using even a small part of what people spend on themselves to help those who cannot meet their basic needs. He appealed to elected representatives as well as citizens to ensure that people in the city do not go hungry or remain without necessities.

The food distribution point Shah visited is one such initiative. He said meals including roti, vegetables, dal and rice have been distributed near the station for the past two years.

According to Shah, the staff member who served him explained that the food was being distributed free to people on a daily basis through an initiative associated with the MLA and inspired by his guru.