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Mr Noor, who is now distributing alms and charity in his hometown along with his wife, is just grateful to have escaped the situation with his life.

The teashop occupies a medieval building that was, for centuries, an alms house.

In Cambodia, novice monks wearing saffron robes joined elders seeking alms.

The royal cohort also carried with them gold-lined chests filled with silver and gold pieces to distribute as alms, cash worth thousands of rupees and 12,000 "dresses of honour".

The humble vagabond’s pose while asking for alms conjures these and countless other hand-in-jacket portraits of emperors, gentlemen, generals and eminent leaders, especially from the 17th and 18th centuries.