Saturday, December 25, 2010

Women Who Pose As Hijras To Make Money On Linking Road Bandra

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I was going towards Juhu for some urgent work when this hijra impostor accosted me in the ricksha I told her that she was not a Hijra and she fled the seen, but she was not bothered she was making more money pretending to be a hijra , a woman beggars life sucks..hijras are exotica and the forbidden fruit.

Mother Shot By Marziya Shakir 3 Year Old

outside a shia mosque she sits
publicly showcasing her pain
appealing to a mother whose
son was named hussain
mother the source of
maternal rain as it falls
as tears soaking the heart
of a parched painful domain
ashura karbala two
pillars that steadfastly
remain sham sham sham
he cries out through
the bondage of yazidi chains
1400 years he is still alive
truth justice equality humanity
can never be slain

The Hijab Is A Protective Shield

a muslim womans
honor her tradition
her modesty
in a garment
body soul
holistically
healed
in a world
of hate terror
killing fields
sarkozy
calls it
a garment
of oppression
its fate thus
sealed
but it lives on
to racist attitude
its not ready
to yield

I Cant Take It Anymore

my pictures
my blogs
my still born
poems
on the internet
i whore
badly bruised
bleeding
all the more
without profit
without gain
i open
shut doors
blood stained
'windows
my fetid
defeated
diabetic
flesh
my terrorized
spirit
both come
to blows
a path
i reluctantly
chose
barefeet blogger
of mumbai
pictures
as poetry
that froze
up close
i blog
so i am
cobwebbed
as firoze
from flickr
to facebook
a river
bursting
the banks
overflows

You Shoot Our Pictures Will Our Lives Ever Change - Beggar Hijras

Every week on Thursdays they cruise Bandra slums and the Bandra Bazar , they beg and eke out a living of despair.

I have been shooting them for quite some time , and they dont object that I trespass on their lives with my camera, I have no agenda but to show you their hardship their pain in a racist society that we inhabit in Mumbai, I use the word racist as the Hijras are shunned abused ill treated by almost everyone including the cops and pseudo religious people.

This segment of the hijras is the worst one in the hierarchy of transgender , there is no escape , they dont fill the criteria , they have lost it literally , the younger ones are street savvy nubile and know all the tricks of the trade.

The hijra bar dancers earn mind boggling sums from dons hoodlums con men and rich patrons but have never done anything for the poor hijra community ..and all this I have seen observed noticed as I shoot them when they come my way.

Call it Hijra Vardan the Gift of meeting hijras wherever I go, and my Hijra documentary is not to titillate , but to show you the bare facts of their fucked lives .. no pun intended.

Most of the beggar hjras know me in Bandra but now a new variety has come up at the Pamposh Linking Road Signal, that clap their hands demand money just like hijras but are actually women I shot one yesterday and told her she was not a Hijra , but she did not care as a Hijra impostor she gets more money than as a woman beggar ..
Such is life on a slow track in Mumbai.

Jesus and Hussain Live Side By Side On Bandra Bazar Road

157,080 items / 1,243,285 views

a shia mosque
a catholic church
two different
communities
peace hope humanity
a single abode
two different paths
diverging
converging
pictures
i upload
the Christians
celebrate Xmas
we mourn
for our imam
in black clothes
a pain overshadowed
respect for
each others
ethos
mutual coexistence
tolerance
in auto mode
live and let live
the only
dignifying code
bigotry
narrow mindedness
hate on the soul
of man an evil toad
as bombs explode
unsafe world
for the unborn child
this was not
the message
god bestowed

The Church


The Church, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

157,078 items / 1,243,274 views

is a rock
facing
thundering storms
on its own
all around
pain suffering
humanity
that tyrant man
has overthrown
all around
weeds of woes
overgrown
the church 'is
a testimony
of faith
not just
built on
bricks and stone
he came
he saw
he was crucified
disowned
at his feet
mankind
moaned
the king of kings
that no king
could dethrone
for your sins
he atoned

Marziya and Fr Jude St Stanislaus on Xmas Eve

Father Jude Shot By Marziya Shakir 3 Year Old Nikon D 80

If St Stanislaus was a girls school Marziya would be studying there , that I say with complete faith and conviction a school I have shot and documented like my own Alma Mater but my Alma Mater is far away and I doubt if anyone knows me Holy Name High School is where I did my schooling , it may soon be called First Lady Michelle Obama High School .

Marziya has impressed Fr Jude th Princpal of St Stanislaus High School Bandra but Fr Jude was happy when Marziya told him she will soon be joining Apostolic Carmel Convent.

This was Marziya at her very best on Xmas Eve ..

Life Grows Beneath The Lotus Feet Of A Sage

157,078 items / 1,243,274 views

i am the resurrection and the life
i am the beginning the end
of a biblical page
i evolve i hold
the center stage
i am humanity
the cause the effect
your pain i assuage
as you grow younger
wiser as you mellow
as you age
freedom is a
state of mind
even if you live
in a gilded cage

"Keeping Christmas is good, but sharing it is better." -- Arnold Glasow

The Poet Dreams of Making Love On A Bed Of Onions ..

Sensuality Thy Name Is Onions

Merry Xmas Peace Hope and Humanity

Two Street Photographers and Grumpy Santa

This Is My 157000 Photo Blog At Flickr.com

Thanks To All of You

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