Sunday, March 6, 2011

Searching For Hope On A Mound of Despair Called Garib Nagar

Searching For Old Memories of Garib Nagar Bandra East

All Lost Forever Garib Nagar Bandra East Mumbai

A Day After The Fire Garib Nagar Bandra East

The End of The Road Garib Nagar Bandra East After The Fire

The Beggar Poet Shoots The Pain Of The Living Dead at Garib Nagar Bandra East

Ek din magar Yahan, Aisee kuchh hawa chali,

Lut gayi kali-kali ki ghut gayi gali-gali,
Aur hum lute-lute,
Waqt se pite-pite,
saans ki sharaab ka khumaar dekhte rahe,
Karvan guzar gaya, Gubar dekhte rahe!

Karvan guzar gaya, Gubar dekhte rahe.

Geet ashk ban gaye,
chhand ho dafan gaye,
Saath ke sabhi diye dhuan-dhuan pehen gaye,
Aur hum jhuke-jhuke,
Mod par ruke-ruke,
Umar ke chadhaav ka utaar dekhte rahe,

Neend bhi khuli na thi ke hai dhoop dhal gayee Paon jab talak uthe ye zindagi phisal gayee

chal ud jaa re panchhi ki ab ye des hua begaana garib nagar

174,455 items / 1,359,504 views


khatam hue din us daali ke, jis par tera basera tha/-2
aaj yahaan aur kal ho vahaan ye, jogi vaala phera tha,
ye teri jaageer nahin thi,
ye teri jaageer nahin thi, chaar ghadi ka dera tha
sada raha hai is duniya men kis ka aab-o-daana
chal ud jaa re panchhi.............


tune tinaka-tinaka chun kar, nagari ek basaai /-2
baarish men teri bhigi pankhe, dhoop men garami khaai
gham na kar ,
gham na kar jo teri mehanat tere kaam na aai
achchha hai kuchh le jaane se, dekar hi kuchh jaana
chal ud jaa re panchhi....

bhool ja ab vo mast hava, vo udana daali-daali /-2
jag ki aankh kaanta ban gai, chaal teri matavaali
kaun bhala us baag ko poochhe,
kaun bhala us baag ko poochhe, ho na jis ka maali
teri qismat men likha hai, jite ji mar jaana
chal ud jaa re panchhi.............

rote hain vo pankh-pakheru, saath tere jo khele /-2
jin ke saath lagaaye tune aramaanon ke mele
bhigi aankhiyon se hi un ki, aaj duaayen le le
kis ko pata ab is nagari men kab ho tera aana
chal ud jaa re panchhi.............
*************************************

Tumhe mil gaya thikana Humhe maut bhi na aayi garib nagar

Drinking From A Gutter Of Despair Garib Nagar

Drinking From A Gutter Of Despair Garib Nagar

When Hope Dies At Garib Nagar Bandra East Fire

When Hope Dies At Garib Nagar Bandra East Fire

My Bare Hands And The Hands of Fate

God Save Garib Nagar From Scavengers And Looters

174,409 items / 1,359,343 views

People in time of need and disaster change as one sees everywhere , the looters scavengers and treasure hunters arrive digging the rubble to find whatever wealth that may belong to others I saw a lot of fights going on between women for possessions of utensils burnt to be of literally no use but worthy as bhangar for some monetary reward , it was sad and I dont want to broach on it.

From the time I shot this on the day after the fire from 6.30 am till about 10.30 am there was no agency to help these people , there was mo one at all save a few Muslim volunteers giving them food and without sounding biased I have seen this also during the aftermath of the Behrampada too, aid to the Muslim denomination in the time of need comes very late .

And I dont think I have the courage to go and shoot this again , their trial and tribulations have just begun, and fate really mocks humanity when self dependent artisans or workers are made homeless and beggars and this is a game of snake and ladders once a but on the top now completely at the bottom of the ladder..

And I am not a journalist nor do I have the inspiration or perseverance to be one but I am a picture man I documented this tragedy from every side walking over the rubble over burnt corrugated sheets , I normally shoot barefeet here I wore slippers but ended up cutting my feet nevertheless.

I tried every position where it was humanly possible to go and mind you this was not a photography assignment but a necessity to show you in sincerity and truthfulness.

And silence is more eloquent than speech on a photo blog the blog talks and you listen as er the communication you have with a tragedy as great as this.. this was a huge area and the victims of the fire have spread all over platform 6 and 7 and as far as Behrampada slums ahead.

And one thing it is not raining in Mumbai or it would be salt on their festered wounds too.

And of course as the elections are round the corner every politician will be here to add points to his languishing political status make hay while the sun shines and this is a political necessity this was one of the greatest vote banks ..you have this in your power the chair to scams and corruption is not far away.

Our political satraps have bodies of gold but feet made of clay.. they are more human than we are their needs are more stronger and I think as a poet I should not envy their station in life.

I wont add too much text on my blogs this documentary overflowing with pain of living in cosmic pain...

Smoked Out Garib Nagar After The Fire

Life Comes To An End Garib Nagar After The Fire

This is Garib Nagar After The Fire ..Pain Pathos and Poetry of Life

This is Garib Nagar After The Fire ..Pain Pathos and Poetry of Life

She Wont Be Able To Send A Wedding Invitation of Her Son To Kanwar Singh Tanwar

Her Home Sweet Home Lies Buried Under The Rubble Garib Nagar Bandra East

The Last Remains of Garib Nagar Bandra East Mumbai

173,915 items / 1,357,553 views

I was at my computer last night when I got a call from a dear friend about the fire at Bandra East Garib Nagar a colony on the railway tracks , he said a lot of photographers were at the scene of the fire and asked me to come to,

I politely refused and the reason is personal I don't shoot disasters simply as a human being it would shame me taking shots while people ran helter skelter for their lives , and it is obligatory for a press reporter to cover it as part of his profession , but for me as a photo blogger poet it would be inadmissible to my conscience..

I however went this morning at 6.30 am and shot the pictures and I was crying at the devastation , the pain the agony, I saw the homeless sitting on the graves of their homes , I saw Rubina of Slum Dog Millionaire with her family on a mound of despair...her eyes blank as ever...

I saw a man crying and I wept with him as I felt I had lost my home too and this is the most tragic wrath of the hand of God I ever shot.

Once close to my old house near Bandra Bazar there was the fire at Nargis Dutt Slums Lal Mitti Bandra Reclamation but I was too cowardly to shoot it, I shot the aftermath of the fire at Behrampada slums .. and the rebuilding but without sounding fatalistic the Muslim poor community living at grassroot level is marked for continuous disaster , so many lessons but a very late realization by the families and the authorities allowing them to build matchstick houses one top of the other , blaming the fire engines is not the remedy or the answer but the common man needs to blame someone..

I saw the fire men working and some places the fire still burns and they are working nonstop , the firemen are human and have families too.

But though there was no casualty I am told the loss is huge everything lost forever , dreams all burnt out in the gutters floating as ashes... all the cottage industries , the tailoring readymade garment workshops all wiped in a single stroke of bad luck..

I only hope and pray after seeing these pictures shot by a poet and not as a photographer people will come forward to help this mass of unfortunate humanity...

This is a set at Flickr I shot with weeping eyes..and it killed me every second every bit.. believe me.

I will not add anymore text to my pictures unless where it is needed as explanation...The Muslim Help agencies were feeding the poor and this time everyone should come to their aid as they are Pucca Indians like you and me , lets forget about their caste color or religious background for once and I plead to Balasaheb Thackeray Saab Udhavji Aditya my poet brother and Raj Thackeray Saab their single call can do more to add succor than anyone in the time of their need.

And the State and Central government this is one big huge monstrous disaster in the beloved city of our karmic hope...Mumbai

This Was His House .. He Will Have To Start From Scratch Garib Nagar Bandra East

When Hope Dies At Garib Nagar Bandra East Fire

When Hope Dies At Garib Nagar Bandra East Fire

Marziya Shakir in Bloom

Best of Marziya Shakir

Kaun Hindu Kaun Musalman Ham Sab Ek Hain ...Jab Afat Ke Daboche Main Ham Ate Hain

The Story of Pain Garib Nagar Bandra East

174,314 items / 1,359,057 views

He was at Mumbra a distant suburb for work.

She had gone out of the slums to buy something leaving her two kids behind when the fie struck..she was so much in pain she did not even tell me whether she found her kids or not..

I moved away I read pain this was first time I inquired about pain and it hit me hard..

I decided I would tell a story of pain through pictures and let the world know..the least I could do as a photographer...the camera is only a balm but society has to heal their wounds.

This Was Home ...Garib Nagar After The Fire

Rendered Homeless Garib Nagar Bandra East Mumbai

Life Plays a Cruel Joke On The People of Garib Nagar Bandra East

The Brave Firemen of The Brave City of Mumbai

All That Remains of a Home at Garib Nagar Slums After The Fire

All Lost She Tells Her Mother At The Other End Garib Nagar Fire

The Bhangarwallas Never Had It So Good Garib Nagar Lost Memories

What is a House Without Walls Garib Nagar Bandra East Slums

Once This Was House Where God Lived Garib Nagar Bandra East Slums

Ek Mahal Ho Sapnon Ka ,..Dead Dreams Garib Nagar Bandra East Mumbai

This Was Pain I Saw In The Eyes of The Little Child at Garib Nagar Bandra East Mumbai

What Is He Searching For At Garib Nagar Bandra East Mumbai

Through The Doorway of Doom Garib Nagar Slums Bandra East

This was A Greater Blow On The Soul of Garib Nagar Bandra East

Bhai This Was My House She Said ..Garib Nagar Pain Revisited

Searching For Hope On The Debirs of Despair .. Garib Nagar in a Nutshell

Our Bridges Are More Weaker Than The Soul of Man

Garib Nagar Khuda Hafiz Goodbye

174,219 items / 1,358,900 views

her hopes
her dreams
beneath
the rubble lie
time and again
she asks god why
she gets no reply
she is hurt but she
trusts god her loved
ones did not die
memories all
washed away
in a gutter nearby
no roof over head
no belongings
only the clothes
on her body
the silhouette of
the hijab
her armor
her protection
her standby
her children
see the debris
bad luck bhai
once self
dependent
now beggars
broken wings
that lie
soiled
sullied
as they dry
garib nagar
khuda hafiz
goodbye
trears
on the soul
of a beloved city
mumbai

god forbid
if this happened
in a rich mans tower
there would be
immediate help
immediate response
a greater outcry
such is the scales
of justice lopsided
for the poor the rich guy

It Was The Day For Bhangarwalas at Garib Nagar Slums Bandra Eeast

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