Thursday, March 24, 2011

My Father


My Father, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

177,007 items / 1,388,456 views

my father
is the best
to my inquisitive
street loving
camera lens
he confessed
my father is poor
but my father
among all fathers
is the smartest
not rich
or smartly dressed
but my father
is truly blessed
among all fathers
of my friends
my father
is the wisest
kind humble
nicest
cool as
a cucumber
never stressed
a common man
my father
but contributes
through his simple
humble means
to hope harmony
peace and progress

Getting Over The Holi Blues

177,006 items / 1,388,439 views

his nasha
is not yet over
he is still
on a high
he sits
on the road side
daydreaming
of old days
gone by
friends that
unexpectedly
died
their memories
besides
now on the
wayside
change
is the law
of nature
time and tide
a pain he feels
tries to hide
but eats his
insides
the daily wage
worker
of mumbai
who carries
other peoples loads
his sufferings
on his back
astride
a street picture
the one eyed
camera
captured
feeling words
the poet inscribed

Shooting Hope Hindutva As A Message of Peace And Humanity

177,005 items / 1,387,813 views

nothing greater
than my country
where in a garden
all flowers
bloom grow
freely
the fragrance
of Islam
the sweetness
of Christianity
Hope and Hindutva
a message
of peace and humanity
so many rare flowers
rare orchids in plenty
growing together
letting others
grow beautifully
Mother India
her children
are we
so many
branches
roots
of a shade giving
banyan tree
om mani padme hoon
the light of the bodhi tree
an ocean into
which all rivers flow
in compatibility
trust equality

RA 1 THE BEST 1

Aye Hijda Tujhe Salam

177,005 items / 1,387,460 views



tujhme ishwar
tujhme ram
tujhme shivji
ka pranam
musalman
tujhe kehte
hain haram
aman
tera inam
hijda from orissa
hijda from assam
zindagi besuri
zillat tera nam
roz rat ko
tujhko
karte hain lilam
teri izzat tera dam
shola shabnam
ka ek jam
tere ansu
parde main chippe
tere arzoo nakam
aye hijda tujhe salam
aye hijda tujhe salam

to raksha

The Poet of Zenda

The Poet Reflected In The Soul of a Cracked Mirror

The Bitter And Sweet Side of Bandra

Aye Malik Tere Bandhe Hum

jab Julmon Kaa Ho Saamanaa, Tab Too Hee Humei Thaamanaa
wo Buraee Kare, Hum Bhalaaee Bhare, Naheen Badale Kee Ho Kaamanaa
badh Uthhe Pyaar Kaa Har Kadam Aaur Mite Bair Kaa Ye Bharam

Snake Oil Seller Sex And Lies

177,005 items / 1,387,365 views

he called me out
do you prematurely
ejaculate
through the snout
does it not hold itself
up against adversity
has it lost its clout
i nodded my head
but shut my mouth
he said use
my snake oil
massage it daily
rigorously
it will make it
tough and stout
every rule in
the kama sutra
you can flout
she will keep asking
for more and more
a wrestling bout
in and out
without any doubt
he whispered
in my ear
i recently gave
it to an actor
from pali hill
with a pout
he has been
fucking
the poor
struggling
actress
time locked out
a sexual blast
total recall
complete
knock out
if your partner
cant give birth
try this snake oil
before 9 months
babies will sprout
also gets rid
of body pain
arthritis and gout
even the encounter cop
uses it before a shoot out
than he showed me
pictures with top
bollywood actors
directors
producers
casting couch heads
music directors lyricists
star secretaries that had
posed with him
not knowing what
it was all about
but the crowd
was impressed
testimony far out
each one bought
a dozen bottles
to try out
he gave me two free
for taking his pictures
before all the bottles
were sold out
fade in
fade out


later i read with apprehension those who used his snake oil their cocks dropped out..a hole dugout
luckily i gave my two bottles to the money lender as my payout ...his wife beats him mercilessly when the lights go out

i am fuckin laughing a blogger beggar poet devout

This is Bandra Seen Through My Camera Eye

177,005 items / 1,387,359 views


i wont see it
once i die
hidden faces
weep and cry
lame cripple
deformed
held to the soul
of an eternal sigh
oh god you made humans
i wont deny but the world
of beggars you forgot
busy as you are
up above in the sky
the fall they rise
on the soul
of humanity
a great sacrifice
as time mocks
as it flies
is there really
a paradise
a religious lie
if you are not
happy here
how can you be
happy there
says the speck
in the devils eye
come to hell
five star comfort
fornicate buy free
what you want to buy
satanic overtures
says the poet goodbye

Jabbar Bhai of Bandra Bazar

177,005 items / 1,387,358 views


I shot this day before yesterday Jabbar Bhai was paying the butcher , actually I later realized he had a Niyaz he had invited me but I had forgotten about it completely.

Niyaz is in remembrance and thanks to the Holy Saint in this case of Jabbar Bhai to Khwajah Garib Nawaz of Ajmer.

Jabbar bhai and I hit off very well, he left last evening for Ajmer I told him to visit my Peersaab Fakhru Miya of Hujra No 6.

I shoot street scenes my surroundings record emotions and life on a slow track of Bandra sometimes add text or poetry.

Most of my photoblogs are titles without text..

I have covered Bandra sensitively poetically to the best of my ability..without bias including every religiosity faith that I chose to shoot.

I avoid political issues I dont know why and among all the political leaders of Bandra one man I genuinely like to shoot fir his humanity for his humility for his love for service to society is Advocate Ashish Shelar his wife his mother and his son Omkar.

Ashishbhai is one human being who stands by you all times whether you vote for him or dont vote for him , does not matter human issues are important to him.. he is a leader but also a grassroot cadre of his party.,

Maybe in many instance given the nature of predominantly Muslim surroundings and bias they my not like his party but they hold him as an individual in the highest esteem..


Muslim leaders and it is my personal opinion have no time for people at all.. they only fatten those who serve them with free goodies and the common man moves aimlessly and it is only during election time they rub shoulders with mere mortals like us.. if I was to go to meet any of these top leaders mind you I would have to wait till eternity and than be told Bhai Saheb Toh Ghar Par Nahi Hain.


And placing huge banners at street corners trumpeting whta you have done is nothing but ego as what you are doing is what you ought to have doe much before the issue came into the media eye.

Our leaders not just the Muslims every one love to politicize make sure the stand out bigger than their cut outs too...

Getting Salman Khan to dance to your political tune is not the essence of politics only a form of political prostitution on the dumb soul of society...

Marziya Sees Pictures While I Only Shoot Pictures

177,005 items / 1,387,354 views

A few months back I was bringing Marziya from her old school a long walk via the Bandra Bazar Market a walk that shes sees what I shoot and shoots a few I direct her to shoot , and she is sharp all of three years , and sharpness is not just about shooting crystal crisp pictures , even a blur has a storyline if shot poetically , pictures are poetry period.

Whe I reached Kalidas a 100 year store at the Bazar Marziya began tugging my leg and I looked down she pointed to this same lady and her child on the wheel chair, I shot pictures all on my Flickr set World of Muslim Beggars God Forgot..

So I am not trying to boat about Marziya prowess or her vision , but she has it the essence of poetry that ultimately transforms into a picture..

Whatever I learnt from my Gurus Marziya absorbed it though brand equity is important in choice of GURU ..Marziyas guru is Dr Glenn Losack MD from Manhattan New York.. the child's guru is Made in USA...though the disciple is irrevocably Indian.

Now you might wonder why I dont call myself Marziyas Guru.. I am not Guru material I am a poet , and Marziya is a poet too.. Marziya uses Glenns camera Nikon D 80..She began shooting darkness which is more difficult;t to shoot than light.. she shot with a cloth covering her eyes..

Marziya will not take the Nikon D 80 without placing the strap around her neck, but now she is defiant over confident and shoots simply holding the camera in her frail hands..
But she likes it on the Manfrotto monopod playing to the gallery.

So I saw this beggar lady at JJ Colony where I shot this picture I later shot her in the evening again at Bandra Bazar Road.

Begging is a tough proposition and a tough profession too.. One day in the near future at a place where I am not known I want to cover myself in a shwal sit with a bunch of beggars and see how much I can make in 15 minutes..

I will test my skills as a beggar...and Pratik Koli can hide in a corner and shoot my pictures...

The is my 177005 Blog at Flickr.Com

177,005 items / 1,387,347 views


I dedicate it to the beggars of Bandra I know each one of them, I dont know them by name but I know these territorial creatures , as they stand with hands open and every coin makes a marked difference to their impoverished lives.

Some of the beggars comer to Bandra for change and fresh air, Bandra is like a hill station for beggars from Mumbra Kalwa and beyond.. they come with their kids beg a bit and go back to their far distant suburban homes..shot by a barefeet blogger of Mumbai.

I know of the Albino family that begs at the foothills of Haji Malang that comes to beg at Bandra close to JJ Colony.

JJ Colony is an abbreviated form for Jamat e Jamuriya..that a few years back was clustered slums , now bought down and clustered buildings with shops have come in their place, I pass through this housing colony of predominantly Muslim people cutting through the butcher shops and the famous beggar lane after I pay my Broad Band bill at the MTNL office off Bandra Reclamation .

I know most of the beggars here my favorite is a kid who has lost control of body muscles but is always smiling on the face of his sufferings, actually he is not aware of his surroundings or his sufferings.

Once I come out from JJ Colony to the market area where Muslim women buy foodstuffs , you find the blind beggars and a few ladies in burkha begging with kids on their waist, or the lady with the child on a wheel chair.

All this is away from Bandra Bazar Road ...

The guy I really miss is a young boy with a glorious smile blind who was operated , begged for some time post the operation by some good Samaritans from the mosque but soon disappeared.His pictures are on my Flickr photostream in a set.

Than there is the regular ladies who sit outside the Shia Khoja Mosque in the Bazar, their stregth increases on Friday namaz time with more who come in with their kids...

You already know Maria te leper lady I have not seen her for some time now.. they go to their hometowns too...


Appu the limbless no hands no legs a stout human stump sits at Mahim Chuch I have not connected with him but if I know he is in town I wish to take Marziya along and shoot his pictures.


There is a beggar season and it is beggars here beggars there beggars everywhere that comes during Ramzan time the glorious month of the Muslim calendar, the best time to shoot beggars.

Outside Mumbai which is the most sought after place for beggars is Ajmer Sharif.

Beggars of every size shape every possible human deformity and you find them at the doorsteps of the Holy Saint Khwajah Gharib Nawaz...

Now because I shoot beggars their color pain has rubbed of on me , so when I am barefeet with a camera as my beggar bowl shooting pictures of this community I feel and behave like a beggar too because I poetize their pain the imagery of their life time mockingly calls me a beggar poet of Mumbai.

I dont sell my pictures I could become a rich man I am preposterously predictably quintessentially broke..all times if I shot Hijra nudes , but than it is not my way of creating wealth , I am not into corruption or scams .. I ask God every morning to change my life he does...he gives me another fucked day to live.

The internet changed my life instead I am globally known as Photographerno1 ..street photographer barefeet blogger that's about it...and we all one time or the other want to deactivate our online accounts , some do successfully..like my good friend Kowalski and so many others who left unobtrusively without forwarding addresses , but I have kept some of them alive through my blog posts.

And than there are those you meet online who become family dear friends you cant do without, they are part of your good mornings and good nights at Facebook and Flickr..more at Facebook which is for a lot of people a home within a home.. and than one day you find out that the guy who shoots fabulous pictures is on his death bed minutes away from life on earth hanging by a silken thread...

Anthony Posey March 17 at 9:04pm Report
our friend Jeff Lamb is ill and possibly leaving our earth soon

Anthony Posey March 17 at 9:17pm Report

i think cancer my friend . not 100% sure just been reading his wifes responses on his account, i know it is painful but if we all hold them in our prayers, heart or thoughts at least warmth will be theirs

than the final message from Posey

Jeff has died

Der Randy March 21 at 4:16pm Report
i just got the bad news i thank you for bringing us together

Der Randy March 22 at 5:20am Report
i want to be strong like him, over the past few months he didn't bother me with his problems , we would chat about facebook issues watermarking, music and big heads manipulations..never once did he mention he was passing. i want to be strong like him.

Fred M. Miller Thanks Firoze for leading me to this man !
the same message from Randy too..

So blogging is a winding path taking you through the bylanes of other peoples mind...through their pictures you enter their hearts and souls they pass away and you are left with a memory...


When someone you love becomes a memory, the memory becomes a treasure.

RIP Jeff Lamb thank you Roland W Luthi for leading me to him.

Born To Shoot Marziya Shakir 3 Year Old

176,936 items / 1,387,021 views

without batting an eyelid
without fear or fright
holding the camera tight
profoundly she shoots
pictures shot through
the Nikon D 80 bear fruit
as i watch her in admiration
silently and mute
she was born with the gift
of an inner vision an insight
the camera merely an of shoot
the worlds youngest
street photographer
to humanity she pays tribute
street angst street life
raw emotions she loots
beggars she meets on her route
know her happily this cute child
they salute marziya shakir
her pictorial pursuits
a photographer of repute

The Hijras of Bandra West

The Poets Soul Captures The Hijra Angst

176,930 items / 1,386,947 views

I shot this yesterday at JJ Colony Bazar and I spoke to them later but they were camera shy and ignored me and the humanity of my camera completely.

They were buying chicken...

And I shot hijras again this evening while coming from Lokhandawala Andheri at the Juhu Versova Link Road traffic signal..

Three


Three, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

176,929 items / 1,386,896 views

being gifted
i tried
to read the future
of all three
one had become
a builder
the second
was an actor
the third was
a politician
through
the third eye
of my mind
i could see
all three
building
castles on air
on the soul
of humanity
the actor
was endorsing
pan masala booze
making loads of money
the builder and the politician
joined hands building
holiday homes
on man made
hill stations
in the lap
of luxury
burning slums
smoke and fire
new homes
dont come free
no they said
we are human
we dont give charity
the actor would dance at
rich fat weddings
but for slumdwellers
homeless he had
no time he agreed
an eye sore
they must
be removed
on rail tracks
the shat and peed
a curse
a wanting seed
they only knew
to fornicate
over breed '
i opened my eyes
my fucked
imagination
from a worse
fate i hurriedly freed
to their future
i wished godspeed
in the slums
as they studied
to my workspace
i scurried
necessity
is the mother
of invention
politics is what
makes
the human soul bleed
call it democracy
where hopes
of a common man
in an empty grave
are buried

Within The Mind Of A Cosmic Poet

176,928 items / 1,386,860 views

lies wasteland
of words
rusty corroded
overused
depleted and bare
empty socket-less
beyond the horizon
they stare denuded
dehydrated despair
deleted they rise
from the ashes
reborn mixing
with water and air
poetically
painfully
on the soul of
sorrow ensnared
computerized
software
fortitude
fathomless
fecundity
foto flair
thoughtlessly
threadbare

The Wheel Chair Of Despair Despondency And Death

176,927 items / 1,386,843 views

he waits
with bated breath
to move to the other
shore where he wont
have to beg demean himself
his self respect his honor
on the streets outdoor
he had seen good days
great times once before
but quirk of fate
he lost it all in one go
a loaded twice
took away all that was his
he wont gamble he swore
his pain his sufferings
like a cross on his frail
shoulders he bore
oh take me away fast
to the almighty he implores
his voice for the time being
the good lord master
of the ring ignores
his body rusted
his soul corroded ore
hell fire brimstone and gore

Pussy Cat Pussy Cat Where Have You Been

176,926 items / 1,386,822 views

i attended mardi gras
with your best friend
Antony Posey
in New Orleans
an immaculate soul
who keeps his
house heart clean
his friends
he has no foes
he will never demean
a chambray shirt
blue faded jeans
a camera in hand
shooting pictorial
soul stirring scenes
athletic tall and lean
he looks the same
what he looked
when he was a
strapping teen
crystal clear
evergreen
desposyni
no smokescreen
sound of health
good hygiene
said pussy cat
from mumbai
he treated me
like a royal queen
southern comfort
exotic food
creole cuisine
culinary traditions
poetic thoughts
umpteen
jocularly
almost bursting
my spleen

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