Sunday, November 13, 2011

Through The Camera I Narrate Another Mans Story of Pain

177,853 items / 1,392,944 views


Long Live
Rise the People of Bahrain
A flag that weeps
with a blood stain
Akka Maula Hussain
Save Them Now
from this hell and pain
Liberty Equality Justice
they must regain
tortured beaten
battered murdered
a genocide
by Saudi Thugs
Wahhabi Watchdogs
heartless empty brains
the Media the Muslim
world a eunuch
silence insane
people of Baharain
manacled in Saudi chains
Yazid returns
from his grave
today tomorrow
yet again
Akka Maula Hussain
Save Them Now
from this hell and pain
Ya Hussain
Ya Hussain
Ya Hussain

Tears On The Grave of My Facebook Account

The Death of the Bandra Gaothan..



Behind the bars of fate and captivity lies Mr Misquitta and his brother two East Indian men I shoot for their battling of life against all odds and their continuous plight sickness and sad lot..
I have hardly ever seen a priest come and gve them succor , but they believe in Jesus and their firm faith in the Lord is their positivity to all challenges ..

And I dedicate this blog to a fellow Bandraite Floyd Almeida
He sent me mail that I share with all of you..




Hi Firoze,

I was just browsing through Google to locate some images of the East
Indian Community in Bandra and Google threw up an image of a woman in
Bazar Road.

Through curiosity I began browsing the other images too and was
intrigued to see the common and uncommon faces of Bandra's bylanes
captured in images, especially the daunting pic of the Leper lady.

I love you pictures and the poetry that goes with it. It tells a story
and has a moral too. Its captivating and speaks directly to one's
soul.

I love photography too and stay in Bandra as well but never realised
how much these familiar faces we see everyday, mean so much to Bandra
and they have a story to tell too. I have also taken plenty of pics
around Bandra too, but mainly of the old homes, guess have forgotten
how much of a role even the people on the streets of Bandra play in
making it just home, just Bandra.


Thank you very much Firoze the images and poetry was a real eye opener.

We Indians are a Hard Working Race



resilience
to fight back
after every calamity
resurgence of spirit
within on the surface
etched on the soul
of the Indian mans face
hardships sufferings
in face of duty
he will embrace
he is the poor
common man
living honestly
sincerely courageously
with dignity and grace

Kim Viola And The Barefeet Blogger of Bandra



I got a message on my Flickr mail and it was from Kim a documentarist from Denmark who wanted some information on the hijras that he was documenting and his message to me was words from a kind man..his message to me

Hi Firoze;

First of all: I am a great admirer of your work, your life, your photos and your gift for giving life to stories and letting peoples voices be heard.

I am a documentarist from Denmark, traveling around in India now for 3 months, hoping to tell the story of hijras from their point of view.

Since you seem to be so wellconnected, I would be most humble and appreciative if you could give me contact details on hijeras in the Mumbai area. I have already written with Laxmi, but now she is in Big Boss reality show and out of reach - so ANY help from you would be a gift sent from above and beyond.

Kind regards and thanks in advance,
Kim Hansen

I sent him a reply and told him I would try to help him but I too am dependent on Laxmi Narayan Tripathi my hijra Guru at home in Big Boss Reality show.

I would be honored to come by and greet you in person; I've always been intrigued by your work and your life as a poet. But only if I am not disturbing, of course.

Kind regards,
Kim

So Kim dropped by at my workplace with his friend Viola a photographer too and an ardent admire of Indian life culture and the hijras..

I bought theM home and my son Saif Shakir shot this picture with his daughter Princess Fatima Zaira in my hands , we had a great chat about the hijras life in general I showed them my Flickr hijra set including pictures of Hijras not for public viewing..

Wife made them tea papad .. and than finally I dropped them in the rickshah..

I spoke to them about Marc De Clercq they were intrigued by his initiation as a Malang like me , I told them about my Guru Dr Glenn Losack MD And they missed having their picture taken by hot shot in house photographer Marziya Shakir my soon to be 4 year old grand daughter out on holidays with her parents and sister Nerjis Asif Shakir

Bahrain foils terror cell

210,555 items / 1,742,704 views

the greatest
terrorists
are rulers
their cronies
sunni dictators
paid news sells
soon innocent people
will have terrorist cops
knocking their doorbells
fighting for human
rights in bahrain
leaves a deathly smell
a government
not of the people
not for the people
not by the people
god should expel
bahrain the
other side of hell

People Of Bahrain We Are With You..

when America
enters the arena of war
with the saudis or the jews
than it is evil all the way
through and through
destroy destroy
iraq afghanistan palestine
libya bahrain
a thought to rue
history says this
absolute power
a heady brew
control of
the midde east
control
of the petrol
is what they
need as
an excuse
nothing new
the human soul
trampled
tortured
butchered
by a few
mr obama
superman
is like
anyone too
he swallows
he chews
in one gulp
when he
comes
to rescue
the flesh
the body
the soul
membrane
tissue
eunuch
silence
on the soul
of humanity
all are busy
with the work
they do


muslims love killing muslims
is it untrue...the only issue
a poem by a shia hindu

Princess Fatima Zaira Turns One Month Old

210,539 items / 1,742,554 views

photography
camera
she put
on hold
the new
baby blogger
in the shakir fold
waiting for marziya
nerjis asif shakir
calm controlled
sleeps cries
till she gets a
foothold

Eid al-Ghadeer Jis ka Me Maula, us ka Ali Maula. Man Kunto Maula

Shaah-e-mardaan
sher-e-yazdaan
quvvat-e-parvardigaar
laa fataa illaa ali
laa saif illaa zulfiqaar
Ali imaam-e-manasto manam ghulaam-e-ali
hazaar jaan-e-giraamii fidaa-e-naam-e-ali
Man kunto maulaa
fa haaza aliun maulaa
Daaraa dil daaraa dil daar-e-daanii
tum tum taa naa naa naanaa, naanaa naanaa re
yaalaalii yaalaalii yaalaa, yaalaa yaalaa
Ali shaah-e-mardaan imaamun kabiiraa
ke baadasht nabii shud bashirush naziiraa

Haider-E-Um Qalandaram Mastam
Banda-E-Murtaza Ali Hastam
Peshwa-E-Tamaam Rindanam
K Sag-E-Koh-E-Shair-E-Yazdanam
Ali Maula, Maula Ali Maula
Maula Ali Maula, Maula Ali Maula

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Eid al-Ghadeer is a festive day observed by Shia Muslims on the 18th of Dhu al-Hijjah in the Islamic calendar to commemorate the appointment of Ali ibn Abi Talib by the Islamic prophet Muhammad as his immediate successor. It marks the anniversary of Muhammad's sermon, described in Hadith of the pond of Khumm, in which he stated, Whomsoever's master (mawla) I am, Ali is also his master. O' God, love those who love him, and be hostile to those who are hostile to him. [1][2][3]

Ismaili/Mustaali/Taiyabi/ Fatimid/Dawoodi Bohra also celebrate the day, and there is tradition of taking mass oath on the day to reassert commitment to Islam, in the same manner as their individual adult take oath on reaching adulthood. This they believe to be continued from the period of their Fatimid Imam.

Sunni Muslims do not deny that a last sermon took place, but do not celebrate the day specifically.

A few months before his death, Muhammad – living in the city of Medina – made his last religious pilgrimage to Mecca in a trip referred to as The Farewell Pilgrimage. There, atop Mount Arafat, he addressed the Muslim masses in what came to be known as The Farewell Sermon. After completion of the Hajj, or religious pilgrimage, Muhammad turned back towards his home in Medina.

On the trip there, he stopped at the pond of Khumm (at present Al-Johfa) and praised Ali. The exact meaning of the praise is a matter of much dispute; not only do Sunni and Shi'a Muslims disagree as to, which statements about the pond are authentic, but they also disagree on the interpretation.
The Investiture of Ali at Ghadir Khumm (MS Arab 161, fol. 162r, AD 1309/8 Ilkhanid manuscript illustration)

.

Shi'a Muslims believe that after the pilgrimage Holy Prophet Muhammad ordered the gathering of Muslims at the pond of Khumm and it was there that te Holy Prophet Muhammad nominated Imam Ali to be his successor.They further believe the wordings of sermon as follows;

"Oh people! Reflect on the Quran and comprehend its verses. Look into its clear verses and do not follow its ambiguous parts, for by Allah, none shall be able to explain to you its warnings and its mysteries, nor shall anyone clarify its interpretation, other than the one that I have grasped his hand, brought up beside myself, [and lifted his arm,] the one about whom I inform you that whomever I am his master (maula), this Ali is his master (maula); and he is Ali Ibn Abi Talib, my brother, the executor of my will (Wasiyyi), whose appointment as your guardian and leader has been sent down to me from Allah, the mighty and the majestic."[4]

Ghadir Al-Khumm (Arabic غدیر الخم "Pond of Khumm", Persianized Ghadir(-e) Khum, or Khom) is a location in the Wadi Rabigh mentioned in the Hadith of the pond of Khumm.

It was a pond or marsh formed by a spring in the wadi, located to the east of the road from Medina to Mecca, three (according to other sources two) Arab miles (roughly 4 to 6 km) from Al-Johfa (modern Rabigh), roughly 180 km from both Mecca and Medina, at ca. 22°49′30″N 39°4′30″E. The Arab geographers mention the thick trees that surround it and the Mosque of the Prophet lying between it and the spring.

It was situated on the Incense Route between Syria and Yemen where travelers could replenish their resources of water in the most arid part of Arabia between Mecca and Medina.

It is historically famous for an event, in which Muhammad said, what is known as the Hadith of the pond of Khumm, equally accepted by both Sunni and Shia Muslims, though the exact content and meaning of the statement is disputed. Muhammad is reported to have pronounced Ali ibn Abi Talib the mawla (patron, master) of those for whom Muhammad was patron.[1] Shia Muslims celebrate this announcement each year as Eid al-Ghadeer.

Tabarani and others have recorded the following tradition as related by Zayd ibn 'Arqam and transmitted through sources unanimously acknowledged to be reliable. Zayd says that the Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessings and peace be upon him and his posterity, delivered a sermon at Ghadir-e-Khumm under a cloth spread as a canopy on two large trees. He said:

Hadith

"O my people! I am going to be recalled shortly and I must comply. I shall be interrogated and you also shall be interrogated. What will you say then?" The entire audience answered: "We shall bear witness that you did convey to us the message of Allah, and tried your best to guide us on the right path and always gave us good console. May Allah bless you with a good reward." The Prophet proceeded: "Why do you not bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger, and that Paradise is true, Hell is true, Death is true, Resurrection after death is true, that the Day of Judgment will doubtlessly come and that Allah will raise to life the dead from their graves?." They said: "O Yes! We bear witness to all this." Then he said: "O Allah! You also may witness." Then he said: 'O my people! Allah is my Mawla and I am mawla of the faithful and I have superior right on and control over their lives. And this Ali is the mawla of all those of whom I am mawla. O Allah! Love him who loves him and hate him who hates him." He further said: "O my people! I will precede you and you also shall arrive at the pool of Kawthar, the pool wider than the distance between Basrah and San'a', and there are on the pool as many goblets of silver as stars. When you shall reach me I shall interrogate you about your behavior towards the two in-valuable assets after my death. The major asset is the Book of Allah, the Mighty and Glorious, one end of which is in the hand of Allah, the Exalted, and the other end of which in your hands. Grasp it tightly and do not go astray and do not change or amend it. The other asset is my Progeny, who are my Ahl al-Bayt. Allah the Gracious and Omniscient has informed me that the two will not part from each other before they reach me at the pool.
03. WHEN & IN FRONT OF HOW MANY MUSLIMS?

This Ghadir-e-Khumm event happened on the 18th of Dhil-Hijjah (1410 AH), in 10 Hijra in front of nearly one hundred thousand (100,000) Muslims. While returning from the last hajj (Hajjatul-wida / farewell pilgrimage) of our Holy Prophet (S.A.W.).


Suraj yeh kah kay deen ka ubhra ghadeer main

Takmeel aaj paeey ga kalma ghadeer main

Quran ki ayatoon ka safar inteha pay tha

Thee ibtida pay nehj-e-balagha ghadeer main


"Man Kunto Maula", a part of a famous statement of the Seal of Prophet, upon him be holy benedictions, which is, "Man kunto maula, fa Ali-un Maula" - meaning 'Whoever accepts me as master, Ali is his master too'. This was made on returning back from the Last Pilgrimage of the Prophet (year 632, just months before his passing), he stopped at a place called Ghadir Khum and delivered a sermon.

The Shia Samurai of Mumbai

from the pleading back
a cry
ya hussain
a tear
a sigh
for you we live
for you we die
oops fuck taqqaiya
this generation
hussainiyat
wont deny
allah ho akbar
dot net loss
this is our final reply
cybernetic hate
sectarian strife
that you preach
i dont know why
may your souls burn
in hell
where it will fry
funded by wahhabi petro dollars
that only they can buy

Facebook Connect She Left Me For Another Man

And like a wandering nomad I came to Google+ away from her pokes her farmville games her facebook notes her jokes ....love gone up in flames in smoke..in a single stroke..a yellow ribbon flies on a wild wizened oak..

United Colors of Peace and Humanity ..Holi In Mumbai

the hijras
will get intoxicated
drink a lot of bhang
clapping their hands
dance make merry
get high strung
holi a festival of color
that keeps you young
memories of peace
hope and humanity
high and flung
rang hi rang
no more alibagh
no more bullock
cart races
now forgotten
a song
once sung
blogging
the soul of poetry
standing
on a cow dung
a battered
bruised camera
on my shoulders slung
the mind takes care of itself
if you take care of your tongue
best wishes from Freud Adler
Carl Jung collective
unconscious analytical psychology
colors holi mind unstrung

happy holi to all...

Fucked Asunder

176,149 items / 1,379,374 views

Meri to gand mein gardish - e dauraan ka lauda hai
Sitaro tum to so jao tumhari kis ne mari hai..?

This couplet was sent to me by a dear friend in bad times.. his times are as bad as my own...

bad times are bad
you need not wonder
like a huge monstrous dick
my multi colored ass plunder
lightning and thunder
from asshole to eternity
fucked asunder
by the banks
by the money lender
a bounced cheque
returned back to sender
a posterior brutalized
by bad times
now gone sore and tender
without massacring
the last remaining
vestiges of my gender
neither a buyer
nor a vendor
lost illusions
lost hopes
lost splendor

Father Forgive Me I Have Sinned

171,432 items / 1,335,759 views

my hopes
on her drying
hopes
i pinned
i accidentally
fell in love
with a transvestite
from across
the border
nubile
voluptuous
thick skinned
chubby
double chinned
pendulous posterior
tits conjoined twins
like two pectoral fins
bedding her was
a nightmare
one and only
deadly sin
neither man
nor woman
only a whore
from within
from where
do i begin
sometimes out
sometimes in
her moans
like silent sounds
of corrugated tin
a facebook encounter
to my fucked chagrin
faded memories
the ignore button
that swept
me into her
recycling bin
hooron ki hoor
jannat ki pari
a blast minus
the safety pin

the transvestites tale never ends whether you lose you actually never win
a smirk minus a grin .....my head leg before wicket by her rolling pin

The Muslim Beggar is Unwashed Tears on the Soul of Islam

210,537 items / 1,742,202 views

The Muslim world is
callously heartless
uninterested of
the poor in society is
my humble opinion and guess
they hate beggars a problem
both Muslim society and our
scam tainted political ethos
has no time to address
a few coins in their hands
they press no thought
of rehabilitation god bless
so I shoot Muslim beggars
faces covered in a
winding sheet dust
black dress the hijab
the burkha life in a mess
because they are not
the right subject
for celebrity photographers
our manipulative members
of camera wielding press
muslim beggars that time
unkindly fate destiny
over the centuries
has oppressed
the rich vane muslim
slaughtering goats
of Rs 500000
is the story of his rise
his spiritual arrogance
worldly success
mother sucker
wont spend a penny
for those in distress
fatwas to remove
everything but no fatwa to
remove suffering pain
hardship of the common
muslim man need i stress
muslim beggars on the soul
of Islam unhealing incurable
cancerous abscess

The East Indians of Bandra

210,539 items / 1,741,411 views

These are two brothers called Misquitta brothers , they live in this one room in a cozy back lane of Bandra Bazar Road called Gaothan.. an old title for a fishing village commune.

The East Indians were the original inhabitants of Mumbai..a fact everybody forgets and the East Indians were simple law abiding souls , peaceful Christians following the Roman Catholic faith..

They lost their properties bungalows to wily builder lobby and it is unfortunate the Church in Mumbai did not really come to protect them caught in a Catch 22 situation biblical in nature Render to Ceasar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God..

I stayed with a East Indian family at Veronica Road off Waroda Road for some time so I am grateful to ther kindness hospitality..the house belonged to Agnes Pereira and after I moved out Preity Zinda moved in, Agnes tells me that her house changed our lives ..It changed hers completely my life is yet waiting to change positively for the better.

The earliest east Indian reminder is the Grotto at Bandra Bazar Road with a 16 century plaque that was excavated from a dug out road in that area..

All the crosses of Bandra are heritage of the earliest East Indians ..during the demolition of the crosses I shot the protest and showcased the community's pain online ..
East Indian masala and cuisines is ordinal exotic and unique.

About the East Indians from Wikipedia

Pre-Portuguese era


East Indians or East Indian Catholics are a Marathi-speaking, Roman Catholic ethnic group, based in and around the city of Mumbai (formerly Bombay) in the state of Maharashtra.[2] These people are of the original Marathi ethnic group and had been evangelized by the Portuguese, while retaining much of their pre-Christian traditions.


Though it is commonly thought that the origin of Christianity in North Konkan, was due to the proselytizing activities of the Portuguese in the 16th Century, it was St. Bartholomew, one of the twelve Apostles of Christ, who preached in North Konkan. There are evidences of this by the writings of Kosmos Indicopleustes of his having seen in Kalyana a flourishing Christian Community in the 6th Century and of Jordanus, of his having labored among the Christians in Thana and Sopara in the 13th Century. The French Dominican friar Jordanus Catalani of Severac (in south-western France) started evangelizing activities in Thana and Sapora was the first work of Rome in North Konkan. Sopara was an ancient port and an international trading center. The water once extended all the way to Bhayander creek thus making the whole area extending from Arnala to Bhayander an island - referred to as Salsette island. In the time of the Buddha, Sopara (ancient Shurparaka), was an important port and a gateway settlement. Perhaps this induced Ashoka to install his edicts there. Sopara is referred in the Old Testament as Ophir, the place from which King Solomon brought gold, Josephus identifies Ophir with Aurea Chersonesus, belonging to India. Septuagint translates Ophir as Sophia, which is Coptic for India. This refers to the ancient city of Soupara or Ouppara on the western coast of India.[3]

It should then come as no surprise that contact with India dates as far back as the days of King Solomon. Pantaneus visited India about AD 180 and there he found a Gospel of Matthew written in Hebrew language, left with the Christians there by St. Barthlomew. This is mentioned by Eusebius, and by Jerome in one of his letters. The finding of a Gospel of Matthew left with the Christians by Bartholomew is very strong evidence to the existence of a Christian community in India in the first century at the time of the visit of St. Bartholomew. It traces the history of the Church in India to the first century. In fact, it is an independent confirmation of the Indian church’s ancient and apostolic origin. Most history of The Indian Church was lost between the 9th and the 14th Century, as Persia went over to the Nestorianism in 800 AD. Since the provision of Church offices and all the apparatus of public worship, was looked to a foreign source; when this foreign aid was withdrawn. the Indian Christians were reduced to "nominal" Christians.[2]

Portuguese era
Main article: History of Bombay under Portuguese rule (1534–1661)

The whole policy of the Portuguese, who came to India in 1498, was to bring the Indian Christians under their concept of Roman Catholicism.[1]

The Brahmins and other high-class Hindus who were prudently and ceremoniously converted by the Portuguese, were treated with honor and distinction.[1] In stark contrast, was the attitude of the Portuguese to those groups who were engaged in cultivation, fishing and other rural occupations handed down to them by their ancestors. These groups were given neither education, not proper instructions in the dogmas and doctrines of the church.[1] Among the converts the Portuguese made, it cannot be denied that a large number of them were descendants of the Christian Community founded by Apostle St. Bartholomew. But these new converts were not strangers to the old Christians.[1] They were their own people with whom they had been living for centuries. The Portuguese however welded them into one community.[1] Ever since then, this community has remained a separate entity, without becoming one with any of the other Christian communities. In certain instances, they were even referred to as "Portuguese Christians".[1]

The Fransiscans spearheaded evangelization efforts in the "Province of the North".[4] Between 1534–1552, Fr. Antonio do Porto made over 10,000 converts, built 12 churches and founded a number of orphanages and monasteries. Prominent among these converts were two monks from the Kanheri Caves who came to be called Paolo Rapozo and Fransisco de Santa Maria. They in turn spread Christianity among their fellow monks converting many of them in the process.[4] Another famous convert during this time was the Brahmin astrologer Parashuram Joshi. He was a learned, austere and devout person and embraced Christianity on September 8, 1565, taking the name of Henry da Cunha. Joshi's example was followed by 250 Hindus, including over fifty Brahmins.[4] In Salsette, Fr. Manuel Gomes converted over 6,000 Hindus in Bandra, earning the title of the Apostle of Salsette.[4]

The number of converts in 1573 was 1,600. From 1548, the Jesuits in Bassein and Bandra converted many of the upper classes. For instance, the Bassein Cathedral registered the number of baptisms as being 9,400. At Thana, the Jesuit superior Gonsala Rodrigues baptised between 5,000 to 6,000, many of them orphans and young children of lower caste Hindus sold by their parents.[4] By the end of the 16th century, the Roman Catholic population of the Portuguese province of the North consisted of around 10,000 to 15,000 people, centered mainly in and around Bassein.[5]

However, following the defeat of the Portuguese at the hands of the Marathas and the advent of Maratha rule, the Catholics were discriminated against by the state administration.[6] In the aftermath of the fall of Bassein, many Catholics were heavily taxed by the Marathas who used the money to feed Brahmins and to conduct a massive re-conversion campaign aimed at bringing them back into the Hindu fold. Large numbers were re-converted in this manner.[6] Most Portuguese priests were forced to leave and by treaty, only five churches (three in Bassein City, one in Bassein District and one in Salsette) were permitted to remain.[6] The remainder of the Christian population was left to the native clergy under a Vicar General at Kurla. When in 1757, the Antequil du Perron visited Salsette, he found a flourishing Catholic population with many churches rebuilt and an open practise of Christianity, but with European priests totally absent.[6]

Later on the advent of the British, there came a lot of change.[1] In the 1960s, the Archdiocese of Bombay estimated that there were 92,000 East Indians in Bombay out of which 76,000 were in suburban Bombay and 16,000 in urban Bombay.[1]
[edit] British and modern era
Main articles: History of Bombay under British rule and Bombay Presidency

On 11 May 1661, the marriage treaty of Charles II of England and Catherine of Braganza, daughter of King John IV of Portugal, placed Bombay in the possession of the British Empire, as part of Catherine's dowry to Charles.[7] From the early days of the East India Company, there were no other Indian Christians in the North Konkan except the East Indian Catholics. Employments that were intended for the Christians, were the monopoly of the East Indians. With development, came in railways and steamship, a boon for the traveling public. And with that came a number of emigrants from Goa who were also known as Portuguese Christians. The British found it expedient to adopt a designation which would distinguish the Christians of North Konkan who were British subjects and the Goan and Mangalorean Catholics who were Portuguese subjects. Accordingly on the occasion of The Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria, the Christians of North Konkan, who were known as "Portuguese Christians" discarded that name and adopted the designation "East Indian”. By the adoption of the name "East Indian" they wanted to impress upon the British Government of Bombay that they were the earliest Roman Catholic Subjects of the British Crown in this part of India, in as much as Bombay, by its cession in 1661, was the first foothold the British acquired in India. As the children of the soil, they urged on the Government, that they were entitled to certain natural rights and privileges as against the emigrants.[2]
[edit] Culture
[edit] Architecture and Cuisine

The ordinary Koli house comprises a verandah (oli) used for repairing nets or the reception of visitors, a sitting-room (angan) used by the women for their household work, a kitchen, a central apartment, a bed-room, a gods' room (devaghar), and a detached bath-room.[8]

The East Indian cuisine is a unique blend of Koli, Maharashtrian, and Portuguese cuisine.
[edit] Language and Literature

East Indian Catholics speak a particular dialect of Marathi, which they retained as their mother tongue despite the Portuguese influence. The Marathi language is central to the community's identity. Murphy author of Trans. Bomb. Geog. Soc., 1836–38, Vol. I. mentions the dialect of Marathi spoken by the East Indians of Salsette, Mahim, Matunga and Mazagon, which enters very largely into the language spoken by the Kulbis, Kolis, Bhandaris, Palshes, Prabhus, Panchkalshis, Kuparis, Vadvals. This was probably Konkani.[9] Some of the East-Indian upper class families and in the Khatri ward of Thane speak Portuguese.[10] 110 Portuguese lexical items are found in Marathi.[11]
[edit] Traditions and Festivals

Although, they have preserved their pre-Christian Marathi culture and traditions, many Portuguese and influences have been absorbed. They still retain many of the practises of pre-Christian tradition.[12] East Indian ladies wear ornaments like the Mangalsutra, and Bindi.
[edit] Costumes and Ornaments

The traditional dress for the female is the lugra or kashta saree and for male is a khaki short pant and white banian. A Koli Christian bridegroom usually wears a dilapidated Portuguese Admiral's uniform, which is specially preserved and lent out on such occasions.[8]

In the olden days, East Indian women wore a blouse and cotton lugra the hind pleats tucked into the waist at the back centre of the legs, while the girls do not make use of the upper portion of the sari covering the head and breast until they are married. This mode of wearing the sari is known as sakacch nesane as opposed to gol nesane the round or cylindrical mode of wear. The latter is popular among young girls and women.[13]

Formerly, women among the well-to-do used to wear for the head, like rnuda, rakhadi, kegada, phul, gulabache phul and chandrakora, for the neck, such as thushi, galasari, Putalyachi mal; and tika[disambiguation needed ]; for the ears the bugadi, karaba; kudi, kapa and ghuma; for the nose, nath, phuli, moti.[14] Mangalsutras (wedding necklace), made of the black beads being stringed together in different patterns.[14]
[edit] Historical Society

There are five broad cultural groups of East Indians —- Kulbis, Samvedi Christians (commonly called Kuparis), Koli Christians, Wadvals, Salsette Christians and the urbanized section.[2]
[edit] Songs and Music
“ Galen sakhali sonyachi,

Yee pori konachi,
Whose daughter is this?

Galen sakhali sonyachi,

Yee pori konachi,
Whose daughter is this?

Yachi aais bhi teacher, Ani bapus bhi teacher,
Her mother is teacher, and father too is a teacher,

Yee pori konachi
Whose daughter is this?

Yachi aais bhi teacher, Ani bapus bhi teacher,
Her mother is teacher, and father too is a teacher,

Yee pori konachi
Whose daughter is this?




—Folk-song "Galen Sakhali Sonyachi"[15]
[edit] Prominent East Indians

Gonsalo Garcia: Roman Catholic saint from India
Joseph Baptista: Indian freedom activist
Michael Ferreira: amateur player of English billiards
Gavin Ferreira: Olympic hockey player
Luke Mendes - film maker[16]

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