Friday, November 25, 2011

Two Street Photographers Bound To Hussain

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I am copying the words of a very dear friend who means a lot to me , he has stood by me in my time of defeat , and helped me get up..without being unduly crushed by fate..

His words on the day we celebrated Marziyas birthday..


In the isles of time as I sit to write my thoughts my wishes first go out to Baby Marziya who has turned 4 years and sure enough I can sense how much she has added to this world by being a human first, one who kisses others hands as a mark of love, respect, affection and admiration, one who clicks pictures not because she sees her grand father doing it but because she wants to present the world with what she sees through those lenses, am glad that I have contributed in my miniscule way to present her with a camera, one with the changing time may become obsolete but never ever old enough, one which she might always use and say someday ”Ahhh this was my first camera!”



We all get busy with time and world changes, yes the web connects and how but I feel that good deeds will always be appreciated the fact that you have touched so many lives directly and indirectly only goes to prove that the message of god connects thru castes, creed, religions…it’s the celebration of human beings, it’s the celebration of life, it’s the celebration of love and hence that is what connects, web is merely a connection factor so as they say if something is destined to happen it shall!



As much as I am saddened by you all not being able to make it to Hyderabad, I eagerly await the day when you can and I am around to take you, the fact that I wanted your friends also to experience Hyderabad as they present the outsiders view of India, certainly India has thousand of stories all entangled in their own way, all mystical in their own right, all fascinating in their own spirit and all mesmerizing in their own ways, Yes India is a blessed country, the land of sadhus and sajes, of babas and malangs, of fakirs and peers…a land signifying unity in diversity…a land denoting secularism…a land showcasing warmth and affection…



Saw the pics of Danish couple, the guy is a towering inferno but has such a clean heart, his girl friend is indeed beautiful and her eyes tell a tale, surely they have struggled to make ends meet but lets hope this project of them gives them hope to celebrate and rejoice, a wise decision indeed to stay back for filming moharram and with Glenn Losack you have your hands full, three foreigners, huge Moharram julooos, maatam, khama et all, I guess they will be a part of the fervor, the tabarruks, the cries, the chants, the meditation, the spiritual thanksgiving and the tribute to Imam Hussain, I guess they surely do know about Karbala with their investigative eye for knowledge and creativity but seeing it LIVE would be a wonderful experience for them!



You need to change your timings of sleep as sometimes for peace of mind a good amount of direct sleep is required, I am happy with the gesture that your landlord has extended to you and it goes a long way to show that in India humans come first, at the same time it would be tough to break a routine, the beggar poet, the dum madar malang has made over a period of years and then head back again to BS where it all began but guess life is like a full circle so why not and specially when there is a requirement, with changing time we all need to evolve but these years outside BS have made you rediscover yourself, Firoze Shakir the beggar poet began to only get better, Firoze Shakir the dam madar malang was created with the sufiyana thoughts and support and Firoze Shakir the Photographer No 1 could not have been what he is thanks to the people of India, the places of India, the vision of India and the movement of India, all captured from genders to transgenders, from the old and downtrodden to the rich and powerful in his lenses, the spirit of India which is untiring be it the ganesh visarshan or the mount mary feast, the dussehra mela or the moharram juloos, they all are a part of your vision which you present to the world which now has become even more smaller!



I will leave you in peace and thoughts with the wish of meeting you someday soon, that day indeed would be a memorable day for me not that because I have met you in person but because I have fulfilled a dream of meeting a person who lives by the people with the people and FOR THE PEOPLE!



God bless
Zain Hussain

My reply

Thank you I am speechless at your tribute to my humility

What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

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by creating man
by creating woman
resting on the seventh day
not creating the hijra
did god blunder
as a poet i sometimes
think and wonder
so man overriding
his feminine side
his own soul broke
asunder revoking
the law of nature
he created beauty
without fire brimstone
thunder he created
the hijra nubile
voluptuous slender
sensual torrid tender
it was not god but
necessity the mother
of all invention
created the third gender
the hijra neither borrower
nor lender through
my poetry as
a complete women
I defend her
her fragmented angst
my fragmented genius
to god what belongs to god
to the hijra what belongs
to the hijra i render

dedicated to the Queen of the Hijras Laxmi Narayan Tripathi..

I LEARNT TO SHOOT GOOD PICTURES FROM THIS CHILD

Yes I Shoot Beggars Because You Have No Time To Shoot Them..

If She Stood Outside a Film Studio the Only Actor Who Would Give Her Alms is Salman Khan - Welcome to Bollywood

If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also.

Jesus Has Yet Not Decided Whether To Leave Facebook or Join Google+

In my Father's house are many homes. If it weren't so, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you... and circle you too..

Zaira Saif Shakir ..Tryst With The Camera

Zaira Saif Shakir one month old is waiting eagerly to be blessed by her great Uncle Dr Glenn Losack MD Marziya Shakirs photo Guru, , he has a magical touch , he touched Marziya once and she became the worlds youngest street photographer , people come to my house to be shot by her , and once she grows a bit bigger I intend to give her a studio set up..

The other Malang child , or the only Malang child in our family too is waiting for Glenn 4 month old Nerjis Asif Shakir, and I am not kidding the neighbors daughter also a child photographer , requested me taking me aside if my American friend would bless her daughter too..

I think some Americans have a tremendous healing touch and here I add another name Sukhi Hontu from New Mexico a dear family friend ..

My Danish friends Kim Viola who are documenting the hijras were planning to leave Mumbai by the end of this month are now staying back to shoot Moharam ashura ..because they want to show the Shia Muslim way of life they told me , they shot the Eid EGhadeer juloos at Kaisar Bagh.

Zaira Saif Shakir one month old hates the camera completely, attempts to seduce her childs soul to the miniature camera a family heirloom ends in total failure.

On the other hand 4 month old Nerjis Asif Shakir is tired of the miniature camera she wants my Nikon D 80 that she caresses and drools all her spit on it thereby blessing it holistically..the moment she sees it in my hands she lights up like a Xmas tree ..

My daughter Samiya is a photographer too.. she pretends she is better than me and Marziya Shakir ..

And last evening Marziya Shakirs mother too , bitten by the camera bug shot the next lot of Marziyas birthday photos that I will download next to my desktop.

My wife away on a pilgrimage incidentally accidentally is very good with the camera..

My son in law Assad is a animator and can handle the camera competently..

My shop help is a photographer too having shot me for several years ...

Zaira Shakirs father shoots but gets overawed by the camera in his hands ..

Zaira Saif Shakir

This child refuses to learn photography from me .. every attempt to hand over the camera to her she sweeps it away with both hands ..she aims to be a kickboxer wears gloves as she loves to scratch her face..
She is is my younger son Saif Shakirs daughter

School Bus of Death

I shot this picture a very long time back and use it here for representational purpose only..luckily the bus has grills barring the one that might be for emergency exit..

This is in context off the death of a nine year child in a school bus in Mumbai.. I posted this at Google+and am blogging it here at Flickr..


A 9 year old child puts his head out of the grill of the school bus window loses his life in Mumbai..and the Hindustan Time report by Deepti Khare states the callous words of the school principal.. Such a mishap could have happened anywhere.
Having said that we will sack the owner of the bus ..said Rosy Singh principal of Shri Vallashram School Sion East..

I am really shocked such incidents dont happen if school authorities who are responsible for the school children had seen that grills were put on the bus windows , regular checks .. not leaving all this to the bus owner .
I think the person that really needs to be sacked is Rosy Singh the Principal..she is responsible for the child's death not just the bus owner and our system of choking rickshas with overcrowded kids ..as usual our education department will get up from its stupor and offer condolences .. This is Mumbai and the Soul of India under attack by people who govern it without really caring for the safety of its people and children.. it hurts badly..

In Memory of Imam Ali..21Ramzan

This is a Shia mourning event in the memory of the Martyrdom of Imam Ali..cousin of the Holy Prophet and his son in law .. married to his daughter Princess Fatima .. Imam Ali was murdered in a Muslim Mosque by a radical Muslim , beginning of Terrorism on the Soul of Islam..

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