Sunday, September 2, 2012

Mr Rawle And The Barefeet Blogger of Bandra

Under The Tree Of Life And Wisdom

The Cycle of Life .. Jai Ganesha

To Linda Schaefer ...I Shoot Life In Its Dying Throes



when
the engine starts
dark black smoke
blow it will be
a clarion call
time to go
incomplete
circle of cosmic
pain although
symmetrical
silence soulless
echoes
a picture
my mind saw
my poetry froze
what you
seek in heaven
lies under your nose
ashes to ashes
dust to dust
memorable moments
a chapter closed

His Highness Sri Sambhaji Chattrapati Maharaj at Raigad

This was shot in 2002, at Raigad on TMax 400.. on a trip with the Pinnacle Rappeling Club..scanned at 6400 dpi on my Epson Perfection V500 scanner.

These are part of set called Scanned memories at my Flickr photostream..

I shot pictures keeping away from the rappelling sports.
Third from right , in the sleeveless sports jacket is His Highness Sri Sambhaji Chattrapati Maharaj .

Extreme right is Girish Jadhav weapons collector of Mumbai.

Girish Jadav displays his expansive collection of ancient weaponry from the Maratha period to Rishi Majumder as mentioned in Mumbai Mirror.
Posted On Sunday, July 27, 2008

www.mumbaimirror.com/net/mmpaper.aspx?page=article&se...

Girish Jadhav, a 58-year-old senior manager with a multinational company, strikes a pose from the Hanmanti school of sword fighting (an ancient school followed by the Maratha army), holding an 11th century punch dagger. He jumps and twirls, forming a perfect semi-arc to demonstrate an ideal thrust, which the weapon was designed for.

He does this deftly, in little space, because the small room he lives in at Pune is crowded with three beds besides his own, occupied by three other lodgers he shares it with. He keeps a handful of weapons here in the corner of a shared cupboard.

His one room-kitchen residence in Kurla, Mumbai, where his wife and children stay, contains 700-odd antique weapons, from the 11th century onwards, belonging to the period in between the rise and the fall of the Maratha empire.

The collection comprises different kinds of punch daggers, swords, sword handles, shields, spears, war axes, arrows, tiger claws, head gear, battle armour, kukris and some pistols. His weapons collection has seen 180 exhibitions throughout the country and won him many awards and medals from historians and government bodies. On his desk in Pune lie some sample weapons he has shortlisted to be sent to London, for a possible exhibition. Next to these lie notes for a book he's working on, to be titled The History Of Weaponry.

And next to those lie information to be sent to Nitin Desai (the man behind many a Bollywood historical) for a serial he's producing on Shivaji, along with Jadav's many weapons, which will serve as models for duplicate weapons to be made for the serial.

Jadhav's first antique weapon, "obviously, the Maratha punch dagger", was bought at age 30 in Pune's Old Bazaar. "I knew exactly where to find it, because I had scoured the market for it, for many years," he remembers. "I had dreamt of buying it since childhood, but had to wait till I had earned enough money." Eventually 40 weapons followed.

"This was when friends and colleagues started talking about what I had, at business meetings even," he says. "And I became a 'collector'." A friend got some school children to see his collection. "One of them told his history teacher, who asked me for an exhibition in his school," he relates. "And the idea of holding exhibitions for the public hit me."

His marketing job enabled him to travel to towns like Surat, Balsar, Bilaspur, Jodhpur, Udaipur and Bijapur which were valuable sources for weapons from the Maratha period. "My last marketing call would be at 5pm, after which I would ask people around me where to find antiques in the city," he says.

"I was particularly interested in places where wars were fought during this period." While it took him many an excursion to a Surat Warehouse to procure a Pre-British muzzle loading gun-powder pistol, a 400-year-old Turkish Yataghan sword whose jade hilt was embedded with diamonds, rubies and gold (worth many lakhs of rupees) was gifted to him by Madhukar More.

One such well wisher was famed Maratha historian Babasaheb Purandhare, who contributed to his cause with his own knowledge on the era.

"Discussions with him opened a new world to me," Jadhav recounts. "I saw the link between weapons, history, places and the character of people and politics in today's India." His final step in this direction was learning to swordfight as the Marathas did then.
"I went to Kolhapur to ask people, 'Who knows Hanmanti?'" he says. "When some youngsters who knew the art started demonstrating, I filmed it to learn the moves." Endless attempts in this direction led to finding Katkade Guruji, who taught him the art properly.

Jadhav was not privileged enough to pursue the low-paying career of a professional historian. Yet his historical and cultural roots clutched at him too much to let him remain a 9 to 5 executive. "I didn't buy a colour TV, long after everyone else in my salary bracket had, because I needed to purchase tiger claws," he says as he begins to tear up.

"I saw my children having to sneak into other's living room windows to catch their favourite serial. Yet they never once asked me to forsake my passion." Ironically the same roots that prompt such passion, prompted a mob in Mazagaon to scream "Jaanta Raja" while burning a hut housing Muslim women and children.

"No person who loves a subject can misuse it," says Jadhav uncompromisingly. "An understanding of history will show you how people are connected, not how to divide them by caste, class, religion… or even region."

courtesy Mumbai Mirror..

Being a Photographer or a Poet Later In Life Has Not Been The Happiest of Experience That I Can Write Home About

racism
exists
in photography
in poetry
i can vouch
without doubt
rights of admission
reserved for muslims
dogs not allowed
i have seen hate
alone in crowd
so i moved out
became a blogger
a street photographer
when kicked like
a dog i bite
dont shut
my mouth
i search
for peace
quietude
where
hate does
not sprout
i keep away
from racists
bigots louts

Atithi Devo Bhava.. Offerings of Guests of Lalbagh Chya Raja

Oh Death Where is Thy Sting ?

i go home
empty handed
broken wings
i leave
behind
everything
but god
did ask me
man tell
me what
did you
bring
i said
my humility
essence
of humanity
the only
thing
i am
an ocean
a river
a fountain
spring

Hearty Congratulations To The Winners .. Nokia Ends Up As Money Spinners


241,400 items / 2,027,167 views

Hearty congratulations to the winners @BlogwatiG @caramelwings @beeayeanoowhy #nokiaapptasting @NokiaIndia @indiblogger

man and animal both searching for hope in a garbage bin..


what is virtue
what is sin
a dying
soul
beneath
a wrinkled
skin
on pinterest
my pain
i pin
i lose
you win

Yeh Zindagi Ke Mele Duniya Main Kam Na Honge Afsos Ham Na Honge

Aye Door Ke Musafir Ham Ko Bhi Sat Lele ..

MAIN STREAM MEDIA

MAIN STREAM MEDIA

They who hate Bloggers no end
With the swish of a magic wand
All Bloggers if they could
To hell of a recycling bin send
But every Sunday the Times of India
Meticulously vigorously
With the aid of their blue eyed boy
Shobhan Saxena writes a Bloggers obituary
Cybernetic rules that media barons cant bend
And this Blogger
Bollywoods Most Wanted
his multi colored ass
with poems ready to defend
Blogger Rubbished
Loads and loads of money
On adverse blogging news as canard
They spend
Yet we will live forever
Yes on Google Search
long after you are dead and gone
We who are God Sent
On our souls you a spent force
Of yesterdays dead news
Can’t make a dent
We are the changing world
a brave new cybernetic world
as bloggers we represent

The Last Stand Of The Chawls ...To Live In This Part of Mumbai You Need Luck More Than Balls

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