Thursday, February 28, 2013

The Humble Maharashtra Police Man




He saw that nobody hassled Marc de Clercq who was documenting the Palki segment at Haji Malang Urus ..

And this respect foe foreigners are guests is known as Devo Atithi Bhavo..

I thanked him for this gesture and our Police unlike the Uttar Pradesh police does not beat or bully foreign  photographers  who come to shoot and share our culture with others.

a picture is picture color or black and white




recreating
the magic
of spectral
light ..
giving birth
to new raw
emotions
birds in
flight
suffice
to say
1000
nights
the flesh
was weak
the spirit
contrite
 godliness
is respect
for human
rights
humility
maketh
a man
not just
might

photography is silently stalking the soul of humanity





As a photographer I have learnt watching other people shoot...and one person I admire is my Malang brother Marc De Clercq , he shoots without being heard or seen.. he becomes one with the surroundings despite his giant girth height and color of his skin... that normally would stand out in a sea of brown people , but he controls it  becomes brown so to speak,and Marc and I have been friends since 2005 ...we have shot events moments together ..be it Ajmer or private gatherings of hijras, we both document the humanity of the transgender.

This was Marcs first trip to Haji Malang but the way he came across as a professional it seemed he has shot such places before , and he shot  in every corner of India 3 Kumbhs  Koovagam Eunuch festival several times , Kaliar sharif Makhanpur and a vast canvas from Kanyakumari to Kashmir.

He was shooting this Hindu lady invoking the blessings of the Holy Saint of Haji Malang and I perched near the facade of the Holy Shrine was shooting both of them.. keeping the crowds in the frame too.

One person who has learnt much from Marc is my 5 year old Canon shooting grand daughter Marziya Shakir, she has been shooting Marc each time he comes home spends time with my family.

Marc and I became Dam Madar Malangs together and our Peersaab is Baba Masoumi.. a humble teacher and an austere man with simple aspirations.


Because of my bad health i had to abort my Haji Malang trip midway, I shot the Palki and in the morning the day after the Palki I climbed down and returned to Mumbai.

I am still not fully recovered and have been cooped up in bed under medication.

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Ram Singh Loksatta And Me At The Durga Temple Malangad


The Beggar Poet And His Beggars Bowl


We Both Are Malangs .. We Meet Every Year At Haji Malang Mountains


Dam Dam Ali Ali Dam Dam


The Malang of Mumbai ..Haji Malang Trail 2013


I Meet My Naga Sadhus Guru Climbing Up The Haji Malang Mountains


Abdul My Internet Friend Haji Malang Mountains




He owns this juice shop and wont let me proceed up without having some juice , he reads my blogs and is a very dear friend I have known since I began climbing these mountains..

Marc And Me Are Holistically Aligned ..Dam Madar Beda Par... Underlined


Haji Malang 2013 Was A Tough Trek Of My Life



I was climbing the mountains with shoes normally I climb barefeet , and because of my Maha Kumbh trip I was not in the best of shape ... I took rest at several places , and though I did not give up,I reached the Dargah at 7 pm I had started at 1.40 pm , I shot the Arti of the Shiv Sainiks at the Durga temple for an hour.

The Master Of The Rings Neither A Slave Nor King ...Nor A Puppet On A String







hope gives
me wings
moods
on rising
swings
a camera
shoots
what it
was
destined
to shoot
vision
a deathly
sting

et tu twitter




You are over the daily limit for sending Tweets. Please wait a few hours and try again.



my tweets
you dont
want me
to litter
wait for
a few
hours
a message
that gave
me the jitter
an incorrigible
blogger but
not a celebrity
bullshitter

Haji Malang Urus Palki 2013 ...My New Set Flickr




  I reached Mumbai on 17 Feb from Maha Kumbh Allahabad and have been down with cold flu and cough as I had got wet in the rains .. I went to Dr RD  Parmar my family physician ,, took medication , but while under medication I climbed the mountains of Malangad to shoot the Haji Malang Urus on 24 Feb..

This is my new set and it was a painful climb,it took me a lot of time almost 5 hours , on the way some good soul gave me a stick a very sturdy one that helped me a lot..

At about 6 pm I met a Loksatta photo journalist Ram Singh who was going to shoot the march of the Shiv Sainiks led by Mr Eknath Shinde to Malangad with a arti at the Durga temple , he invited me , so I ended up shooting the entire Arti at the Temple and met Mr Eknath Shinde Sab who I had shot earlier too..I met the local Shiv Sainik leaders and corporators shot their pictures than continued up to Haji Malang.

I reached the Asthana of Abdul Bawa a holistic healer and a well known personality at Haji Malang and Kalyan.. along with Sakib my friend from Mahim and Marc De Clercq my Dam Madar Malang brother.

I met my hosts Kumar Bhai and Abhijeet Ketkar I shot the Palki , but for the first time there was no accommodation on the mountains over a lac of people were participating in this Urus .


At about 4 am I managed to get sleep at Sakibs florist shop, but I got a severe asthmatic attack .in the morning I decided to climb down the mountains aborting the Dhamal and the Sandal of Sultan Shah Baba , this I knew would hurt Rohan Patil and his dad Mr Patil Khadims of Sultan Shah Baba but I did not want to burden anyone with my health problems .

I guess I am an old man 60 .. and the Maha Kumbh trip got the better of me ..  I  was not interested in shooting the Hijras , I did shoot a few but that was it some old faces were missing.

For Marc it would be a nice change as he was shooting it first time.

So this is a very short set, only the hijra pictures will not be visible to the public only my friends listed at Flickr.com..

I bought a beggars bowl A fakirs bowl and a lot of junk jewlery from a guy who had his stall down the Malangad mountains .

The Albino beggars were missing.. and some old beggar faces .

I have been cooped up at home since I came down from Haji Malang.

MahaKumbh Naga Sadhus Kumbh Mela






To see my restricted pictures of the Naga Sadhus you have to be a Flickr member .. To Publishers If you offer good terms open to author coffee table book on Naga Sadhus or sell my pictures ..proceeds to charity and buying a new camera .
My Mahakumbh Set Flickr.com

Sunday, February 24, 2013

The World of The Naga Baba Up Close


shot
from the
inner
reservoir
of his
subconsciousness
by a beggar poet
blogger firoze
cropped hair
long nose
barefeet
bleeding toes
to be human
above all
factional
sectarian
religiosity
his poets
heart chose
shooting
naga babas
beggars
misery pain
worldly woes
as it grows
overflows
an image
he froze
forgiveness
of friends
whom he
owes
his bad
days
not yet
over a chapter
before his death
he wants to close
his writing flesh
his spirit in repose

Guru Brahma Guru Vishnu Guru Devo Maheshwara Guru Sakshath Parambrahma Tasmai Shri Gurave Namaha




I met my Naga Guru by accident
I met him at Trimbakeshwar
Nasik Kumbh outside his tent
he saw me i saw him
i felt his fragrance his holistic
scent like a fish i was caught
in his cosmic net i touched
his feet he knew what i meant
he became light within the
soul of my camera shivas
third eye .. with spiritually
moral content ...i came
i saw i went ..no more
choked on the river bent
my pictures are poems
no my camera is not on rent

Food For Thought ..A Beggar Poets Lot






what
i was
destined
to eat
to keep
my body
soul alive
i got
my lifeline
a drop in
the river
i am what
i was taught
not just
a muslim
or a hindu
or a christian
i am his gift
to his cosmic plot
a blank several
dots i am naught
my mind is
fecund
though
my body rots
diabetic
delusions
blood sugar
to this planet
my dreams
i bought
a fish in
his net
he chose
he caught
placed
it in her
heart in
the right spot
dont ask me why
dont ask me when
dont ask me what
to her soul my soul
he tied the Gordian knot


"Turn him to any cause of policy,
The Gordian Knot of it he will unloose,
Familiar as his garter" (Shakespeare, Henry V, Act 1 Scene 1. 45–47)

Saturday, February 23, 2013

God Lives In India Among The Poor





dressed like
them in tattered
clothes he wanders
seeking alms
i am sure
watching
humanity
rich hardened
hearts that
pain sufferings
need not endure
god the creator
confused perplexed
a disease he sees
festering the human
soul he cannot cure


Mr Raghu Rai Blesses Me and My Camera at the Maha Kumbh






From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Raghu Rai (born 1942) is an Indian photographer and photojournalist.[1][2] A protégé of Henri Cartier-Bresson who appointed Rai, then a young photojournalist to Magnum Photos in 1977, which he co-founded.[3]
Rai became a photographer in 1965, and a year later joined the staff of The Statesman, a New Delhi publication. In 1976, he left the paper and became a freelance photographer. From 1982 up until 1992, Rai was the director of photography for India Today. He has served on the jury for World Press Photo from 1990 to 1997.[4] He is most known for his books, Raghu Rai's India: Reflections in Colour and Reflections in Black and White.[3]
Contents  [hide]
1 Early life
2 Career
3 Personal life
4 Awards
5 Exhibitions
6 Collection
7 Books
8 Quotations
9 References
10 External links
[edit]Early life

Raghu Rai was born in the small village of Jhang, Punjab, British India (now in Pakistan).[4][5]
[edit]Career

Raghu Rai took up photography in 1965, and the following year joined "The Statesman" newspaper as its chief photographer. Rai left "The Statesman" in 1976 to work as picture editor for "Sunday," a weekly news magazine published in Calcutta. Impressed by an exhibit of his work in Paris in 1971, Henri Cartier-Bresson nominated Rai to join Magnum Photos in 1977.[3]
Rai left "Sunday" in 1980 and worked as Picture Editor/Visualizer/Photographer of "India Today", India’s leading news magazine, during its formative years. From 1982 to 1991, he worked on special issues and designs, contributing trailblazing picture essays on social, political and cultural themes, many of which became the talking point of the magazine.
Rai has specialized in extensive coverage of India. He has produced more than 18 books, including Raghu Rai’s Delhi, The Sikhs, Calcutta, Khajuraho, Taj Mahal, Tibet in Exile, India, and Mother Teresa. His photo essays have appeared in many of the world’s leading magazines and newspapers including Time, Life, GEO, The New York Times, Sunday Times, Newsweek, The Independent, and the New Yorker.
For Greenpeace, he has completed an in-depth documentary project on the chemical disaster at Bhopal in 1984, which he covered as a journalist with India Today in 1984, and on its ongoing effects on the lives of gas victims. This work resulted in a book, Exposure: A Corporate Crime and three exhibitions that toured Europe, America, India and southeast Asia after 2004, the 20th anniversary of the disaster. Rai wanted the exhibition to support the many survivors through creating greater awareness, both about the tragedy, and about the victims – many who are still uncompensated – who continue to live in the contaminated environment around Bhopal.[6]
He has served three times on the jury of the World Press Photo and twice on the jury of UNESCO's International Photo Contest.
[edit]Personal life

Raghu Rai lives in Delhi with his wife Gurmeet Rai and 2 daughters, Avani and Purvai and a son Nitin Rai who himself is an accomplished photographer. He continues to be an associate of Magnum Photos.
[edit]Awards

Padmashree’ in 1972
National Geographic cover story “Human Management of Wildlife in India” won him widespread critical acclaim for the piece. (1992)
Photographer of the Year from USA (1992)
[edit]Exhibitions

2012 My India - FotoFreo, Australia
2007 Les Rencontres d'Arles festival, France
2005 India - Musei Capitolini Centrale Montemartini, Rome, Italy
2005 Bhopal 1984–2004 - Melkweg Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2004 Exposure - Drik Gallery, Dhaka, Bangladesh; Leica Gallery,Prague, Czech Republic
2003 Exposure: Portrait of a Corporate Crime - University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA
2003 Bhopal - Sala Consiliare, Venice, Italy; Photographic Gallery, Helsinki, Finland
2002 Volkart Foundation, Winterthur, Switzerland
2002 Raghu Rai’s India - A Retrospective – Photofusion, London, UK
1997 Retrospective - National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi, India
[edit]Collection

Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, France
[edit]Books

2013 Bangladesh: The Price of Freedom, Niyogi Books. ISBN 978-93-81523-69-8.|url=http://www.niyogibooksindia.com
2011 The Indians: Portraits From My Album, Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-670-08469-2.[7]
2010 India's Great Masters: A Photographic Journey into the Heart of Classical Music[8]
2005 Mother Theresa: A Life of Dedication, Harry N. Abrams, USA
2005 Romance of India, Timeless Books, India
2004 Indira Gandhi: A Living Legacy, Timeless Books, India
2004 Exposure: Portrait Of A Corporate Crime, Greenpeace, Netherlands
2003/04 Saint Mother: A Life Dedicated, Timeless Books, India;Mère Teresa), La Martinière, France
2002 Bhopal Gas Tragedy (with Suroopa Mukherjee), Tulika Publishers, India
2001 Raghu Rai's India - A Retrospective, Asahi Shimbun, Japan
2000 Lakshadweep, UT of Lakshadweep, India
2000 Raghu Rai... in his Own Words, Roli Books, India
1998 Man, Metal and Steel, Steel Authority of India, Ltd., India
1997 My Land and Its People, Vadehra Gallery, India
1996 Faith and Compassion: The Life and Work or Mother Teresa, Element Books, USA
1996/01 Dreams of India, Times Editions, Singapore/Greenwich, UK
1994 Raghu Rai's Delhi, Indus/Harper Collins, India
1991 Khajuraho, Time Books International, India
1990/91 Tibet in Esilio, Mondadori, Italy; (Tibet in Exile), Chronicle Books, USA
1990 Delhi and Agra (with Lai Kwok Kin and Nitin Rai), Hunter Publications, Inc., USA
1989 Calcutta, Time Books International, India
1988 Dreams of India, Time Books International, Singapore; (L'Inde), Arthaud, France
1986/87 Taj Mahal, Times Editions, Singapore; Robert Laffont, France; Rizzoli Publications, USA
1985 Indira Gandhi (with Pupul Jayakar), Lustre Press, India
1984 The Sikhs, Lustre Press, India
1983 Delhi: A Portrait, Delhi Tourist Development Corporation/Oxford University Press, India/UK
1974 A Day in the life of Indira Gandhi, Nachiketa Publications, India
[edit]Quotations

"Either you capture the mystery of things or you reveal the mystery. Everything else is just information." [4]

the confluence where three rivers meet




within
a canopy
of hurling
meteors
where
yama
breathes
master
of life
after death
pulsating
heart beats
cosmic
chaos
fate shivers
destiny
doomed
cant cheat
moments
born through
confusion
devoid
of dust
heat
a poetic
pause
incomplete
to be or
not to be
time
in rapid
repercussion
will come
to delete

Friday, February 22, 2013

omkara


tera
sahara
jai shiv
shankar
bas ek
nara
prem ki
dhara
beech
majdha
tu hi
kinara
jab bad
ayee
tujhko
pukara
ashta
vinayaka
omkara

garv hai mujhe main hindu hoon



ap sab
ke pyar
ka abhari
hoon
main hoon
ek lekin
sau par
bhari
hoon



Jai Shree Ram



mushkil
main hoon
mera hath
tham dhoob
raha hoon
bachale
mujhe
tujhko
lakhon
salaam

Om Namo Narayan





shanti
aman
mera
sara
dhan
khush
nasib
main
bharat
mera
pyara
watan

Thursday, February 21, 2013

i shot the mahakumbh with the eyes of pictorial devotion ...




i shot
a sangam
of human
emotions
i shot
hope
before
it reaches
the cosmic
ocean
into your
open hands
i share
my portion
athithi
devo bhava
humility
hospitality
a path
we have
chosen

the malang at mahakumbh





dam madar
beda par
dum dum
mite sab
dukh
jivan
safalta
hasil ho
sab sukh

akhri salam
na koie shikva
sankoch to
all my friends
on google+
facebook
a blogger
choked
on a brook
neither a
fraud
nor a crook
hirday main
jhak take
a good look
jeevan ki
raftar daud
mat ruk

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

The Maha Kumbh Mela Up Close ..A Moment In Eternity I Froze




away
from urban
commercial woes
garbage that
each man
on the doors
of his neighbor
throws i shot
the sangam
as it touches
humanity
poetically flows
a moment
like a seedling
of bliss on
this beggar poets
consciousness
overgrows
chirping of
 sparrows
flight of
the seagulls
cawing crows
a boat ride
her raised
eyebrows
her nubile
levitation
wordless
prose
a pain
in her
bosom
this bleeding
rose ..seeking
for a friend
in a world
of foes

a poem in silence a seed it sows

Within The Soul of Our Flesh We Are One .. Towards Peace Hope Humanity We Run




ashes
to ashes
dust to dust
held in a cosmic
urn whether
our spirit
is buried or burnt
man the stalker
the lonely avenger
on the hunt
maya within
the entwined
karmic essence
hissing like
a unsatisfied
serpent

dedicated to her whom i met on the boat ...who keeps my poetry afloat

photographers promote humanity

sath main rehne ka irada hai


na kam
na zyada hai
main musalman
woh hindu
insaniyat
ko mazab
banane ke
wada hai
na koie seema
na koie maryada hai

A Beggar Poet Documenting Kumbh Mela And The Naga Sadhus

Without My Naga Guru Shree Vijay Giri Triveni Maharaj I Could Not Have Shot All This


It is not easy shooting the Juna Akhada or the Naga Sadhus but the presence of my Guru gave me moral strength , and I wanted to document this great Maha Kumbh and share it with all of you...

I had a lot of SD cards remaining when I returned but I shot in moderation , never getting carried off ...

On the 15 Basant Panchami Shahi Snan I could have stayed back on the ghats Sangam continued shooting but I came back with my Guru I had bathed too with my Naga Guru was enough for me.

I shot the Nagas doing ling kriya with swords , I shot in limiatation this was my first Maha Kumbh and I made contacts , I shot people without provoking them..

I met Mr Raghu Rai a giant of a photographer who hugged and encouraged me I met Flickr photographers too.I met my brilliant nephew after 15 years Adnan Abidi Reuters and this was a very rekindling memorable moment.

My Naga Sadhu Guru And Me at Juna Akhada Maha Kumbh

A Malang With The Naga Sadhus Juna Akhada

The Sabapati Panch Dasham Juna Akhada

The Sabapati Panch Dasham Juna Akhada

marc my cosmic brother

the film photographer marc de clercq

The Sabapati Panch Dasham Juna Akhada

hope

hope by firoze shakir photographerno1
hope, a photo by firoze shakir photographerno1 on Flickr.

Politics Destroyed The Soul of Mother India And The Common Man

The Bhandara Of Lord Hanuman

the two pillars of my humility and gratitude

my malang brother marc and my guru shree vijay giri maharaj triveni

I am on Flickr Instagram You Tube