Monday, September 23, 2013

I Am Urban Brown



walking
barefeet
on the
burning
sands
of time
they think
i am insane
medically
morbid
mental
urban
clown
my brains
within
my cosmic
head optically
upside down
churning
poetic rubbish
garbled garbage
thumbs down
a phased book
a flickering
candle in
the wind
a freakazoid
with a frown
thorns
hidden in
a turban
like a
snake
facedown
beggar poet
tweeting
my tryst
with tragic
hope before
the apocalyptic
countdown

ghar ka banana koi asaan kam nahi duniya basana koi asan kam nahi

Maria The Leper Lady Of Bandra And Her Daughter Mary


Both are Christians , and both are beggars I have been shooting Maria the leper lady documenting her story as a blog ..I have never talked to them to find out why they beg.. and why has the Church not tried to rehabilitate them .. I dont ask questions I simply shoot ,

I pay them too but what I pay wont change their lives or their destiny..Maria moves out of Mumbai during the rains as her body parts start falling apart she goes to her hometown..her daughter Mary sits in her place at Boran Road Bandra.
Mary has two kids a boy and a girl I have shot them too , they sat doing their homework while their grand ma begged ,, now both are in a boarding school I believe ,,,when payback time comes her grand daughter might become a nun and her grandson a priest..who knows..

My grandchildren have shot Maria too,,, at a very young age I made them aware of human pain suffering much before they meet it in life someday..

Maria ties her begging tin by a rope to her leg as the drug addicts have snatched it from her I am told ,even the beggar tin has another smaller tin , the notes she puts beneath this tin , as she is blind the slum kids drop a coin and quietly remove the notes ,,, it is sad .

She trusts nobody..but knows I am around dont ask me how ,, she remembers my American friend Glenn and asks about him..

Earlier her daughter used to abuse me thinking I shoot her mothers picture to sell.. now she knows I do it to tell her mothers story so she always gives me a smile will ask me about my grand kids ..

Why Marziya Sometimes Shoots Better Pictures Than Me


From a very young age and ever since she got her first camera Nikon D 80 as a gift from her American godfather Dr Glenn Losack Marziya Shakir my first grand daughter spent more time dabbling shooting pictures than playing with dolls .. as for me I was past the 40s when I began learning photography,,

Marziya Shakir met some great photographers who visited my house this picture shot by Jean Marc an old friend we met first time in real life in Mumbai ,, we were connected at Buzznet in 2005 he used to be called El Gekko..

So Marziya met Marc De Clercq shot his pictures , Glenn Losack, Kim Viola , Reza Masoudi , Francois a French photographer and many others ,,she did not hesitate to shoot them now at 6 she teaches what she learnt from me to Nerjis 2 year old ,, Zinnia Fatima my third grand child also 2 her birthday was celebrated a day before is not intimidated by the Canon.

So in short if you inculcate a love of any art sport in your children and they like it , it flourishes , every time Marziya goes to Lucknow I think she will forget to shoot when she returns but she is as good or much better ,,And I am not saying you should force what you love on your ward but I did I let the camera enter their souls hook line and sinker.

We must learn that is essential and what counts , my grandchildren all girls wont take up photography for sure , it is only a means not an end.

All three are net savvy , Marziya browses Flickr and my Photos,, but I take her less outside , as now it is the turn of Nerjis Asif Shakir 2 year old,,,I have stopped shooting pictures of late I manipulate my old pictures tweak them give them a new shelf life ..and as bloggers it is much easier ,,, content and form.. words arrive instantly ,,

My Guru of All Time Mr Rajesh Khanna



guru
maha guru
of all good things
lived life superking
romantic above
all things ,,leaves
behind empty
space void at
ashirwad.
bollywoods
king of kings
once he
blessed this
beggar poet
of cosmic rings

Happy Birthday Bhai Mansoor ,,,Ap Sab Ke Kareeb Aur Hamse Door

Irani chaiwala
Bambai main
Mahim ka
Rehnewala
Dilwala
Matwala
Irani.Hindustani
Himmatwala
Salgira Mubarak ho
Janeman janasheen
Dilbhar Dilruba
Dilon Par Chah
Janewala
Mansoorbhai
100 logon ko
Aj Chai Pilanewala
Good Luck Bun Maska
Free Main Khilanewala
Facebook Ka Niwasi
Khushamdeed
Maula Apko Salamat Rakhe
Jiyo Hazaron Sal
Dilon ko Jodnewala


bhai mansoor ..wada kariye ke ap ayenge hamare ghar zaroor ..meri potiyan apka photo lekar karengi apko mashoor ,,,huzoor

Lalbagh Chya Raja Stately And Tall


As he gets ready
To leave his kingdom
His people to the vast
Ocean beyond.
Once and for all
Cherished moments
He recalls..
Chants of lalbagh
Chya raja vijay aso
Echoes from every wall
Granules of rice fall
On heads as blessings
Shimmering rainfall
He smiles
looks at me in the
Crowds a tiny speck
Very small..

St Theresa's Church Bandra

My First And Last Exhibition At PSI Mumbai


huzefar rasiwala
mahindar patil
vishal bhende
processed my
Ilford Delta 100
black and white
rolls ..to what
I had shot added
their art and soul
dalvi and kishore
jothady did my prints
rich memories
weighed in gold
jatkar sab
maheshwariji
chose the ones
to be exhibited
i did what i
was told
mr malushte
was the chief
guest ..
respectfully
mentioned
on the scroll
my first last
exhibition
since i became
a blogger away
from analogue
threshold
i am not a
coffetable book
nor a centerfold
i shot beggars
i shot hijras
bawas malangs
peela house
over madeup
whores ..
i shot
pain blood
despair
remorse
homless
out in the
cold i
shot bomb
blasts pitru
paksh i shot
every mold
the kumbh
the maha
kumbh the
naga stronhold
i shot churches
walked barefeet
'with jesus
on good friday
hussain is
humanity
i extolled
cutting my
head scourging
my back walking
on fire ..i wept
i cried uncontrolled


i demystified the camera
on the soul of my grand children
marziya 5 and nerjis zinnia
both two year olds .. click
google search behold

PSI Mumbai RIP


the grand old dame
weeps and cries 
shriveled walls
tears embedded
soulful misty sighs
please dont forget
even weeping
walls have eyes
mr patel
mitter bedi
bhardwaj
sam tata
unwalla
jatkar
watching
from above
the disintegration
the despondency
of their lost love
as reflected to
them in paradise
their beloved
institution
home away from
home ...unwillingly
regretfully
politicized lost
illusions lost hope
lost memories
lost forever lost
heritage sans
archives says
the founder
alas i am
lucky i
am not
alive

I Use Aviary Editing Tool To Give A New Lease Of Life To My Old Colored Pictures ,,,

I got a message from a dear friend on Facebook...

I love your photography, but I am a little upset you are now converting you photos to B&W.
I prefer them in their true colour!

I gave a reply that I do not wish to reveal, but I shoot less I am trying to get used to shooting less once my Pro membership ends in September 2014 I will be like the rest limited space , and to get more space I would have to shell out 500 dollars which I think is downright daylight robbery,,as we dont use Flickr for commercial purpose .. I think Flickr should be lucky and opportunistic that some great photographers share their stuff and we bloggers their country cousins make the journey poetic and adventurous giving you local news ,,,

People use Flickr as a photo gallery I use it to blog and from here I pimp my blogs on Facebook Google+ Twitter and Tumblr .. I earlier did not use Tumblr but since Ms Marissa Mayer touched it and blessed it anointed it as billion dollar site I had no option but to latch myself to this bandwagon.. and I can assure you as a mystic clairvoyant whatever Ms Marissa Mayer touches will turn to gold..

Now back to my picture it was shot during the PSI Mumbai annual day and ever since I shot this and blogged it as a record at Flickr I stopped getting invitations for their Annual days I am a life member of this prestigious club..

But it does not matter I record events for posterity and I have politely edged myself out from competitive photography and analogue photography per se.

The Aviary tool is good for me as I type with one finger of a permanently damaged hand and 287000 images blogged here at Flickr and those with text all created by this magical right hand index finger.

Thanks to the Aviary tool I manipulate old images add new thought new dimension and sometimes a poetic interpretation.

Mr KG Maheshwari in his late 90s was totally occupied with the Internet , keeping us tuned in to his wisdom and other articles he sent to us .. judiciously keeping us all in good spirits..

But since a few months Babuji as he is called has been unwell and I miss his e mails ,,and I speak to him sometimes , but will visit his home once he has recovered ..and I have not been to Maheshwarijis house since many years now ,,,

My only wish is that he recovers and gets his glow back and I also wish that Old Flickr brings back the Gift Of Pro , as there were friends who paid for our membership.. and it helped a lot.. I hope Ms Marissa Mayer gives this back to us as Hanukkah present ..otherwise I have no grumbling complaints with New Flickr ,, 500 US dollar for additional space would even destroy the humped back of an Indian Camel ,,,

So shooting a picture and blogging it are two aspects of cosmic divine interpretation differing from one person to the other ,

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