Friday, June 19, 2015

This Is Bandra Reclamation In The Rains




The only feeling of sadness I had is for the abandoned toilet , highly symbolic as this long stretch from Lal Mitti till the end of Bandra Reclamation has no toilets , no ladies toilets  , all the migrants , mostly rickshawalas use the open mound near Rang Sharda to defecate , the smell here is so bad that in the rains it is a heady concoction,,

I have sent pictures via Twitter to our local representatives but it hardly matters and I am a photographer and not a social activist at all.

I Go To Lilavati Hospital Endocrinology Dept ,, To Meet Dr Shashank R Joshi





I had taken an appointment at Lilavati Hospital to get my self checked up for my diabetes and my high blood sugar ,,so this morning I paid Rs 1500 for the check up.. there was a huge rush , patients waiting for Dr Shashank R Joshi.. The nurse took my medical history , my blood sugar reports latest and the older ones since 2014 including the details and scans of my gall bladder stones ..

I met Dr Shashank Joshi gave him details of my case history my rigorous walking of about 6 km every day...

My blood sugar on 30 May 2015
Fasting was 232
Post Prandial  was 352


My Glyscosylated hemoglobin was 10.6

MPG Mean Plasma Glucose ,,257 MG /DL.

Last evening I took my blood sugar again  18 June 2015

Fasting 186
Post prandial  281 ,

My glyscosylated hemoglobin was 10.6
MPG Mean Plasma Glucose ,,257 MG /DL.

My last diabetes Dr SD Jain had prescribed ,,Glyree  2 .
Morning One Tablet before breakfast and one after breakfast

Janumet 500 mg ,, One before Dinner and one After Dinner I took for two months ,, but my sugar levels were always high.. I dont eat meat , no  sweets no rice I dont drink or smoke ,..no cold drinks ..

Dr Shashank R Joshi has told me to stop my old medication and has prescribed ,,
Gerner 2 one  before  breakfast
Glucomet 500 after dinner ,,

To check my bloodsugar after a week and after 15 days and get back to him.

This morning I did not go for my walk because of the rains and I tried going out for my walk this rainy evening , my camera got conked off in the rains ,, my bad luck.

I wanted to shoot the havoc of the rains in my backyard ,, I am stupid  I did not take my umbrella only my raincoat ,, I left after 4 rounds and came back home disappointed .


The East Indians Of Bandra




We smile when we meet on the road , that is our remarkable attitude of living in peace .. She knows I am a Muslim who shoots people on the streets and I know she is a humble East Indian , the original inhabitants of Bandra ,, the beauty charm of Bandra came from their heritage and the rich legacy of their forefathers .

They owned large tracts of lands in Bandra , fields fishing villages called Gaothan , but then came this crooked conniving  politician builder nexus that usurped their legacy duping these simple folks and sadly allegedly even their own Christian lawyers , pushed them to the brink by conniving wit this evil nexus , the gaothan peace hope harmony their beautiful ambiance bought in the migrants, migrants with blinkers  that wanted to make the gaothan into a ghetto, and you can see this glaring disparity today at Bandra Bazar Road Chimbai Chium and in some sections of Pali Village .

Than came the repair permission scams where old East Indian ladies were conned with sweet false promises they gave away their properties for peanuts and got leaking roofs  weeping walls in exchange and the builders who conned them with the collusion with the rogues in the Municipalities are big names today untouched by heavy powerful political patronage ,,

My second house at 21 De Monte Street Bandra was a repair permission one , and our East Indian neighbor who had given this property with a beautiful garden rued her decision , till date when I meet her going to Church at St Peter she looks sadly , she lost her husband and her only son..she could go live with her daughters in Canada but she cant bear the cold and loves Bandra Bazar dearly and her house full of crumbling memories .

We moved out 10 years back we miss Jesus at De Monte Street as he watched us moving about wet  with our wind blown umbrellas .But he is close by as we now stay a few blocks away in a golden cusp of the bazar and the reclamation.

I have a lot of East Indian friends I keep shooting their houses , that may soon go, as the tempestuous winds of fate keep changing and ugly monstrosities in concrete will come up in their place .


And on a rainy day cooped up at home these are stray thoughts inspired by a Facebook comment ,,

The East Indians of Bandra Bazar Road





Ever since I came to Bandra about 30 years back from Strand Colaba I have been influenced by the East Indians to a large extent , after the 93 riots when we had to leave our own home at Khar Danda , we took shelter at several places thanks to friends , we stayed on rent at Pali Village and than at Veronica Street with Agnes Pereira , she took good care of us , including her sons Basil Bosco Brian ..even as Muslims we never felt different , we shared meals sorrow happiness and than good things come to an end Agnes got a new tenant actor Preity Zinta who took our room and we got our own place again among East Indians at 21 De Monte Street .. so I blog about the East Indians of Bandra and have some great friends ,too this is my tribute to them in humility and gratitude ..

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.

Pre-Portuguese era

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 indisputable evidences of this fact 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.

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]
[edit] 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. The Bramhins Prabhu and other high-class Hindus who were prudently and ceremoniously converted were treated by the Portuguese with honor and distinction. 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. 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. They were their own people with whom they had been living for centuries. The Portuguese however welded them into one community. Ever since then, this community has remained a separate entity, without becoming one with any of the other Christian community. In certain instances, they were even referred to as "Portuguese Christians". With the defeat of the Portuguese at the hands of the Marathas and later on the advent of the British, there came a lot of change. In the 1960s, the Archdiocese of Bombay estimated that there were 92,000 East Indians in Mumbai out of which 76,000 were in suburban Mumbai and 16,000 in urban Mumbai.[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.[3] 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 which 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 Christian 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

Although, they have preserved their pre-Christian Marathi culture and traditions, many Portuguese and influences have been absorbed. They speak in exclusive East-Indian marathi dialects. Most of them are fluent in English as well. A village of East-Indians who to this day speak Portuguese. The language of the Kupari Christians is a dialect of Marathi known as Shamedi. The East Indian cuisine is a unique blend of Koli, Marathi, and Portuguese cuisine. They still retain many of the practises of pre-Christian tradition. Most of the East Indian women wear typical Maharashtrian saree and Koli dresses.[4] . East Indian ladies also wear the Mangalsutra. The East Indians of Vasai also practise the pre-Christian tradition of visiting the Vajrayogini temple every year.

There are five broad cultural groups of East Indians - Kulbis, Samvedi Christians, Koli Christians, Vadvals, Salsette Christians and the urbanized section.
[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 [His film Dog Eat Dog was an official selection at the Festival De Cannes 2007

from wikipedia

God Save Mumbai From The BMC





BMC Has destroyed the Soul of Mumbai,, they have no balls to demolish rich powerful peoples illegal extensions or illegal buildings but yes they go after the poor in the rains demolishing huts shanties stalls ,, the municipality should have been privatized many years back , bur for the politicians this the only duck that lays golden eggs for those who hold it in their grip for 20 years .. what do you expect ,, will they let it go .. never ,, first it was us wading in waters going to school, than they made our children wade to school now it is the turn of our grankids and the union leaders backed by their political godfathers push us against the wall time and again , because they know we cant do anything .. we are far too impotent to re act , we have lost our balls we have lost our voice we have lost the drive so they drive all over us

They demolish our heritage our crosses ...

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