Sunday, December 31, 2017

The Malang from Bollywood




Today I was in a state of sartorial confusion

This black robe is two in one if I wear it with a white pajama it becomes a Malang attire but I can change the spiritual contours of this dress if I wear along with it my Skull beads the Aghori Guru at Khamakhya gave me the skull beads hoping one day I will take Deeksha from him at Tarapeeth Kolkatta.
He was serious when he said I had both the Sufi and the Aghori  in me I remember while doing his Havan he called me aside whispered in my ears I was dead I was alive.. I did not ask for an explanation  a lot of me is dying everyday and lot of me is rising from the fire in my kundalini.

The Aghori Guru and I got along very well he had known me since my first trip and 2017 was my second trip.

I had told him my desire to document  the Aghoris  and he allowed me to shoot his rituals exorcism and his power over Evil forces and occult.

Where he did not want me to shoot a certain ritual he would tell me to stop recording he trusted me he could read my thoughts the Hijra shamans took their strength from him.

This is a long topic I will abruptly end it here I thought of wearing my Aghori  look for my meeting  with Raj Kumar Santoshi ji but changed my mind it would not be appropriate I thought in terms of sartorial presentation.

The problem is there arent any  Aghoris in Mumbai and the crematorium in Mumbai are far too tame and without the spectral illusions one finds at Khamakhya  or Bhoothnath Guwahati.
Both are scary and can haunt you even after you come out of your stupor.

Picture was taken by a Sufi guy who drives rickshah stays at the slums near my house he is a Murid of the Baba of Nagpur.

A Sufi Shrine that I have not visited.

So as I said earlier there are stories happening all around me and I shoot them without hesitation..

Tomorrow  is another hectic day back to town I will leave early pay a visit to both the Flea markets where I have my Murids and fans I refuse to call them followers..

I have to search for some rare accessories  ..

Life is a gamble and you can play it without a loaded dice or cards.

Gods Promoters of Peace ..Muslim Beggars




Give in the name of Allah
in his painful voice he pleads
abandoned by his family
old muslim beggar,,
an untouchable by his
caste society holding
firmly to his faith creed
man is known not only
 by his words but also
by  his deeds ...
extra food he gets other
beggars he feeds ..
god takes care of his
 needs ,,taking money
from me he curtsied
Cursing the ISIS
enemies of Peace
Brotherhood in Islam
Our Religion they have
hijacked dirtied ..
I nodded my head agreed
The Shias Ahmediyas Jews
Yezdis other minorities bleed
by the rabid children of Yazid
The Butcher of Karbala
The Wanting Seed
Power lust and greed .

Hussain did not give him his hand
only his head ..Karbala a sacrifice
as a thought embodied ..


Happy New Year Message From Mr David Jim



This is to inform you that this bank has appointed a New managing Director and on this note informing you about your withheld fund


$950,000 Dollars been held by pass administration.


As the New appointed manager, collaboration with Benin republic government and governor central bank directives. We have decided to process your fund $950,000.( NINE HUNDRED AND FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS ) THROUGH  ATM CARD and send it to your Home address via delivery courier service.


For safety delivery of your $950,000 Dollars  ATM card. We required details such as.


Full Names..............


Home address........


Mobile......................


Occupation..............


Office address...........


Immediately we received your details, your $950,000 ATM CARD shipment will be provided Home address.


Thanks.


Mr. David Jim


+229 65801133

*****************************************************************************

Good Morning
For such a beautiful
 message of joy
May God Bless Him
Kind generous helpful
Mr David Jim
Though I confess
on the dead soul of my
father I dont really
know him..but being a
Sufi mystic I can visualize
him as dapper clean shaven
well built with a 56 inch chest
tall but slim ...he regularly goes
to the neighborhood Korean gym
his attire trendy trim..most of the
horny males like him..now let me
 not digress safety of my much
awaited $950,000 Dollars  ATM card
that I will use to rehabilitate  leprous
beggars without limbs homeless denizens
pain suffering filled to the brim
 also the beggar hijras  hope as ..a new
thought paradigm ..salutations to the Lord
with a new holistic hymn ..Gods mercy
Blessings to the altruistic David Jim

I just called him to wish him a Happy New Year
was told by his male secretary in a nasal voice
 David has gone for a swim...with a boy face
seraphim..fair and fare homonym..from the
land of milk honey Republic of Benin ..
a land that does not question Original Sin .

dedicated to my friend teacher mentor Thomas Hawk
who loves reading Rin Tin Tin...


So brave is Corporal Rusty.
Though he is just a boy.
How true is Private Rin Tin Tin
They are the army's pride and joy.

a poem on a spin....that missed the recycling bin...

Saturday, December 30, 2017

Wake Up You Tube




#CommunityGuidelinesStatus

@YouTube @YTCreators
As a photo journalist I document #KumbhMelas #NagaSadhus Nagas who live naked their rituals is not sexual explicit content I am amazed at your regressiveness  strike against my channel is biased and uncalled for
I dont post porn.


You should have sent me a warning at least before removing it  I would have removed it ..this is a documentary of Naga Sadhu life and no titillation or sexual performance lol

Monday, December 25, 2017

Nasir Bhai Qadri Rafaee Silsila Sandal of Hazrat Ismail Qadri Shah Baba Jamli Mohalla Mumbai 2017



























First let me introduce you to Nasir Bhai no 1 exponent of Zarb Rafaee body piercing undertaken during a Sufi procession called the Sandal..

Sandal is sandal paste that is applied to the Holy Saints tomb or  floral tribute or an embroidered spread placed on the Shrine of a Holy Saint is is called Chaddar.

During the Sandal procession the rafaee exponents like Nasir bhai or Firoze from Mahim or Bashir Bhai or Salim bhai from Sion are invited ..their boys show skills in swords  or body piercing known as Zarb.

I first met Nasir bhai rafaee of the Qadri Rafaee Silsila at Haji Malang 2010 shot a lot of pictures and again at the same time at the procession or Sandal of Maulana Shah Baba that passed by my house at Bandra Baba .

Maulana Babas dargah is behind Juma Masjid SV Road Bandra .

So I was meeting Nasir bhai after 7 years again at the  201 Urus of  Ismail Shah Baba Jamli Mohalla off Null Bazar.

I got Nasir Bhais number from Sakib my friend ..

I reached at about 6 pm th sandal started at 7 pm moving through varios lanes paying homage at the Dargah of Karim baba and than the display of zarb at the main Dargah of Ismail Shah baba by Nasir bhai and his team.

Now let me tell you about zarb or body piercing thre is no blood and all this is a mystical manifestation ovrcoming pain and the piercers invoke Ya Ghouse Pak or Peer Abdul Qadir Jilani founder of the Qadri Rafaee Silsila .

Muḥyī-al-Dīn Abū Muḥammad b. Abū Sāleh ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī (Persian: عبدالقادر گیلانی‎, Arabic: عبدالقادر الجيلاني‎, Turkish: Abdülkâdir Geylânî, Kurdish: Evdilqadirê Geylanî‎, Sorani Kurdish: عه‌بدوالقادری گه‌یلانی‎),[3] known as ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī for short or reverently as Shaykh ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī by Sunni Muslims, was a notable Sunni Hanbali preacher, orator, ascetic, mystic, jurist, and theologian[4] who became famous for being the eponymous founder of the Qadiriyya spiritual order of Sunni Sufism.[5]

Born 29 Shaban 470 AH in the town of Na'if, district of Gilan-e Gharb, Gilan, Iran and died Monday, February 14, 1166 (11 Rabi' al-thani 561 AH), in Baghdad,[6] (1077–1166 CE), was a Persian[7] Hanbali Sunni[1][2] jurist and sufi based in Baghdad. The Qadiriyya tariqa (Sufi order) is named after him.[8]

The piercings undertaken by Nasir bhai is very intriguing like making a guy sleep on a bed of nails than tying his hands with a sword on his stomach and on top him another guy  with a sword on his stomach 4 layers ..all this you can see in my videos at You Tube the stills dont give you the depth at all.

Breaking coconuts on the head with a huge wooden baton , using a hack saw on the neck of a boy and many such acts .

I will now start documenting the Qadri Rafae Silsila and Zarb at most Shrines that Nasir bhai is invited for his acts of body piercings .

And honestly this is the genre that interest me most .. I was given a lot of respect and Nasir bhai introduced me to all as Khalifa and Malang Baba .

Flickr


Saturday, December 23, 2017

My Message to You Tube ..Naga Sadhus Ling Kriya and Penile Yoga












Dear You Tube

I am deeply saddened at your mindset and your regressive attitude as a You Tuber I follow You Tube guidelines.
I am a Muslim photographer an Indian by birth and my main concern has been promoting Hindu Muslim Amity through my documentation of diverse cultures that unify India a land of peace hope humanity.
I shoot Sufis Shias Naga Sadhus Aghoris Tantrics Hijras but no porn

You removed one one of my videos NagaSadhus Pulling a car with a penis an integral part of NagaSadhu rituals I do not mind the stance you take but to add that as a strike to my profile and character I think is biased and racist on your part..

Please remove my videos if you feel they are not proper as per your Victorian mindset but don't term as pornography it is an insult to my Hindu culture and all that it stands for.

I am deeply hurt and I think your You Tube curator has certainly lost it ask him to see Nat Geo and NagaSadhus and penile yoga and Ling Kriya.
You can age revise such videos but removing them makes me feel you don't really know the ethnicity of a religious Hindu Order who live naked the NagaSadhus of India.
I have shot 4 Kumbh Melas and here it I'd NagaSadhus of the JunaAkhara that attract thousands of photographers film makers from the West so I feel you demean my efforts as a photographer and a man of Peace.


As ever
Firoze Shakir
in pain as a You Tube Creator

www.youtube.com/user/photographerno1/community?view_as=su...


Message from You Tube

Hi Firoze Shakir,

As you may know, our Community Guidelines describe which content we allow – and don’t allow – on YouTube. Your video "Ling Kriya Naga Sadhu Pulling the Car With His Penis" was flagged for review. Upon review, we’ve determined that it violates our guidelines. We’ve removed it from YouTube and assigned a Community Guidelines strike, or temporary penalty, to your account.

Video content restrictions
If a video contains nudity, pornography, or other sexually provocative content, it's less likely to be allowed on YouTube. YouTube reviews content on a case by case basis and will make limited exceptions for appropriate educational, documentary, artistic, and scientific contexts. In such cases, we may apply an age restriction so that only viewers over a certain age can view the content. Learn more here.
The impact of strikes
This is the first strike applied to your account. We understand that users seldom intend to violate our policies. That’s why strikes don’t last forever – this strike will expire in three months. However, it’s important to remember that additional strikes could prevent you from posting content to YouTube or even lead to your account being terminated.
How you can respond
If you believe this was a mistake, we’d like to hear from you. Please follow both of these steps as simply deleting the video won’t resolve the strike on your account.
The next time you sign in you will be asked to acknowledge this strike on your account.
If you would like to appeal this strike, please submit this form. Our team will thoroughly review your appeal and will contact you again very soon.
We value your opinions and feedback. Please take a few minutes to fill out our survey.

Sincerely,
- The YouTube Team

Wednesday, December 6, 2017

Meet The Magician Artist Rodney Pike





RodneyPike


In his own words

We first met at Google Plus and crossed path again at @Twitter
I am his hardcore fan .
Thank you RP ..


My name is Rodney Pike
Rodney Pike portrait
and I’m a humorous Illustrator from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I was asked to write a little something and share some of my expertise and knowledge about what I do for a living.
Well, I’m not sure how much of an expert I am but I am very passionate about my art and about Photoshop as my chosen software. I also use a 21″ Cintiq Wacom which really makes life easy and is a great compliment to Photoshop which is where I live for the most part. My opinions and experiences are a bit one sided because I am a photomanipulator using Photoshop as opposed to some photographers who may use Lightroom or other editing software. I’m more accustomed to using Camera Raw for my initial adjustments.

So, a little about what I do:
I am a humorous illustrator, photo-manipulator and most recently a digital painter specializing in photo-manipulated caricature illustration. Some of my clients include FHM Magazine, Tennis Magazine, The Village Voice Magazine, Elite Magazine, The Sun, Cater News Agency, New Coast Productions and Catchphrase Entertainment as well as several smaller publications.
I am a member of the NAPP and ISCA. I’m currently learning digital painting and incorporating it into my manipulations more and more while studying the finer points of Photoshop CS6 Extended. I only started doing this a couple of years ago, so I have a heap to learn.

Of course Photoshop is such a versatile piece of software and has in my opinion limitless potential and a lifetime of learning. CS6 and it’s much improved interface along with some crazy cool technology is right up my alley. I’m a logical thinker and CS6 is so much more logically laid out as far as the interface, it really makes learning easier and much more fun.

Adm_Mike_Mullen


I didn’t start with Photoshop CS and a Cintiq though.
In October of 2010, after having laid my art down for nearly 30 years (all traditional), I stumbled across a Photoshop contest on the internet. I entered a contest and loved it. I entered another and another and before I knew it I was consumed and had entered many contests not yet realizing I had finally found my medium.

After a couple months of contests and practicing with Photoshop 7, a mouse, and a $500 PC, I discovered some very talented caricature artists and decided why not try it with photographs. Nobody was doing this at the time and it seemed I had stumbled into an untapped niche, but also my niche. Photo-manipulated caricature illustration seemed to be my thing.
After experimenting with these manipulated caricatures for only a couple of months, I was contacted by FHM Magazine and offered a 5 piece commission during a time that I was doing this for fun and had not even conceived of making money at it, and yet the fortunate turn of events afforded me the ability to buy a 21” Cintiq, a brand new iMac, and all-new software. Well, one job led to another ultimately offering me an opportunity to launch a career and live my life long dream of being an illustrator like my idol, Norman Rockwell.

Obamabot_2.0

Many have asked me about my techniques
and process in Photoshop and more specifically caricaturing photographs and incorporating them into my illustrations. Strangely enough, I have no process or set procedures to how I end up with an illustration or even a simple caricature study for that matter.
I simply take a face into Photoshop and start working without a clue as to where I’m going with it. My main tools for doing caricatures are the warp tool and puppet warp, occasionally tweaking small bits with the liquify filter. I just sort of let each piece lead me and I do what feels right. I know that’s not a real good answer but it’s what works for me. I am always learning, changing, improving and developing techniques for my work so any set procedures would only serve to hold me back.

There are times that I start with a blank canvas and a face with no clue as to how I’m going to exaggerate it or what the final price will be. I often spend days, even weeks on a piece that turns into a complex situational illustration and have no clue how I got there. I know this is not great material for an article especially if a reader is looking to learn from it so the best way I know to show you how I do what I do is to actually show you. I recently did a webinar for RetouchPRO Live and can be found here: RetouchPRO LIVE “Caricature” with Rodney Pike



Screenshot from my Wacom Cintiq during the retouching process
Wacom Screen-Shot



For those out there using Photoshop as your chosen editing software, I encourage beginners to study and explore all that Photoshop has to offer.
It’s a daunting task, but your work will be so much better for it. I also encourage the use of “proper tutorials” that teach the correct ways to get started with the basics and things like nondestructive editing, Camera Raw, smart objects, etc. I’m a smart object nut. I often have nested smart objects because I’m always changing my mind along the way and it’s simple to go back and edit any aspect of your files with smart objects.

Pink

Be careful when using tutorials
to learn as there are a lot of bad ones out there. Starting off on the right foot can save you lots of time and effort trying to unlearn bad habits as I did in the beginning. I started as a chopper doing Photoshop contests and just winging it. Well, I developed some very bad habits and totally neglected some great features, even in some of the earlier versions of Photoshop that have totally changed the way I do things and in some cases drastically increased my productivity and speed while improving tremendously the quality of my work.
Learn all that you can about Camera Raw, masking, channels, nondestructive editing, actions, etc.
Everyone seems to be in search of the perfect mask out there and purchasing all sorts of software to accomplish what Photoshop already does and does very well. Photoshop’s “Refine Edge” is in my opinion the closest anyone has come to the perfect mask and it’s been there. We just need to practice and learn how to fine tune it.
The quick select tool, refine edge and sometimes channels have reduced my old chopper’s technique of mask selection literally from hours to seconds and the results are 100 times better. Those are just a few examples. We all have so much to learn. It’s all there, we just need to practice!

Weekend at Conans

I’m often asked in interviews what I would say to someone who aspires to do what I am fortunate enough to do for a living. My thinking is really quite simple.

I believe that talent is nothing more than the shear desire to achieve an artistic goal. The only limit to your success in art or anything you aspire to achieve in life is the limit that you put upon yourself by your own doubt. I don’t set goals, I believe goals are limits. I try to set milestones, moving from one to another continually striving to improve and get to the next level.

Why put a limit on yourself?
Tim-Burton



Aim to be the best,
believe you can be the best and work with passion to be the best (without doubting), and, I think if you want it bad enough, you will achieve it. I have a personal belief about my own work.
This may or may not be for you: When I finish a piece, it is history. I never revisit old work. I take what I’ve learned and move forward striving to make the next one even better. Why waste your time repairing old work? The best is still inside you. When I’m asked what work of mine is my favorite I tell them; “I haven’t created it yet”. Surround yourself with people and things that inspire you, stay positive and work your ass off.

There is a quote that I love:

“The question is not how far. The question is, do you possess the constitution, the depth of faith, to go as far as is needed?” ~ Unknown author.

 Dave Condit portrait commission

My Links and Contact info:
Social Media Links:

Google+
Facebook page
Twitter
 Blogs & Links:

RodneyPike.com
rwpike.blogspot.com
Email: RodneyPike@cox.net



I am on Flickr Instagram You Tube