Shooting Faith Without Boundaries

Shooting Faith Without Boundaries, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

My Guru KG Maheshwari known as the Dronacharya of Indian photography, and the Yousef Karsh of India, who has shot Mahatma Gandhi during the Freedom struggle as he stayed at the Birla House and finally married a fairy princess of the Birla household..always reprimanded me during public meetings or event at our club , Photographic Society of India for being trigger happy with my camera, and each roll I shot was a Velvia or a Provia or an Ilford Delta 100 the mother of all black and white films, and it cost money , a lot of money plus processing contact sheet and prints , and I was a million light years away from the computer and the internet.

I opted for photography as I had come out of a chronic alcoholism, the psychiatrist had warned me to keep myself busy , and to take up a hobby that would keep me in a drunken state..or a similar passion as I had for Old Monk Rum..I drank two bottles to keep my wretched body alive, I read books but I had not got into writing poems or my thoughts ..nine years back..Blogging began in 2005 and love on the Internet made me a pedestrian poet of sorts ..my second polygamous marriage would have been an American from Alaska ..luckily the kids and the wife tied me beat the shit out of my dreams..And I am fairly sane now ..Flickr has added to my sanity.

Well I shot a lot , the first time I shot Moharam, at Amin Imambada I shot 40 rolls on a single camera , I shot as though there was no tomorrow, I was shooting Shiasm the sect I belong to after 17 years not only as a photographer but as a Shia through the viewfinder of my soul.I was never into religious congregation..

Joining the PSI Mumbai Photographic Society of India , my three Gurus , Shreekanth Malushte , Prof BW Jatkar and Mr KG Maheshwari changed my life forever..I never looked back..

Than a trip to Khwajah Gharib Nawaz at Ajmer Sharif and Lord Brahma in Pushkar changed me further from a mere photographer I became a blogger thanks to Brandon Stone of Photo Blogs Org..I joined Blogspot and Buznet , Fotothing Webshots..I was a Flickr member too I deleted my first account, I found I have another account an old one here as Fotographerno1.

The rest you know I joined Flickr back again in 2007 ..now 77,174 items / 398,466 views, in retrospection I have continued shooting pictures , I cant be like a hot shot photographer from the media who takes a few shot and moves away, I shoot a lot, I shoot with my eyes closed its a Sufi saying .. I know what I shoot will be perhaps for the last time I am mortal my body ravaged by diabetes.. I dont want to miss out anything yes I am an alcoholic when it comes to Photography and I am shocked by my moderation.


I have not gone back to my camera club, I stopped all Salon participations , competitions, I dont make prints, I dont give prints, I dont sell pictures , and I share my world with all of you as you out there who shoot tomatoes covered in cloth that look like monks running towards a Path of Peace..Thank you Arrowlakelass ..I learn a lot from all of you.. only you dont know it..

We all contribute to each othe as brother photographers and if you are a photographer there is no way you can be a bigot.. only a poet at Poemhunter can fall into a trap of becoming a racist..or a bigot.

Those who shower me with hate comments on my Shia and Hindu pictures are not photographers , they are propaganda nuisance of free membership without transparency as promoted by Flickr to be one up on Facebook.

I know somebody who wanted to recruit me into another sect of Islam.. made me really bleed all over again..puritanism makes me puke all over..

I belong to an Islam without hate, I belong to all religiosity that have Faith without borders ..on a land that I call Humanity..

I will now shower and go to my tailors shop where I cover men with clothes and photography uncovers my soul..bare thoughts of a barefeet photographer of Mumbai.