The Flip Side of Shooting Hijras!

The Flip Side of Shooting Hijras!, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

Shooting Hijras is not as easy as it seems, it has taken me several years and even now I consider myself a novice in the arena of this androgynous field.
I am not as lucky as Marc de Clercq , my Belgian friend from Planet Gender.. he was born with a silver spoon given to him by an imaginary Hijra at birth..Marc has a way with Hijras I have never seen before and I confess unabashedly I emulate him , his pictures of Hijras has inspired me considerably..

He shoots Hijras with dignity and grace..

I am lucky thanks to my Hijra Guru Laxmi Narayan Tripthi, that several hijras now respect me as photographer and as a human being.

All these pictures of hijras shot at Ajmer are captured in a single day and a few hours of the night of of my arrival..besides I shot other stuff too..equally sharing my time between Hijras and the rafaees..

I kept my mobile phone on silent mode ,took no calls , did not carry my insulin or diabetic medicine, left my health to the will of God.
I was completely barefeet , in heat filth and dirt..

Over the years I have been threatned by Hijras , provoked abused , but I shot the Hijra and the Red Light area of Mumbai several times ..

And I miss Heena Hijra from the Mumbai Cages ..she was my support base shooting pictures of their eternal pain.

I shall shoot Hijras at Girgaum Chowpatty during the coming Ganesha Visarjan.. I will not follow Lalbagh Cha Raja this year till Kumbhar Wada....I will park myself at Girgaum Chowpatty as I did over the years.


A few days back I shoot the beggar Hijras at Versova will post after I complete this long series of the HIjras of Ajmer.

However I thought Haji Malang was more convenient to shooting pictures of Hijras despite the opposition in my case from a few Hijra Gurus..

Some in the Hijra community want the Hijra ethos to remain secret and esoteric.. pictures of Hijras according to them make the Hijras vulnerable to vested interests.. I am told.