Friday, July 10, 2009

The Flip Side of Shooting Hijras!

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.

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