Hassan Ganda Exorcism Possession and Beyond

Hassan Ganda Exorcism Possession and Beyond, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

posted at flickr

Hassan Ganda is a arrogant son of a Sufi, he has lived in the wilds all his life, among wild animals, his patron Saint has a Dargah in the jungle close to Ajmer, Hassan Ganda lived there as the custodian of the Saints Tomb..

His animalistic features his wolf like walk all add a mysterious dimension to his mystic personality, , and has an antidote for any bite etc,,he kept live cobras and slept with them, he is totally a person not of this world but a world of Mowgli..

He has powers , and he is adept with the sword , axe or any sharp instrument, he pierces both his eyes with two swords..I have followed him like a Tweet for several years.His pictures are in my Mahim Dargah sets and the Chancawalli Bawa sets..

He is related to late Handi Sai and Farookh Bawa.

Women would give anything to father his child, he has had many offers and he answers me with a spooky smile that I hate to decipher..

He loves jewelery , good clothes, good hash and good food.

He has always eyed my sticks called Asas and my jewelery, this time he wanted my Shivas eyes necklace a rare piece..

I refused it to him, like I always do each time..

He has left the Chancawalli Rafaees and has started his own splinter group with Farookh Bawa, as Barsati Bawa is the head of the original group, and Shahenshah Bawa of the Mumbai Rafaee chapter.


This was the first time I shot a lot of pictures of Hasan Gand whom I fondly called Don Jaun Baba at Buzznet.

I have never given any of these bawas their pictures , the only one I made an exception was late Sikandar Wali Bawa the founder of the Chancawalli Rafaee sect.

There are some crazy Bawas among this coterie and the guy who hassled me the most was late Bhandari Bawa, he would turn his backside and place it near the camera frame , he hated photography and he called me the son of Satan, robbing the bawas of their spirituality by stealing their souls through pictures.

I have met Bawas who stopped my camera from focusing, I have met guys who became instilled with the qualities of a Cobra and their entire body moved on the floor like a reptile this was at Hussain Tekri Jaorah..

The Bawas throng this place a Shia Pilgrimage site run by the Sunnis ..and offer their services as exorcists..at the Devils tree stump, that I have shot, peoples hands are crucified to the floor and this is one place that is extremely scary by all means.

Another place I have never visited but is touted a cure for most mental illness or exorcisms is Mina Datar at Unjha Gujrat... this is a haven for those seeking relief from madness and chronic insanity..

They have a replica of this Holy Shrine at Reay Road Mumbai that is completely crowded on Thursdays..or Nau Chandi Jummerat..

I thought a bit of Hassan Bawa was important to my discourse and these are pictures I shot the day I was leaving for Mumbai.. I shot them rapidly using my AF Nikon ED 80- 200 lens 2.8.
I rarely use this lens as I shoot very close , my favorite was 20mm that got destroyed like most of my lenses as I walked with my camera on fire during Moharam , a ritual called Ag Ka Matam.

If Dr Glenn Losack MD was here in Mumbai during the Maryamma Feast I would have pierced my cheeks with a 18 feet rod, a ritual I have kept in abeyance for him to shoot exclusively..I did not partake in this ritual at Mahim only for the sake of the furious physician, he is a very good and able photographer , but deep in my heart I know I helped him rise a notch higher by becoming a much better blogger than me..

This is photography etched in the soul of a memory card as a photo blog, the most priceless instrument that cuts both ways as an image and as text..people art Flickr I hate to say it are still struggling as photographers to ever realize the supremacy of a photo blog over a picture..

And it will take another zillion years before the Flickerverse learns to comment ..fuck good shot, fuck good capture and fuck all comments ..I was becoming as bad and repetitious as those who commented in such manner at my pictures..

I have for once gone far away , see my world through the windows of my soul.. but dont etch your hate on it or your praise..I need none..I dont need Wahabbis to remind me that I am a Shia Shithead..or a Shia arsehole..or a promoter of Hindu culture,,,

Yes The Flickr Comment Box of Firoze Shakir died in its sleep.. Might wake up once Flickr management removes the blinkers and introduces Comment Moderation,. where I control what is to be published on my blog..

Please see this as a picture and read it as a photo blog..
Thank you Hassan Ganda for your time and your visit on my photo stream.