Dont Blow Your Own Trumpet

Dont Blow Your Own Trumpet, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

Dont blow your own trumpet
be smart dont put all your eggs
in one basket
keep a back up
of your photos
besides
posting them
on the internet
dont defecate
urinate
hate comments
on my religious post
use your neighbors toilet
if you dont have one
and find one hard to get
I am a pedestrian poet
I poetize generously
so please dont get upset
opinionated I am
who isnt
in the spiders net
75000 photo blogs in 24 months
a thought you must not forget
while you trail me to the finishing line
you bet
Flickr a global community
the very best
a heart beat
in a photo bloggers chest
this poem is dedicated
to a wise guy of Poona
you have not met
the genius here
at Facebook
Now Public
Miller "Thriller "Fred

Maryamma Feast 2009

Maryamma Feast 2009, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

Sacrifice to appease Goddess Kali or her several regional avatars is an integral part of devotion,a tradition that has been coming down the ages in Hinduism..It exists in the Western World too as Paganism...though I am no authority on the subject..Here I miss my friend Dale .and Esta.


This is my new series at Flickr I shot this morning at 7 am for two hours in bad light just in built camera flash..I dedicate this new series to my mentor Dr Glenn Losack MD ..he would give away his limbs just to shoot this - better than me .This is up his alley , I shot this and pretended he was in the crowd , shooting this too..

As a photographer I have no qualms in shooting with others , we may shoot the same thing and yet our pictures will be different..

Many photographers specially the press and those who sell their stuff to Marwari stock agencies differ , they wont share information at all , besides some with the press think they are Gods gift to photo journalism and to photography in general..

So I am happy as a photo blogger who carries the Bandra Samachar Press Card giving it free..and I have built contacts that soon became relationships.. the Head Priest of the Maryamma Temple called me for this event and thank you friend Bhima Davendar too..

Now one request if you are squeamish, avoid this set, and if you are against animal sacrifice , than just skip and move on..

Read me as an internet photo journalist..dont blow my mind with queries that I cant answer..or wont answer.. this is part of my series on Hope and Hindutva..

We Muslims too believe in animal sacrifice but our methods are slightly different..here the animals too are given water and blessed ..the Tamils are a very religious race and perhaps most of them were appeasing the Goddess for Peace in Sri Lanka and safety of their Tamil brothers sisters and the genocide that continues.

Besides goats there was poultry sacrifice ,by the poorer section of the community, others offered cooked rice made on make shift burners , flowers coconuts and turmeric paste.

75000 Blogs at Flickr in 24 Months

75000 Blogs at Flickr in 24 Months, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

I normally dont blow my trumpet till I have completed a task..at the moment while you read this I have 74,964 photo blogs / 389,722 views but in a few hours from now I shall complete 75000 photo blogs at Flickr today-13 May 2009..
Its been a very long journey..I joined Flickr in June 2007.
Flickr Pro membership of two years was a gift from Asif Shakir my eldest son, when Yahoo pictures closed down Flickr added 3 months of grace to my Flickr account.

Than a few days back my mentor my friend also my family Dr Glenn Losack MD bought me another 2 years of a Pro account..at Flickr.

In just a few minutes I go to shoot an incredible event than I shall come back and go to shoot the finale..I will tell you all about it when I post the pictures.

There was not much to shoot in Mumbai - much of the shooting happens in November right up to Feb..Ajmer Urus is one big thing Jul - Aug I guess.

The Koovagam Eunuch festival eludes me till this day..

I have a shop to take care of , business is down in the dumps and so I shoot pictures with a heavy heart and some guilt..recession in the Industry has completely broken this camels back..so I make do with shooting street scenes , and my grand daughter ..

Once again I thank all my friends at Flickr , Word Press , Blogspot ,Face Book, Live Journal, Vox and Fotothing , Buzznet ,Twitter , My Space..I have an account at Webshots have stopped posting there.

Blogging keeps me sane from the crass corrosion of my business life..
If given an opportunity I would renounce all this and take spiritual sanyas as a Shia Yogi in the Himalayas...but I have to pay back a lot of friends for the help they gave me when I was completely grounded..this is the most important responsibility ..and priority as of now.