Behrampada Weeps With The Rains

Behrampada Weeps With The Rains, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

This evening I went back to Behrampada the area where the fire had taken exactly a week back, I shot this from the sky walk at Bandra East facing the disaster site.
It was raining and the place below is muddy , dirt and filthy as hell..
On the right is the area where the homeless have been housed in a temporary makeshift cover..and the medical relief van belongs to Nargis Dutt Memorial Charitable Trust , thanks to the MP of the Congress party Priya Dutt Roncon..
Late Nargis Dutt the versatile actress who worked in many movies the most famous being Mother India directed by the doyen Mehboob Khan, was the wife of late actor Mr Sunil Dutt, parents of Namrata , Priya and actor Sanjay Dutt .

I have shot all this in color but tweaked it to show you the stark reality of pain..the fire was extinguished but the flames of deprivation , attack the homeless and the poor, the rains too have played spoil sport to this test test of endurance and despair.


I did not have the courage, to go back to the lanes I had shot, I did not have an umbrella and no cover for my camera either..

Later after taking several shots I came down and shot the make shift structure where some families have been housed..


The Relief camps are doing their very best but hope the government chips in wholeheartedly, the house and people survey continues , a week has elapsed its not over yet.

Bodies still lie buried under the debris, the bulldozers can only move in once the survey is over.. the stink of death they say is odorous , and the fear of an epidemic haunts the survivors.

Behrampada weeps in the torrential rains of Mumbai.. the window panes of the corridors of Sachivalya the seat of the State government should hear the pitter patter too....

Thank You Glenn

Thank You Glenn, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

photo courtesy
www.flickr.com/photos/glosackmd/3659038526/in/photostream/

I wish to dedicate "Darkness" a new GLOSACK to my dearest friend for life
a man dedicated to documenting human suffering and without whose guidance, caring and
love I would not be alive.I toast to you FIroze Shakir. I hope you approve of this gift i give to you Dr Glenn Losack MD

MY POEM TO GLENN

Darkness
is the search of the human soul
that never ends ..brittle hard strong
an urge that one never suspends
it neither bows nor bends
through its bounty
the human flesh it tends
broken hearts broken dreams
broken homes it mends
a path it follows as it wends
from Mumbai to Manhattan in a bottle
a message of peace this mystic sends
from shadows of a picture
into the silhouette of a poem he blends
if you take away honor ..what else is left
for a man to defend

We Will Overcome

We Will Overcome, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

photo courtesy
www.churchtimes.co.uk/uploads/images/p8_Iran elections#1#.jpg


a single chant of freedom
the beatings of the drum
natarsim natarsim, ma hame ba ham hastim
in a single voice they hum
tyranny dictatorship accursed basiji
we will overcome
silently suffering
as the whole world watches
we will not succumb
neda soltani
angel of peace
a symbol of our freedom
has become
no more riding piggy back
under their evil thumb

Behrampada Weeps

Behrampada Weeps, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

the monsoons lashing the soul
on roads , pavements street corners they sleep
homeless hopeless as the night creeps
on the soul of humanity
behrampada weeps
promises that politicians
perhaps might not keep
houses as debris
on garbage heaps
from under a tattered newspaper
as bed sheet
a little child peeps
fate from the fire
into the frying pan leaps

THIS PROJECT NEEDS URGENT ATTENTION.

THIS PROJECT NEEDS URGENT ATTENTION., originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

I received this in my G Mail inbox.. I would like too share with all of you..

Hello friend,

My name is Scott Wright, I am an American soldier, I am serving in the military with the 1st Armored Division in Iraq , as you know we are being attacked by insurgents everyday and car bombs. We managed to move part of funds belonging to Saddam Hussein's family in 2003.

The total amount is US$ 3 Million dollars in cash, mostly 100 dollar bills, this money has been kept somewhere outside Baghdad, with security company in Madrid Spain, for some time but with the proposed troop in increase by president Barrack Obama, to end the suicide bombing and make peace with Iraq militant and terrorist, we are afraid that the money may be discovered hence we want to move this money to you for safekeeping pending the completion of our assignment here.

READ THIS WEBSITE VERY WELL AND GET BACK TO ME.

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2988455.stm

We are ready to compensate you with good percentage of the funds, No strings attached, Iraq is a war zone, and we was able to move this money through diplomatic means to ship the money out as military cargo to your to Madrid Spain and upon good arrangement with us and the security company in Spain, it will be moved to your home, under diplomatic immunity cover.

I am contacting you in confidence, all arrangement for the successful delivery has been put in place, all we need from you is to receive the cargo from the diplomat, If you are interested I will send you the full details, my job is to find a good partner that we can trust and that will assist us. Can I trust you? When you receive this letter, kindly send me an e-mail signifying your interest.

Regards ,

Sgt. Scott Wright.

The Wisdom of the Goat of Behrampada

The Wisdom of the Goat of Behrampada, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

says the wise goat of behrampada close to the office of a political party

the fire
the destruction
will soon fade away from
public memory
other matters need
the politicians attention
dont you see
how could structures
four floors high
like a tower of babel
held by iron channels
actually
on a repair permission
allowed to be built
illegally
hopes
dreams
buried
in the debris
life lived precariously
where even god
gives no guarantee
assembly elections
round the corner
an issue politicized
completely
law and order governance
apathy
narrow lanes of death
ladders leading to the sky
illegal electrical connections
safety and prevention
gone to the dogs
death doing its rounds free
those who built castles in the sand
the future did not foresee
a tear rolled down
the cheek of humanity
the sacrificial wise goat
ponders
at the foolishness of man
silently
paper wings
trying to touch
fiery eternity
vulnerable fragile
man at the mercy of
mortality