My Tryst With The Hijras

My Tryst With The Hijras, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

She is a very senior most Hijra Guru, and I have shot her when I came to Haji Malang for the first time, I was not into hjra photography at all, even the pictures I shot that time perhaps in 2004- 2005 I did not post .

My genre was photo journalism as an analogue photographer pictures I shot and along with my two Gurus late Prof BW Jatkar and Mr KG Maheshwari sent to the various salons national international.

Once I became a blogger the rules of my photography changed , I changed too, pictures gave birth to words words that got baptized as poems of my pedestrian pathos.

I came to Haji Malang to give pictures of Late Sikandar Wali Baba head of the Chancawali Rafaees , that I had shot in Mumbai, I walked the mountains but I wore slippers and my feet were burnt having walked on fire a day before I made this trek - the fire matam , my back was badly bruised as I had scourged myself it was during Moharam.


I came to the Dhuni , Ahmed Ghadiali Chowk owned by Shabbo Bhai of Chor Bazar and his family.

It was here that Laxmi Narayan Triipathi my friend since 11 years , we had lost touch, spotted me and hugged me .. thus began my tryst with Hijra photography as a blogger ..

And than last year Laxmi took me under her wings as her disciple , to ease and save me from hijras who hate photographers dressed like me , they think I am a Shaman and will steal their androgynous souls.

So when I look back in retrospection I have come a very long way ...the first hijras I shot and made stories about were the hijras of Matunga and Mori Road , I would shoot these hijra prostitutes hidden from their view in my car, and my wife thought I was plumb crazy , she sat on the back seat.. watching my pictorial natak.

Now the slums that they lived in have been totally destroyed the hijras and the slum residents relocated to Mankhurd I am told.


Than when Laxmi Narayan Tripathi and Shaheen Raksha came to my house to meet my wife and daughter Samiya , my family understood the angst the life of the hijra.

My wife and Laxmi get along very well , the only person in my family who has not met Laxmi is Marziya my 2 year old grand daughter .

But Marziya has seen the hijras , Reshma of Lal Mitti, and now when she sees me posting their pictures she sees them and than tells me cool as a cucumber ..Dada yeh Hijra hai...so this is my story and Marziyas too..

And I have decided to post the Hijra stuff shot at Haji Malang , after Chehlum..