The Beggar Kids of Mahim Signal

The Beggar Kids of Mahim Signal, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

I have been shooting this beggar girl for several years now at the Mahim Church signal , normally I shot them when I was coming back from town in a cab , this time I was walking from Mahim Dargah to Bandra so they were surprised to see , the girl with her has grown and was shy , so she turned her face away from my camera,,,

I have seen both of them when they were 7 or 8 years old and they have never forgotten me ..their parents are basket weavers and their home is on a footpath , they are children pushed into beggary, and begging on the traffic signal adds to the income..

I am always carrying my camera so nothing escapes my camera vision , I shoot what I have to shoot but sometimes I do come across a picture that I should shoot but dont , call it sheer laziness..

I saw a person carrying a burden on his head , the largest I have seen in my life there was an urge to run after him but I let him go..

But a bit a little earlier I saw a Jain Sadhvi passing my workspace and I ran to take her picture ,,I dont know why.The Jain Sadhvis and the Jain Munis fascinate me as photography subjects and I respect and pay tribute to their religiosity with my pictures.

I am an impulsive street photographer , and some pictures god places them on my path , only I will shoot them and these are not pictures but hastly moving raw human emotions.

My only regret is that I have not been able to shoot the Koovagam Eunuch festival and because I understand the Hijra angst I would add poetry to my pictures..but Lord Iravan is not ready for me and so I remain back in Mumbai while my friends are shooting it thanks to their good luck.