The Greastest Show on Earth .. Maryamma Feast Sion Koliwada 2010, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.
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I shot the Sion Koliwada Maryamma Feast 2010 for the first time , and all this belongs to my segment called Hope and Hindutva at Flickr.. A collection of Hindu ethos shot by me barefeet .
I was invited to Sion Koliwada by Raja the rod and hook piercer on 25 May 2010.
This is a very long series I shot from noon till about 9.30pm and luckily the rod piercings and the hooks I did not require flash as there was plenty of light.
It was here I shot the rod piercing of a Hijra who had come to perform this ritual with his Hijra guru from Nasik.
An I shot him almost non stop , he was one brave Hijra on the streets of Sion Koliwada.
Now the most interesting item on the agenda was a guy who was hung to a pulley on a crane with hooks attached to his back and his calf..
From the hooks on his side another guy was hung with hooks on his back..
The top guy is Harish I forgot the younger guys name..they hung precariously and carried on with the procession for about 5 to 6 hours..
I shot all this but aborted the procession before it reached the Maryamma Temple , I did not have the strength or the energy.
There was a German lady who accidentally shooting this event too.
And another photographer called Happy friend of Habib Nasser.
I shot all this on two memory cards total about 6 GB..
Since the three years I have been shooting this event at Juhu Mahim and Worli , this was the most intoxicating and exciting one for me as a incorrigible hardcore street photographer
There was possession her but the slaughter of animals I was told takes the next day after this ritual..
I was called for another Maryamma Feast on 29 May at Sion Koliwada different venue but I gave it a skip, my personal life is in doldrums making me feel uninvolved with my photography.
Peace of mind without stress is required to shoot such events according to me... a lot of stamina and energy too.
I shot this barefeet and in my diabetic condition.
I dedicate this series to my mentor Dr Glenn Losack MD .. a master photographer who has shot all this as Thaipussam in Malaysia..
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