Firoze Shakir Poet - Frozen Time: 05/26/10

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

The Cheek Piercers of Goddess Maryamma

The Cheek Piercers of Goddess Maryamma, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

The rituals had been delayed and when the piercings began it was quite dark.

Raja the piercer was grumbling as he was finding it hard to put the hooks on the backs of the devotees.

Because Raja and I are good friends I got the best viewpoint in shooting the pictures , literally pushing my lens in the mouth of the person whose cheek was being pierced by a 18 feet iron rod..

What really gets me is not the piercing but the splashing of milk from the piercers mouth into the mouth of the pierced person .

Milk is used as a lubricant to move the rod in the mouth

Two Different Sides of a Coin

Two Different Sides of a Coin, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

We are two
photographers
black and white
we both paint
with spectral light
we both are different
in our outlooks
if i am wrong
he cant be right
we are friends
but we do fight
we disagree
but we are polite
i post my stuff
on the internet
my inherited
cybernetic right
flickr is my
launching site
i shoot the jaws
of despair
pushing my lens
into the other side
of midnight
shooting culture
religious rites
without humility
photography
is just an
aborted flight

if you Google search
for marc de clercq
bandra rocks
you will find him
a hero
on my website

Two Different Sides of a Coin

Two Different Sides of a Coin, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

The Cock That Wont Crow Anymore

The Cock That Wont Crow Anymore, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

as his head will be chopped
fall on the floor life will come to an end
as his blood out pours
flapping its wings this headless bird
the cock that wont crow anymore
seeking entry into heaven
through the backdoor
for saving the soul of humanity
his being into an angel
god will restore

The Cock That Wont Crow Anymore

The Cock That Wont Crow Anymore, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

Thank You Dr Robi Ludwig

Thank You Dr Robi Ludwig, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

You're an amazing man, Firoze.
I feel the same way about you and your gorgeous family!
Wishing you health, happiness and lots of love!
RL

Sent from Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

sometimes
life
lives in
humility
a speck
not very big
the world is
a stage
we do our jig
our life a branch
a tiny twig
a cosmic reality
dear dr robi ludwig

126,484 items / 923,499 views

Death
where is thy sting
said the sacrificial goat
the sacrificial bird
flapping its wings
through our blood
to the human race
happiness we bring
above all things
as the drummer beats
his drums
as the crowds sings
a single stroke
of the butchers knife
ends all things
our heads at the
feet of the deity
he flings
ends our
innings

Shooting The Maryamma Feast in Mumbai

Shooting The Maryamma Feast in Mumbai, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

Shooting The Maryamma Feast in Mumbai

I have been passionately shooting this event for almost three years now, and it was last year I met Anmamika hijra from Mulund at the Maryamma Feast Macchimar colony.

Than this year I met Krishna hijra , who is a devotee of Goddess Maryamma.

At the beach I met Muskan and Sarita from Dharavi both hijras.

However last evening I was invited to Sion Koliwada by Raja the percer and realized the intensity of the Goddess in a predominantly Punjabi locality, I shot the Maryamma Temple known as Chellam but the piercings start from the Saibaba Temple close by.

Here I saw a Hijra from Nasik dressed in yellow participate in the rod piercing, a lot more hijras joined in , I was barefeet and shot this procession for several hours , there was a German lady shooting this event too, I did not ask her name but she was overtly fascinated capturing all this.I told her to be careful with her belongings and gave her my visiting card too.. She was a Pro all the way she danced with the hijras too.

The highlight of this procession was a guy hung from his back on hooks to a pulley on a crane and beneath him another guy attached to his stomach with hooks , there was a lot of possession too dance frolic fun ,little girls women had clusters of lime held by needles on their back back.

However as I am posting the Maahim Maryamma pictures the Sion Koliwada Maryamma pictures will have to wait.

This was the first time I shot this event at Sion Koliwada I was really tired my legs were in bad shape and as this would carry on till 11 pm I aborted the shoot and returned home by 9 pm.

You need a lot of stamina to shoot this untiring event , and I think Sion Koliwada is the best set of pictures I shot because of my fascination for Hijras and because this rod piercing event was in daylight , I did not need to use flash..

Once the procession started it became very dark.. the Juggernaut guys were there three of them this contraption with chains is known as Singapore..and thin long rods are pierced on the persons back and stomach.

The Juhu Maryamma feast was canceled , the Madras Wadi Worli I was not invited and it was last month I am told..
So Mahim and Sion Koliwada are the two Maryamma feasts I have shot this year.