Last But Not The Least

Last But Not The Least, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

last but not the least
my tribute in humility to
shree balasaheb thackeray
saab who too bid
farewell
lalbagh cha raja
the city's heart beat
end of the
ganesha feast
nationalism love
of the country
mutual coexistence
tolerance
love and brotherhood
all our pleased
amchi mumbai
mee mumbaikar
a blogger barefeet
hope and hindutva
through pictures
a message
of universal peace
a circle of hope
humanity complete


dedicated to shree balashaeb thackeray

Time Has Come For Me To Go..

Time Has Come For Me To Go.., originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

"Vakratunda Mahaakaaya Suryakotee Sama Prabha
Nirvighnam kuru mey Deva, Sarva kaaryeshu Sarvadaa"


but i shall come back next year
surely so my heart is with you
children of mumbai you should know
towards my home in the seas
time has come for me to go
your hospitality your humility
your offerings all aglow
i shall remove all your obstacles
crush your foe bless you with
health wealth prosperity
remove all your woes
a new camera i promise
to my in house photographer
bareefeet blogger
my dear firoze
peace is the path
of the mumbaikar
through pictures
the ethos the angst
of humanity shows
hindu sikhs
christians muslims
jains dalits
into their souls
my blessings flow


वक्रतुंड महाकाय कोटिसूर्यसमप्रभ ।

निर्विघ्नं कुरु मे देव सर्वकार्येषु सर्वदा ॥



सुमुखश्चैकदंतश्च कपिलो गजकर्णकः ।

लम्बोदरश्च विकटो विघ्ननाशो गणाधिपः ।

धूम्रकेतुर्गणाध्यक्षो भालचन्द्रो गजाननः ।

द्वादशैतानि नामानि यः पठेच्छृणुयादपि ।

विद्यारंभे विवाहे च प्रवेशे निर्गमे तथा ।

संग्रामे संकटे चैव विघ्नस्तस्य न जायते ॥


शुक्लाम्बरधरं देवं शशिवर्णं चतुर्भुजम् ।

प्रसन्नवदनं ध्यायेत् सर्वविघ्नोपशान्तये ॥


मूषिकवाहन् मोदकहस्त चामरकर्ण विलम्बित सूत्र ।

वामनरूप महेश्वरपुत्र विघ्नविनायक पाद नमस्ते ॥

Following the Footsteps of Lalbagh Cha Raja

Following the Footsteps of Lalbagh Cha Raja, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

93,387 items / 566,212 views

every year
i shoot the journey
of lal bagh cha raja
from his pandal
to the sea
barefeet
in all humility
fasting
during
ramzan
a holy month
that coincides
with his feast
auspiciously
the hindus break
my fast at byculla
offering me fruits
bhajiyas some tea
being a hindu
being a muslim
a cosmic reality
documenting
the colorful soul
of humanity
mumbaikars
of amchi mumbai
shoulder to shoulder
vermilion sprinkled
he shaan konachi
lal bagh cha raja
its brand equity
hope and hindutva
a message of peace
on human souls
born free

Marziyas World

Marziyas World, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

135,162 items / 1,012,109 views

The purse on her shoulders is part of her dresses USP.
In the purse she has Rs 10 but it is not for chocolates but to give to the Umbrella lady of Bandra Reclamation.,

The Umbrella Lady is a landmark , impoverished and her home is an umbrella the protection from harsh monsoonal weather and the vagaries and moodiness of heat and humidity if it does not rain.

Marziya knows her very well and insists I take her that way so she can give money to this poor lady.
She sits on the street corner next to the chai shop, some say she has a home near upmarket Dadar but how she came here living among the rubble no one knows and if she died nobody would care to know.


This is apathy on the soul of Humanity, and most of the time the Mumbaikar in the race to make a quick buck has lost all human feelings.


Who gives a damn, the media the conscience of society taps the homes of models who commit suicide or hound a stockbroker almost perpetrating his suicide too..

Death needs a motive death needs a man to punish , and it might be anyone's fault..for all you know.

You killed me could be the lines of an incomplete poem too before the storm hit the suicidal soul ,and plugged life out of the socket of Hope.

So at two and a half year Marziya has seen street life and shot it too..and because she is perceptive she reads the life I show her like a poet too.

Poetry of life gives soothing dimension to a subject like Death too.


Marziya walks home from school with me observing scenes observing people and she is an inbuilt camera herself.

She draws she colors all the blank pages of any book she finds save the walls of our home that are safe for the time being.


She has hung on my waist as I shot election rallies , a Sufi Sandal with body piercers at Bazar Road the Sandal was of Maulana Baba whose Shrine is behind the Bandra Sunni Jamma Masjid.

She has seen kids scourging their backs at Almeida Park in a Moharam juloos I sent her home when I was to shoot the hardcore sword Matam near Bandra Shia mosque on the same day.

She has visited most of the Ganpati Pandals Durga Pandals , St Peters Church and the Bandra Fish Market.

At the Fish market the koli fisher women speak to her in Marathi and call her Marziya Koli lovingly.


And without boasting about her achievements she knows the camera, the soul of the camera the feel of the camera.. without having attended any photography classes in Mumbai.


She knows the card slot in the camera , the memory card the card reader and pushing it in the port of my computer.


She does not know to swim but she knows the Nikon D 80..she has swum in the waters of photography with it since a very long time .

And I must not mention this but if you give her a knife she will slash her head to the chant of Ya Hussain Ya Hussain..

This comes with the territory of her Faith. and I have not shown her the Kama Matam as yet...not even visuals which is predominantly done by Shia guys during Moharam.