136,155 items / 1,050,833 views
these are kids going to school
with hope in their eyes i
love to shoot as their
school bus passes
my camera route
they watch me silently
dont know what is afoot
but with marziya
watching them too
they think she
is far too cute
these are children
who honed
my photographic skills
my poetic pursuit
Thursday, August 5, 2010
School Kids of Bandra Bazar Road
Observation The Greatest Tool Of Street Photography
Observation The Greatest Tool Of Street Photography, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.
136,152 items / 1,050,712 views
In all humility without trying to over reach my singular aspiration of making Marziya a good photographer I have shown her life as I would see it through a camera lens.
And because Marziya is an observant child with great creativity of mind it is a pleasure and an an added learning experience playing the role of her Guru.
Even child needs a Guru , Marziya is stuck at two and a half years old and in November will hit 3.
We walk the roads she watches everything, she is not afraid and I took her to the butchers shop to see her reaction it was beyond her she has been to the fish market and already seen fish being cut and cleaned.
I have of course kept her away from the actual butchering that takes place of the live goat during Bakra Idd.
Because I make her shoot what I would be shooting , she realizes situations that we call street photography.,
Street photography according to me is creativity at its highest level shooting the soul of mans surroundings documenting his moves and his street emotions.
His laughter his yawn his sleep his tears all form part of this huge tableau of humanity.
Here Marziya is observing the local cobbler at his work, repairing soles is creativity too , however mundane the task my sound, a stitch in time saves nine.
And I dont overdo it , first I was excited not anymore we both are pros and we go about it as clinically as possible.
And how can you shoot what your inner soul never saw the difference between a picture and hurriedly clicked snap shot....though some of my pictures are hurriedly clicked snap shoots ..because you read them differently they become poems shot as visuals.
Basic knowledge of photography is important but than the human soul and practice takes care of the ensuing nitty gritty of street photography.
And here I shall shock all of you I would like my grand daughter not to shoot like me but like Roland Luthi, Randy Der Joel Tom Andrews Akbar Simonese Jeff Lamb some of the photographers who have influenced in one way or the other.
I dare not ask her to shoot like Glenn Losack MD it is an impossible uphill task and she is far too young to reach such a stature due to her diminutive size.
And not just photography from photographers I would want her to learn Humanity from Benn Bell Anthony Posey Fred Miller Linda Schaefer Sukhi Hontu and many others friends bloggers photographers on Facebook and Flickr.
But I also know because she loves Art and creativity she might end up like Drunken Gekko, Jean Marc Gargantiel.
I would not want her to shoot Hijras Rafaees or the hardcore pictures I shoot , I would want her to shoot the Muslim beggar woman in a hijab, two children and her eyes searching for hope beyond the horizon of humanity.
Yes I would want Marziya to shoot a drop of tear as it rolls down a cheek into the gutters of despair.
What Marziya would want to shoot you will have to wait and watch, but if you see a girl in hijab covered from head to toe you know that she is carrying the inheritance of her grandfather the barefeet blogger of Mumbai..Photographer No1.
I am too embarrassed to write my own name here ...
Minimalist Art of Wisdom
136,151 items / 1,050,551 views
she inspires
me to shoot poems
as pictures
sometimes
as words
they show
minimalist
art of wisdom
besides
everything else
you know
like a banyan tree
of kindness and concern
branches as roots
that overflow
heart beats
on a skipping rope
rhythmic
to and fro
when the winds
of fortune
from my windows
to your window flows
life in a nutshell
is a moment
at the shore
waves that
wash you clean
sometimes
high and low
to
William Poczatek
Jesus Leads The Way
136,148 items / 1,050,508 views
"We don't own Mother Earth, we borrow her from our children"
Crazy Horse
children
are beyond
religiosity
he gives
her way
he was
human
once
a little
child
in a cradle
made
of hay
looking
into the eyes
of three
wise men
one day
now
much older
going gray
its with
children
he loves to play
he is fond
of muslim
children
he sees them
running
to the mosque
5 times a day
his own
children
have no time
they come to
see him
only on Sunday
Easter
Xmas
or New Years Day
Jesus
is Humanity
they say
so they
crucified him
to wash
their sins away
dedicated to American human poet Ray Lucero
The Story of Bandra A Room With A View
136,147 items / 1,050,501 views
We see this view every morning and one fine day we might not be seeing it again as we are planning to relocate for the greater good of our expanding family and other unavoidable issues of urban survival.
Once a Mumbaikar always a Mumbaikar so thinking of moving out from throb of a city that we have lived since long is not possible , but somewhere close by in the surrounding suburbs.
Bandra Reclamation is a developing area of Bandra very central close to the Sea Link and the Bazar and the main SV road via the bridge you see in the picture .
The open lush ground is a common open toilet for those that have encroached the periphery and slums and shanties abound thanks to apathy and corruption of people concerned everyone is aware of it but do we really care.It has political patronage of all parties this huge segment of illegal settlers is what is called the Vote Bank.
The bloodstream of Democracy..Democracy needs Votes to survive the poor need Notes to survive this is a Golden hand shake of convenience and lost ground of our values , age old traditions of values and integrity.
The denizens Muslims Hindus Christians Dalits and others predominantly live in peace , there is no religious factionalism here , tolerance mutual co existence is the cornerstone of hope and understanding.
from Wikipedia
Bandra (Marathi: वांद्रे), nicknamed the "Queen Of The Suburbs", is a wealthy suburban area in the city of Mumbai (formerly Bombay), India. It is home to a railway station on the Western line of the Mumbai Suburban Railway. Bandra is a highly sought-after location for restaurants, pubs, and high-street stores, with several restaurants and shopping areas clustered around the Hill Road, Linking Road and Carter Road areas.
With a large cosmopolitan population in Mumbai, the predominantly Catholic Bandra is famous for its churches, especially Mount Mary's Basilica. Also the Parsi fire-temple, the Tata Agiary, on Hill Road is well known. The suburb is also famous for its coastline, which has promenades lined along Carter Road, Bandstand and Reclamation. Many Bollywood actors live along the Bandra Bandstand and in the Pali Hill areas..
Bandra is a possible adaptation of Bandar, the Persian word for Port. There are other views on the origin of the name, one stating that it is derived from a Portuguese princess and another more plausible one that it is a corruption of Bandar-gah in Persian (Bandar is a common word for Port in Iran). Vandre in Marathi and Bandar in Persian both mean port and come from the same Sanskrit root word. The area was under Silhara dynasty in the 12th century. It is referred to as "Bandora" as seen on gravestones in the cemetery of St. Andrew's Church and in the writings of Mountstuart Elphinstone of the British East India Company which describe the endeavors to acquire the island of Salsette..
St. ANNE'S CHURCH
In 1543, the Portuguese took possession of the islands of Bombay (there were 7) by force. The Portuguese gave the Jesuit priests the sole ownership of Bandra, Parel, Wadala and Sion. In 1570 the Jesuits built a college and a church in Bandra which was called St Anne's College, or 'Santa Anna' Church. In the mid-18th century, the traveller John Fryer records that the Jesuit church, which stood near the sea shore, was still in use.
St. ANDREW'S CHURCH
The Portuguese built several churches in Bandra, including the famous St. Andrew's Church, which has the distinctive Portuguese-style façade. Bandra has the unique distinction of having the most Roman Catholic churches anywhere in the world: six churches with their own separate parishes(all within a four km2 area), and also the world famous Basilica of Our Lady of the Mount, affiliated to the parish of St. Andrew's, Bandra. The Churches are: Mount Mary's Basilica, Mount Carmel, St. Peter's Church, St. Andrew's Church, St. Theresa's Church, St. Anne's and St. Francis Of Assisi Church.
In 1733 when the Kunbi farmers migrated to this island from Colaba, because the fish manure they used was banned, they founded St. Andrew's church (which is still standing and in regular use), St. Stanislaus's Orphanage (now St. Stanislaus High School, among the best boy's school in Bombay) and a monastery of St. Anne. St. Anne's was blown up on the orders of the English to prevent it falling into Maratha hands in the year 1737, and regained in the same year when the Portuguese troops were aided by the English, a slaughterhouse was built on the same spot, and assigned to the Dakhni Muslims for operating it.
ARRIVAL OF MUSLIMS
There was a section of Kokani/Konkani (Konkani Muslims) in the present eastern part of Bandra (currently across the station / railway lines), called Navpada/Naupada previously known as Naopara. These Kokani Sunni Musalman or Konkani Muslims, all Hanafi, had migrated from inner parts of Thane district like Vasai, Nalasopara, Bhiwandi, Rabodi. Nine prominent Kokni Muslim families inhabitated here, so it was named as "Nav" (meaning nine, in Marathi) and Pada (meaning "Village"). They built the Kokani Masjid (Konkani Mosque), and a cemetery and lakes, which can be traced back more than 300 years. The inhabitants of this area were mainly running cotton hand looms and by the introduction of power looms in Bombay city, this industry died and they started the milk business and some employed in Kurla Mill. The area was then divided as Navpada East and Navpada West, by the introduction of the Bombay Baroda Central Indian Railway (BBCIR). A major part of lands of this area was acquired by the Railways, where Bandra Station, Bandra Terminus (Earlier Bandra marshalling yard) and Railway lines exists. The present lake called "Bandra Talao" or "Lotus Tank" formerly known as "Motha Reservoir" was constructed by a Rich Kokani Muslaman (as per the Gazzetter of Thane Dist. [Thane - Places of Interest]publish in 1882), which was later acquired by the Bandra Municipality for maintenance, this lake is now declared the status of Heritage II.
The chapel of Mount Mary, was built around 1640. Local tradition has it that this was destroyed in 1738 during a Maratha raid. The statue of the virgin was recovered from the sea by fishermen and temporarily installed in St. Andrews, before being shifted to the rebuilt Mount Mary in 1761. To this day the statue is venerated and many miracles, minor and major, are attributed to God, through the intercession of Our Lady, by all communities. In her honour, a fair is held for the duration of eight days, (starting on the Sunday following September 8) during which pilgrims come from as far North as Vasai, Virar and as far East as Thane, to venerate at the Basilica of Mount Mary.
Bandra remained a village with plantations of rice and vegetables in the low-lying areas of the island until getting connected to Mahim by a causeway in 1845. Although many bungalows were built in the boom years of the 1860s and 70s, the fashionable Pali Hill area, now inhabited by members of the film community, saw the first constructions only in the 1880s.
R D National College was originally set up in 1922 in Hyderabad, Pakistan under the guidance of Annie Besant. After the partition of India, it was set up again, in 1949, in Bandra.
BANDRA WEST
The west-side, called "Bandra (West)", had evolved into one of the more fashionable suburbs by the middle of the 20th century. However, the East soon followed its more popular sibling, and in the mid-to-late 90s emerged as a predominantly commercial zone, consisting of the Bandra-Kurla Commercial Complex. Bandra West is also famous for Pali Hill and Carter Road areas which are home to many movie stars such as Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Rekha, Dilip Kumar, Sanjay Dutt and many more. It also has the city's best restaurants, bars, shopping and hang out places. Otters Club, one of the city's premier clubs, is located on Carter Road, near Jogger's Park.
Bandra (East) is the capital of the Bombay suburban district. However, it is completely overshadowed by its neighbouring city district with regards to government departments. The most prominent office is the suburban collector's office. Bandra (East) also has State Government Quarters.
Bandra is known to be split by the local railway-line into Bandra (West) PIN 400050 & Bandra (East) PIN 400051. Bandra (W), has historically grabbed most of the spotlight, and sits snug between the railway-line (on the East) and the Arabian Sea (on the West). Bandra (East) houses the state government employees' homes.
* Neighbouring suburbs: Dharavi, Khar, Kurla, Mahim, Santacruz
* Arterial Roads: Swami Vivekanand Road, Linking Road, Turner (Guru Nanak) Road, Hill Road, Carter Road, Navpada (Balsamant) Road, Western Express Highway, Bandra-Worli Sea Link
[Transport
Bandra railway station is connected via the Western Railway and the Harbour Line, which is an offshoot of the suburban Central Railway. It also has a newly built terminus called Bandra Terminus in Bandra (E) from where trains bound for northern and western India are scheduled regularly. The Important trains include :
* Bandra - Indore Express
* Bandra - Patna Express
* Bandra - Jaipur Express
BEST buses, autorickshaws and taxis are abundant. The Bandra-Worli Sea Link bridge connects the Bandra West shoreline linking it with Worli in central Mumbai.; Due to Bandra's central location, most parts of the city are easily accessible.
Mount Mary's Basilica
* Jogger's Park: Jogger's Park is a small seaside jogging track where joggers of Bandra congregate. The pretty little park, next to the Otter's Club, another recreation place for Bandra denizens, was where Bombay's first laughing club was launched.
* Bandra Reclamation
* Mount Mary's Basilica (in picture)
* Castella de Aguada , a seventeenth century fort at Land's End, the southernmost point of Bandra
* Bandstand Promenade
* Bandra-Kurla complex
Gone With The Winds
136,147 items / 1,050,497 views
she is sad
disheartened
disillusioned
compassionately
she shuts her ears
as sounds of frenzy
an orchestra of chaos
around her pierces
her aging wrinkled soul
like a barrage of spears
on the little booklet
of hanuman chalisya
she shed tears
Pavan Tanay Sankat Harana Mangala Murati Roop
Ram Lakhan Sita Sahita Hriday Basahu Soor hoop
as her end nears
what was once hers
has all disappeared
nothing remains
lost hopes
lost moments of joy
over the years
a silhouette of sadness
lost frontiers
Facebook Is a Transit Lounge
136,146 items / 1,050,489 views
facebook
is a transit lounge
crumbs
from friends
as hope
you scrounge
when the bells toll
you come around
an unknown zone
beyond
page cannot be displayed
page cannot be found
like a pebble on a shore
violent waves
could not drown
a home at last
it has found
on the miseries
of a mound
a karmic circle
a wheel of wisdom
going round and round
Facebook Is a Transit Lounge
136,146 items / 1,050,489 views
facebook
is a transit lounge
crumbs
from friends
as hope
you scrounge
when the bells toll
you come around
an unknown zone
beyond
page cannot be displayed
page cannot be found
like a pebble on a shore
violent waves
could not drown
a home at last
it has found
on the miseries
of a mound
a karmic circle
a wheel of wisdom
going round and round
Good Days Will Return
136,145 items / 1,050,483 views
within
the ashes
of despair
lies a tear
of hope
in the urn
it takes
two hands to clap
kindness and concern
like a zenith
in the flames
we shape others
before we burn
humility
humanity
you simply
cannot spurn
beneath
the shade
of a childs
umbrella
lies
our future
in good turn
sometimes
wisdom '
from little minds
we learn
no hate
no animosity
no ill will
just goodwill
our own
childhood
basking
in the sun
a better
tomorrow
a world
without borders
is a world
our children yearn
hazar khwaishen
kyon na ho
mannavta
se bada nahi
koie dhan
hindu
muslim
christian
we are
human
we are one
yeh sali zindagi
budhapa aur bachpan
The Silhouette of the Hijab
136,145 items / 1,050,208 views
the muslim
beggar womans
life is a curse
protected
within the soul
of a hijab
it could have
been worse
more painful
adverse
poetic pathos
a pain more
perverse
muslim
society
has no
qualms
her pain
it will not
reimburse
her journey
on her own
she has
to traverse
dependent
on alms
that fall
from another
persons purse
The Muslim Beggar Woman On Hill Road
136,144 items / 1,050,186 views
she was
begging
from shop to shop
i froze her for a
second all time
stopped
her soul
i could no crop
a picture
of human
despair
the silhouette
of the hijab
on the top
muslim
beggar womans
pain non stop
going round and round
like a spinning top
Jesus Loves The Rains
waters of life
gurgling
struggling
entering
choked
up drains
mosquitoes
making love
to human flesh
staring a
malarial
karmic chain
sometimes
a mosquito
bite instead
of the body
affects
the brain
a few
unpublished
poems
sepia toned
tattered picture
of a lover
part of your
new journeys
lat remains
it would have been
a more media savvy death
instead of malaria
if you had cut
off your jugular vein
or drank tik 20
or jumped from
peninsular tower
or banged your
head against
a speeding train
for once and all
a death
without complains
This Goat Is On Hire
136,144 items / 1,050,175 views
searching
for a soul mate
to her hearts desire
this goat is on hire
hiding away
from the butcher
who is bloodthirsty
pan eating liar
in a ricksha
her poetic
soul on fire
a romantic goat
of chinchpokli road
her pain
her loneliness
lovelorn emotions
she shares through
the internet wires
a nice handsome
john abraham
like butt horny
male goat
she requires
drooling
cooling her
goats mind
full of day dreams
her scintillating eyes
like yellow sapphires
The Earth Beneath Their Feet
136,144 items / 1,050,166 views
a tender
soul on
concrete
kissing
with their
soles
moments
raw off beat
shot by a poet
barefeet
if a picture
is not a poem
if the poem
is not a picture
than my blog
is incomplete
i am what i am
my angst
my anguish
my karma
my dharma
i could not cheat
dust to dust
ashes to ashes
diabetic flesh
maggots worms
succinctly
tersely
as morsels
of words
will eat
dust and heat
This Is Human Pain It Lives On The Streets
from the suffocating soul
of his winding sheet
you can see his bare feet
death is too scared
to touch him
in this dark street
a living dead
on concrete
his malarial flesh
even rodents
wont eat
Jesus Has Bought A Digital Camera
136,145 items / 1,050,099 views
jesus has a miniature
digital camera you cannot see
after seeing me taking pictures
jesus too learnt photography
so jesus shoots pain
that passes him by
on the periphery
the beggars
the poor folks
the hijras
all collectively
we call humanity
but jesus unlike
a street photographer
heals hears their plea
their captive soul
he sets free
instead of alms
he gives them hope
of an eternity
though just the other day
jesus whispered in my ears
a blogger
too he would like to be
like fred miller
roland luthi
a bit of a poet
like anthony posey
or like benn bell
calm as tea cozy
Jesus Is Pained
This genre I call Jesus poetry and it is comes as I see the visual after having uploaded it on Flickr before when I took the shot it was a just simple street shot and nothing else.
jesus
was telling me
just the other day
very pained
sounding unwell
he was hurt
that the principal
of a Kolkatta school
would continue
after a child
due to corporeal
punishment
hung himself
a thought
inhuman and cruel
but such is our system'
of education
within a schools bell
a child's death knell
making his life
'a living hell
so he takes
a short cut
his friends
his teachers
he bids farewell
honestly if this
is the outcome
of our education
than lucky
the little urchin
who clean cars
at traffic signal
at least
he is alive
not caned
for being
a rebel
even if
they honk
shout and yell
Jesus Calls Out To The Cyclist
most of the time
jesus gets lonely
in our midst
he yearns
for company
to talk
to listen
to advise
he loves to
assist
two hands
it takes
when you
co exist
so from
the cage
of his
captivity
he calls out
to the cyclist
a bhaiyya
very angry
very pissed
because
he is accused
of killing 30000
people
in one year for
spreading malaria
a story of politics
of regional
appeasement
with a twist
not just
the bhaiyya
but with this
atrocious
ludicrous
thought
in sheer bad taste
the soul
of Amchi Mumbai
gets hit
Marziya The Unhidden Soul of My Camera
Marziya
is an enigma
to me as a
poet
as a
photographer
as her grand pa
a scintillating
diamond
without flaw
when i am
down
dead beat
drowning
in my depression
i cling to her
smile like straw
marziya a gift
a present
to me by
my daughter
in law
a daughter
actually
she calls
me papa
marziya
an upcoming
photographer too
her street pictures
taken with the Nikon D80
on facebook flickr you saw
marziya shakir
thanks to uncle assad
is also learning to draw
marziya shakir
madly in love
with her grand ma
my wife a fighter
who 33 years back
married this
crazy
poet
outlaw
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Dargah of Hazrat Syed Ali Mira Datar Unava Gujrat , a photo by firoze shakir photographerno1 on Flickr. HAZRAT SYED ALI MIRA DATAR'S G...
