Silhouette of a Grand Child

Silhouette of a Grand Child, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

138,180 items / 1,070,010 views

she wore the hijab
came running
to me and said
grand pa
take my picture
i shot her
through my soul
two beings
blood related
as we were
my muse
my inspiration
a grand child
a grand father

Ramzan Is Hope For All

Ramzan Is Hope For All, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

138,179 items / 1,069,952 views

a cherished month
beyond
the muezzin
virtually
Allah's call
a month
in the calendar
of our spirituality
stands out
grand and tall
ramzan is hope for
big stunted and small
a month when He hears
your prayers sees
nothing unfortunate befall
he protects you
from evil falling walls
forgiveness humility
generosity charity
virtues rising
above all
to the man
in the mansion
to the poor family
in the chawl
he gives his bounty
to each and all
Allah Ho Akbar
Allah Be Praised
on human souls
scrawled

A Message of Peace From a Flickr Contact

A Message of Peace From a Flickr Contact, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

138,178 items / 1,068,841 views


Superb imagery and poetry


Hi there

I just wanted to drop you line to say how much your images convey the human condition to me in India.

The poetic verses are very touching.

Thank you for sharing.

All my best Heidi

My reply to Heidi

So now you live on my blog post too..

Only God Knows What Marziya Does

Only God Knows What Marziya Does, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

a thought
that people
may like
on Facebook
Twitter
Google Buzz
kissing my hand
for gift of pens
from Big Rock
Indi Blogger
Tshirt four
times larger
than her size
courtesy
Renie Ranvin
she wore it
like a silhouette
of a hijab
without
any grudge
in kindness
thankfulness
for her gifts
from my friends
a painted kiss
on my soul
she smudged
the youngest
photo blogger
two and a half
years old
in the hall of fame
adjudged

Destroying The Mosquito Menace

Destroying The Mosquito Menace, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

Most of the areas of Bandra Bazar and I visited JJ Colony today Slums at Bandra Reclamation are a hang our for mosquitoes , and it is responsibility of the Municipality to keep the surroundings clean , but here the main culprit is the resident of the area who throws wet and dry garbage wherever he likes it , I met a man cleaning his courtyard that has been the bedrock off filth and he is filthy rich, he owns a number of buildings and his child languishing in the hospital due to Malaria.

Why wait so long and he is now worried about the child not responding to treatment.

Raja or Rahebar Khan our local corporator has made cleanliness and hygiene the prime issue in our area , this huge torpedo like Macchar Killer gun is kind courtesy of Raja.

I was with his team getting the space between buildings fumigated ,at JJ Colony and why are Muslim areas so dirty and unclean where our religion Islam preempts cleanliness in both body and spirit is a question that betas me completely and if you are a bigot and tell me that other communities are dirty too would hit me harder than a shoe pelted by apathy on the soul of my humanity.

Muslim areas are ghettos where disease breed of the body and the mind ..this malaise has to be eradicated by society before anything else.

I have a huge lot of pictures in my camera that I shall download at a later date.

But one advantage new founded as a blogger , my door bell and phone does not stop ringing , if there is a issue they want me t write about it on the net, they may not know it is called blogging but they know it is more remedial and more effective than a newspaper.

This morning some political activist wanted me to shoot pictures of a serious encroachment in my area I politely refused I am not into politics period.


I shoot pain I shoot and sweep the streets with my camera I am a beggar and a sweeper too..who bogs dirt misery as he views on the viewfinder of his Soul.

Where Do I Begin Where Do I End

Where Do I Begin Where Do I End, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

Man
is nothing
but a broken fence
his life
his struggles
his hardships
seen through
my lens
Man
born as a bubble
blown by winds of fate
his contribution
to humanity immense
he rises head
above shoulder
in every sense
but his meteoric fall
from grace
by his own limitations
is the history of man
without pretense
he dies buried
under the earth
that he defaced
with his nonsense
but from a plant
comes a seed
to carry on the
heritage of doom
of mans sequence
charismatic chaos
with his own
karmic expense

65 Years of My Country's Independence

65 Years of My Country's Independence, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

they shit all over her
with corruption evil
the soul of my
country
cries
kick backs
big bucks
common wealth
mind games
lies
they live
they proper
the soul
of humanity dies
a freeedom
for which sardar vallabh bhai patel
gandhiji nehruji others paid a price
their heritage over the history book flies
our patriotism
our nationalism
a winding sheet
an optical illusion
in disguise
as tears on the soul
of mother India dries

Amchi Mumbai Amchi Mulgi

Amchi Mumbai Amchi Mulgi, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

Muslim Beggar 65 Years After Independence Day

Muslim Beggar 65 Years After Independence Day, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

138,178 items / 1,068,841 views

When I generally talk of Muslims I dont mean rich or well off Muslims.

The Muslims I talk of live on the fringe a precipice and on the edge of humiliation and despair.

This is a Muslim beggar and Muslim beggars will always be beggar even after 65 years of our Independence..

Islam came into the being to accommodate all people as ONE ,no caste no division no sub division all praying to
ONE GOD , ONE HOLY BOOK AND ONE PATH OF HUMANITY AS ITS GOAL HERE AND HERE AFTER..

yet we are divided by our bias , our shortcomings our Ignorance and hate for one sect for the other and what destroyed the sanity sanctity of Islam is not the American or the Jew , is the rogue Mullah who began taking swipes at the Shias and other sects condoning his followers for attacking them , burning their mosques and making their women and children homeless destitute.

Its perhaps easy for me to sit here next to the computer and say all this but I was born without blinkers of hate I am an Indian a little more human and sensitive than the next man.


If you ask my two year old grand daughter she recites the kalma , the simple verses of the Koran , she knows other gods too she knows Jesus she knows Lord Ganesha.. and being a Shia child she does all that comes with her territory , but most important she feels and recognizes pain.

So tell me what is Islam for this little child?


Should I tell her look that is a Hindu be hateful to him, or that is Christian despise him ,that is a Sunnie dont talk to him , I dont need to tell her about all this she knows what is right and need I discuss this more would be futile..

Our children are what we make of them.. this little child knows the difference that perhaps I may have never known when I was her age,she kisses peoples hands and she knows they are her elders ..

So it hurts me to shoot what I shoot but I shall shoot nevertheless.

So back to the Muslim beggar this is a community , a race a ethnicity and there are beggars in every community but because I shoot the Muslim beggar I talk of the Muslim beggar..

Can you imagine for a single second somebody else taking picture of Muslim beggar unless he or she has an agenda.

I dont sell my pictures I am perpetually broke my back like a camel with the hump of my worldly shortcomings..

Ramzan is the time you really see beggars in hundred and more all outside mosques during Iftar..outside food joints and in spite of the heavy rains I shot a lot of them in town..

i talk through pictures and hate text you better believe it but I must empty my pot to take in fresh water too this is my karma and my dharma my religiosity Muslim but embedded as Indian metaphors of my cultural inheritance..

I as a photographer who documents pain show you the malaise , the government our leaders shroud bring in change the healing touch on the soul of Man.

No Holy Saint sat at home and gave a speech while a city burnt , he went mixed with them touched them humanly .. we are now in a world through the television touch we expect our empty words to heal the pain of a mother whose son died in a protest or a husband shot because of his bravado or for whatever reason..


I believe only God has the right to take lives.

Killing pregnant women with unborn children is not my kind of Islam at all, perhaps I am more Indian and cant shut my eyes to flaws that destroy Humanity.

So now you know why I blog via pictures ,my words may not have the content my pictures have ..I shoot Truth as I saw it on the viewfinder of my Soul.

Muslim Beggar 65 Years After Independence Day

Muslim Beggar 65 Years After Independence Day, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

138,178 items / 1,068,841 views

When I generally talk of Muslims I dont mean rich or well off Muslims.

The Muslims I talk of live on the fringe a precipice and on the edge of humiliation and despair.

This is a Muslim beggar and Muslim beggars will always be beggar even after 65 years of our Independence..

Islam came into the being to accommodate all people as ONE ,no caste no division no sub division all praying to
ONE GOD , ONE HOLY BOOK AND ONE PATH OF HUMANITY AS ITS GOAL HERE AND HERE AFTER..

yet we are divided by our bias , our shortcomings our Ignorance and hate for one sect for the other and what destroyed the sanity sanctity of Islam is not the American or the Jew , is the rogue Mullah who began taking swipes at the Shias and other sects condoning his followers for attacking them , burning their mosques and making their women and children homeless destitute.

Its perhaps easy for me to sit here next to the computer and say all this but I was born without blinkers of hate I am an Indian a little more human and sensitive than the next man.


If you ask my two year old grand daughter she recites the kalma , the simple verses of the Koran , she knows other gods too she knows Jesus she knows Lord Ganesha.. and being a Shia child she does all that comes with her territory , but most important she feels and recognizes pain.

So tell me what is Islam for this little child?


Should I tell her look that is a Hindu be hateful to him, or that is Christian despise him ,that is a Sunnie dont talk to him , I dont need to tell her about all this she knows what is right and need I discuss this more would be futile..

Our children are what we make of them.. this little child knows the difference that perhaps I may have never known when I was her age,she kisses peoples hands and she knows they are her elders ..

So it hurts me to shoot what I shoot but I shall shoot nevertheless.

So back to the Muslim beggar this is a community , a race a ethnicity and there are beggars in every community but because I shoot the Muslim beggar I talk of the Muslim beggar..

Can you imagine for a single second somebody else taking picture of Muslim beggar unless he or she has an agenda.

I dont sell my pictures I am perpetually broke my back like a camel with the hump of my worldly shortcomings..

Ramzan is the time you really see beggars in hundred and more all outside mosques during Iftar..outside food joints and in spite of the heavy rains I shot a lot of them in town..

i talk through pictures and hate text you better believe it but I must empty my pot to take in fresh water too this is my karma and my dharma my religiosity Muslim but embedded as Indian metaphors of my cultural inheritance..

I as a photographer who documents pain show you the malaise , the government our leaders shroud bring in change the healing touch on the soul of Man.

No Holy Saint sat at home and gave a speech while a city burnt , he went mixed with them touched them humanly .. we are now in a world through the television touch we expect our empty words to heal the pain of a mother whose son died in a protest or a husband shot because of his bravado or for whatever reason..


I believe only God has the right to take lives.

Killing pregnant women with unborn children is not my kind of Islam at all, perhaps I am more Indian and cant shut my eyes to flaws that destroy Humanity.

So now you know why I blog via pictures ,my words may not have the content my pictures have ..I shoot Truth as I saw it on the viewfinder of my Soul.

And Than I Shot This As a Wordless Poem of Pain

And Than I Shot This As a Wordless Poem of Pain, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

And Than I Shot This As a Wordless Poem of Pain

And Than I Shot This As a Wordless Poem of Pain, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

Motherhood 64 Independence Day

Motherhood 64 Independence Day, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

138,178 items / 1,068,841 views

I shot this on Independence day as a poet
who shoots pain this was an excruciating pain
touching my core again and again
this was a motherhood for
which she had not bargained
under the shadow of our flag
from where her misery began
pursuing her relentlessly
brainlessly remorselessly
was her fate which held her
by a chain a fact to remain
her child his future by the
sweat of his brow
a drop in the rain
for the greater glory of god
despair remorse
as it flowed down the drain
the purity of a parchment of peace
as it stained


She was rightful angry as I was taking her pictures , nobody was interested in buying what she was selling, she was cursing fuming all signs of her humiliation , I walked up to her gave her some money .. all I said and my eyes are moist now as I recollect that moment.... dont curse me you are a daughter too .

I take your picture to describe the omnipresence of pain on Humanity..


And I am a few minutes before I begin my fast for Ramzan.

A very dear friend in Delhi , a Facebook friend is trying hard to make my thoughts my angst and my pictures into a book.. all I told him who will pay to buy pain you get it free even when you dont want it..

I am published on the pages of peoples heart is enough for me.

If I was asked to read one of my poems ..I would feign ignorance I am not a poet in real life at all..I am a poet time created on the soul of cyberspace Alt Control Delete..

This could be the optional title of my life's poetry.


To Rajiv Soni his uncle late Mr Bhappie Sonie who wore only whites was an old friend well wisher of mine.

Maha Mrityunjay Mantra

Maha Mrityunjay Mantra, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

http://www.mahashivratri.org/maha-mrityunjay-mantra.html


Maha Mrityunjay Mantra
Maha Mrityunjay MantraThe Maha Mrityunjay Mantra or Lord Shiva Mantra is considered extremely powerful and significant by the Hindus. Also known as the Moksha Mantra of Lord Shiva, chanting of Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra is said to create divine vibrations that heals. Devotees of Lord Shiva further believe that Maha Mrityunjay evokes the Shiva within human beings and removes the fear of death, liberating one from the cycle of death and rebirth.

Significance of Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra
Devotees strongly believe that proper recitation of the Maha Mrityunjaya rejuvenates, bestows health, wealth, long life, peace, prosperity and contentment. It is said that chanting of Shiva Mantra generates divine vibrations that ward off all the negative and evil forces and creates a powerful protective shield. Besides, it is said to protect the one who chants against accidents and misfortunes of every kind. Recitation of the mantra creates vibration that pulsates through every cell, every molecule of human body and tears away the veil of ignorance. Hindus believe that recitation of the mantra ignites a fire within that consumes all negativity and purifies entire system. It is also said to have a strong healing power and can cure diseases declared incurable even by the doctors. Many believe Maha Mrityunjay Mantra to be a mantra that can conquer death and connect human beings to their own inner divinity.

The Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra
The following Maha Mrityunjay Mantra has been taken from the Sukla Yajurveda Samhita III. 60. The Mantra is addressed to Lord Shiva and is a centuries old technique of connecting one to pure consciousness and bliss.

Om Tryambhakam Yajamahe
Sugandhim Pushtivardhanam |
Urvarukamiva Bandhanan
Mrityor Mukshiya Maamritat ||

Meaning:
Om. We worship The Three-Eyed Lord Shiva who is fragrant and who increasingly nourishes the devotees. Worshipping him may we be liberated from death for the sake of immortality just as the ripe cucumber easily separates itself from the binding stalk.

Explanation:
The mantra is a prayer to Lord Shiva who is addressed as Sankara and Trayambaka. Sankara is sana (blessings) and Kara (the Giver). Trayambaka is the three eyed one (where the third eye signifies the giver of knowledge, which destroys ignorance and releases us from the cycle of death and rebirth).

Best Time to Chant
Chanting the Maha Mrityunjaya Mantra with sincerity, faith and devotion in Bramha Muhurata is very beneficial. But one can also do Maha Mrityunjaya japa anytime in a pure environment with great benefit and discover the happiness that's already within.

Trust in Me and your prayer shall be answered.

Trust in Me and your prayer shall be answered., originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

http://saisaburi.com/

Long time ago, at the beginning of eighteenth century a young bearded man with sparkling eyes took shelter in a mosque, in Shirdi Village (of Maharshtra State, In India) . Nobody knew from where this stranger had come who hardly spoke a word and stayed there.

Gradually the curious villagers started offering food to the man, but he never asked anything from them. Sometimes he shared his food with the animals. Soon the young fakir, as he was started to be addressed, started expressing his view points with few elderly villagers. His simple language of expression and his special power of solving the problems of poor needy and destitute soon made this less known fakir, known as Shri Sai Baba. As the days passed, devotees started streaming into Shirdi in ever growing numbers. The village was fast becoming a centre of pilgrimage. As gifts and presentations flowed in, the pomp and ceremony of Sai worship were evolving. Everyday Sai Baba would be a pauper having distributed all among the needy and the poor. But Sai Baba's life of a Fakir remained calm, undisturbed, unaltered and therein is the saint's Spiritual glory.

People also realized that this "Baba" was no ordinary person but a person with extraordinary godly powers. Such powers are not known or present in normal human beings. Baba preached his principle of love and faith in humanity to all his disciples. He always felt anguished over the fact that all those who came to him were more for their own personal problems and not for attaining the ultimate goal of reaching God which he felt could be attained only by true servicing of humanity.

Sai baba strongly believed in uniformity of religion and he never distinguished anyone on the basis of caste, creed or religion. He always made it a point not to return empty handed those who had come to him in their hour of need and grief. He performed miracles to alleviate the suffering of poor people. On one occasion he restored the eyes of a blind elderly and in another occasion he lighted a lantern with water when there was no oil to burn it.

As all good things have to end ultimately "Baba" also left his body on his own will on 15th Oct. 1918, leaving his millions of believers and followers crying. His body was laid in the Samadhi Mandir called "Booty", which he had asked his disciple to built before his death.

Sai Baba was Unique, in that, he lived his message through the Essence of his Being. His life and relationship with the common man was his teaching. The immense Energy that was manifest in the body of Sai was moving and is still moving in a mysterious way, creating and recreating itself everywhere, beyond the comprehension of time and space.Yet, he lived with the common folk as a penniless fakir, wearing a torn kafni, sleeping over a mat while resting his head on a brick, begging for his food. He radiated a mysterious smile and a deep inward look, of a peace that passeth all understanding. He was always and ever aware of what transpired within the hearts and minds of everyone, whether they be, His devotees or not. This Omnipresent and Omniscient Sri Sai Baba who left his mortal body in 1918, is the living spiritual force that is drawing people from all walks of life, from all parts of the world, into his fold, today.Sri Sai Baba lived, acted and behaved as only a "God descended on Earth" can. He came to serve mankind, to free them from the clutches of fear.

His most concise message for one and all alike was "Why fear when I am here". To take refuge in Sai, is to enter into ajourney to reach the Divine Oasis of Love and drink deep from the Fountain of Life, the source of all Spiritual Energy.Wherever the devotee is, Baba makes him recognize within himself his highest aspirations and goal and at one stroke, his conduct and the attitude to fellow beings is touched with the awareness of love, understanding, patience and faith. This is the promise that Sri Sai Baba holds out to all who come to Him. Sri Sai Baba was beyond the limitations of Time and Space and thus caste, creed, position dogmas and doctrines were fundamentally unimportant to him. Nobody really knew his parentage, where he came from or which religion he practiced. He claimed no possessions nor accepted any disciples or gave any specific teaching.

This anonymity lent a strange facet to his interaction with the people who came to him for guidance. To the Hindus he was an orthodox Brahmin, with a sacred fire, enjoining the worship of many gods and the devout study of various Hindu scriptures. He lived in a mosque but always referred to it as "Dwarkamay!" (Lord Krishna's birth place is Dwaraka). To the Moslems he was a fakir living in a mosque observing the disciplines of Islam, uttering "Allah Malik" (God is the master) guiding Muslim seekers along the lines c)f their own religion. To the Parsis he was the sacred rire worshipper. His life was a living manifestation c)f the Sermon of the Christ and of the Eight-fold path of the Buddha.

Sai Baba's attraction and appeal lie in this fact that he was a perfect model of the harmony of all religions, for whom this world - with all its sectarian and religious antagonism, had been waiting. Sai Baba lived to awaken and lead mankind to the varities of spiritual life. He set in motion a wave of spirituality, which is now spreading all over the globe. All his life's activities constituted the upliftment of mankind. By first conferring temporal benefits, he drew unto himself countless souls caught up in ignorance (darkness) and opened their eyes to the true meaning of life. The miracles which manifested through Sai Baba were just such as were needed to create faith in the people and to make his devotees ethically and spiritually better evolved. Baba did not purposefully perform miracles to show his powers. The very strength of his perfect realisation, in its interaction with nature, caused "the miracle" to take place. Thus he drew people from their deluded pursuits after earthly objects of a transitory nature and induced and inspired them to strive for self-realisation. He continued this glorious work until the last moment of his human embodiment in Shirdi.

Amazingly, there are a phenomenally large number of Instances in which Sai Baba has been literally physically appearing before his devotees, even decades after his passing out of the physical body.Sai Baba is constantly and simultaneously proving that he Is alive in spirit and responds to our sincere prayers. He Is the One Spirit of all existence. which is God in all the forms of God, in all the saints, in all the men and in all the creatures.All those who sincerely take to a life of inner development, Sai Baba lifts him to a higher level. Every one derives benefit according to the ripeness o f his soul and in accordance with his inner yearning.Baba assured his devotees by his saying "I am at Shirdi and everywhere. Whatever you do, wherever you may be, ever bear this in mind, that I am always aware of everything". Sai Baba does not belong to any single tradition but to all mankind on the path of goodness, love and understanding.

Lord Ganesha Arrives In Bandra

Lord Ganesha Arrives In Bandra, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

This is my new set t Flickr ..Ganesha workshops I shot all this on Nag Panchami day.

Every year I shoot the Lord being created out of clay ..and man makes him with love, sculpting a spiritually satisfying art work.. that attains the power of divinity..

Though all the artisans and sculptor kept asking for Marziya as they allow her to use he brush skills on the idols..

Marziya is their favorite Indian Idol.

Shooting Lord Ganesha is not photography because this a spiritual moment where the camera moves away and man and soul of man begins a lyrical jugal bandi with the elephant god .. a moment only the musician painter or poet will experience.,.


Gajaananam BhuutagaNaadisevitam
kapittha Jambuuphala Chaaru bhaxitam.h
Umaasutam ShokavinaashakaaraNam
Namaami vighneshvarapaadapaNkajam.h

The Great Divide And Shoeless in Kashmir

The Great Divide And Shoeless in Kashmir, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

I have just come back from town , with my wife we were both caught in the worst downpour almost like a mini cloud burst we had a very tough time getting back to Bandra no cabs , roads water logged we managed to hop into a bus and have just reached home intact.

We broke our fast in the office of Moghul Masjid I shot a lot off pictures , and mind we were without an umbrella.

I met some Kashmiri Shias who broke fast with us,,

I shot guys huddled together breaking their fasts on the road I shot the Iftar and the namaz at Moghul Masjid , and outside the mosque man was caught in torrential rains.

We were totally drenched when we reached home a few minutes back.

And the picture is of a Bandra Beggar shot on 15 August our 64 Independence Day and he has turned his back on the world he has lost faith completely...,

the divide between
the beggar and the rich man
just cannot be bridged
he told me grumbling
in guilt as he wallowed
his office for begging
on the road
he was complaining
the finance ministry
wants to charge
12.5 %vat
on his alms
add to the misery
of his load
his office like
a public toilet
no commode
he uses gutter
rain water to
scrub his ass
while sportsmen
use gold foiled
tissue paper
in the common wealth
games
he bellowed
the country
has gone
to the dogs
he echoed
shoe shops
are doing terrific
business
making
in roads
in kashmir
they want
our mumbai
second hand shoes
to pelt at leaders
get kayoed
the copy
of the order
to me he showed
though he felt sorry
for those who
were shot their
wives widowed
children dead
in a war of hate
as he mellowed
he was fasting
he spat out
another
thought he had
accidentally
swallowed
as cars all around him
on the traffic signal of life
snarled honked
thanklessly flowed

The Sniffer Dogs of Bandra

The Sniffer Dogs of Bandra, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

This guy is sniffing brown sugar and there is no escape thy were not aware I was shooting them or the would have gone after me lock and barrel.


They are part time beggars and fill time drug addicts also known as Gardalu..brown sugar is known as Gard.