Sunday, August 29, 2010

The Vote Banks of Democracy

139,885 items / 1,083,238 views

when he stands
for election
he needs them
so he lets
their hutments grow
slums shanties
overflow
than once
he comes to power
becomes a builder
the slum dwellers
become his foes
he wants their land
where new towers
will rise their shanties
his men will mow
the vote banks
of democracy
the wastelands
of humanity
crying at
their doors
politics
of convenience
makes men
into pimps
makes women
into whores
a river of remorse
running between
two shores

We Are Family Screams the Banner Across The Streets

139,892 items / 1,083,353 views


this is man
noble creature
once now
biting the dust
sprawled
at gods feet
outside
his grave
his last
heart beat
his cornerstone
the gutter cover
his lost illusions
his winding sheet
a banner across
the streets gives
him hope solace
we are family
a circle complete
man his ultimate fall
his final defeat

dedicated to my facebook friend
uwe paschen

We Are Family Screams the Banner Across The Streets

Jesus Is Helpless There Is No Mother Theresa in Mumbai

Who Really Cares a Fuck Anyway...

Jesus Has Made India His Mothers Land

My tribute to Mother Theresa

This is Self Contained 1 Bedroom Hall With Attached Toilet and Balcony on the Street

This is Self Contained 1 Bedroom Hall With Attached Toilet on the Street

Andar Bahar

These are con men working on a gullible guy on the street with playing cards initially they let him win and than loot him completely I shot this from a moving bus..reminded me of this scam that took place outside Elphinestone college in South Mumbai

In This World There Are No Good Samaritans

Luke 10:29-37
But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."

Dedicated to Archbishop Cardinal Gracias


Cardinal Oswald Gracias was born in Mahim, Mumbai, on December 24, 1944 and he did his school studies at St. Michael’s, Mahim. He completed his seminary studies at St. Pius College, Goregaon and was ordained a priest on December 20, 1970. After a short stint as Chancellor to the Diocese of Jamshedpur and Secretary to its bishop, he returned to Mumbai. From 1977 to 1981, he was in Rome where he obtained the Doctorate in Canon Law and a Diploma in Jurisprudence.

He returned to Mumbai where he was first appointed Secretary to the Archbishop of Bombay and Chancellor of the Archdiocese. In 1997, he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Bombay. He was ordained a bishop on 16th September 1997 at St. Michael’s, Mahim taking as his motto, “To Reconcile All Things in Christ”. Archbishop Ivan Dias was the chief consecrator. On that occasion, two Cardinals, twenty four Archbishops and Bishops from different parts of the country and over three hundred priests concelebrated at the Eucharist. In the year 2000, he was appointed Archbishop of Agra.

Cardinal Oswald Gracias was secretary general of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India and currently the President of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI). He is a consulter to the Pontifical Council for the Interpretation of Legislative Texts.

In This World There Are No Good Samaritans

Luke 10:29-37
But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."

Dedicated to Archbishop Cardinal Gracias


Cardinal Oswald Gracias was born in Mahim, Mumbai, on December 24, 1944 and he did his school studies at St. Michael’s, Mahim. He completed his seminary studies at St. Pius College, Goregaon and was ordained a priest on December 20, 1970. After a short stint as Chancellor to the Diocese of Jamshedpur and Secretary to its bishop, he returned to Mumbai. From 1977 to 1981, he was in Rome where he obtained the Doctorate in Canon Law and a Diploma in Jurisprudence.

He returned to Mumbai where he was first appointed Secretary to the Archbishop of Bombay and Chancellor of the Archdiocese. In 1997, he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Bombay. He was ordained a bishop on 16th September 1997 at St. Michael’s, Mahim taking as his motto, “To Reconcile All Things in Christ”. Archbishop Ivan Dias was the chief consecrator. On that occasion, two Cardinals, twenty four Archbishops and Bishops from different parts of the country and over three hundred priests concelebrated at the Eucharist. In the year 2000, he was appointed Archbishop of Agra.

Cardinal Oswald Gracias was secretary general of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India and currently the President of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI). He is a consulter to the Pontifical Council for the Interpretation of Legislative Texts.

The Ultimate Fall Of Man

139,850 items / 1,082,939 views

I was not to come here at all I was trying to get a bus to go to Nariman Point to meet Mr Mukesh Parpiani Curator of Piramal Art Gallery NCPA.

While searching for a bus neasr Badi Masjid a frend in a cab called out to me and gave me a lift till St Michael Church Mahim Bus Depot .. I shot this on my way to the next bus stop.

So God does give pictures to me in my beggars bowl too .

I share my alms with all of you .

She Is Shy But I See A Smile

This Is Life Washing Clothes For Slum People

She is washing a Janamaz we use as prayer mat ..and she is washing spirituality that has been made a victim by the Muslim Man.. murdering 19 year old girl in Ramzan to prove that the woman he loves is greater than the tenets of Islam he belongs too.

He killed a girl stabbed her brutally and destroyed life .

What is the matter with young educated Muslim youth?

I give up.

Garbage Porn The Crows Break Their Fast in Bandra

The Pani Puriwala Hill Road Bandra

He has undergone a major heart operation helped by all political parties of Bandra , his family are Bhaiyyas that migrated here and have lived here since decades.

His family sell black channa during the Mount Mary Fair.

He had taken a long break because doctors advised him rest a very long rest but he is back on his feet to eke a living and his stuff is as good as what you get at Elco.


What could you ask for Rs 10 a plate .

I Get Sick And Tired Shooting the Same Thing



139,823 items / 1,082,664 views

but than a thought
gives wings
the drunk
lying dead prone
on the streets
is the only
one living life
like a king
king size
dont you think
stale booze
same clothes
in which
he urinate
shits and stinks
through
my pictures
i shoot of him
to your
computerized
thoughts
he interlinks
h is a human
toilet without flush
without sink
a few more
coins thrown
on the face
of adversity
some more
he will drink
he does not vote
he does no pay taxes
but yes he does
not cheat the tax payer
or rob the nation
in the name of the
common wealth games
into the darkness he slinks
his barefeet
like a new born babies
buttocks all soft
chubby and pink

This is What I Shoot Most of the Time

That is Me Shooting My Bandra Blogs

100 Percent Proof On The Streets of Drunken Despair

100 Percent Proof On The Streets of Drunken Despair

The Kids Call Me a Computer Photographer

I met a little kid and older than this girl and he calls me computer photographer , he saw my pictures on the net , I was in a hurry so I did not pay much attention to him.. but his words stuck to my soul.


I dont give copies of my pictures to people I shoot if I did I would be bankrupt by now as I have 139823 images on the net all at Flickr.

All shot of people and places my mind has visited I shoot my surroundings , my Mumbaikar ethos as only certain situations find me leaving the city where I live .

I shot more pictures last year than this year last year a single month like August 2009 I had shot over 7000 photo blogs in a month.

This year I am low profile and less prolific in my uploads to Flickr .

I cross blog some of my posts to Blogspot Wordpress where I have my web presence but the other tw places are Facebook and Twitter .

I had a site Firoze Shakir .com I surrendered it I could not afford the steep yearly charges .

And I blog to keep myself awake to the reality of my soul my angst so to speak and in a few minutes I will begin my 18 fast down below my house I can hear the voice of the Awakeners calling out to wake up for the fast but I am too tired and sleepy to go down and shoot them.

And life has not been very kind to me always attacking me when I least expected it and has almost flattened me out , the blogging process makes me empty out my pain through pictures softly silently.

Another place where I ink my blogs from Flick is Indivine at Indi Bloggers a group of Indian bloggers led by Renie Ranvin..A nice place to learn about blogging with a very vibrant forum that has versatile bloggers from all walks of life their inputs their love blogging is astonishing and holistically healing to say the least.


And I got an Invitation to shoot the Dahi Handi at Than by a young enterprising lad Purvesh Sarnaik son of Pratap Sarnaik leader of Shiv Sena part in Thane.

I had shot the world record breaking Dahi handi the nine teared one by the Talwadi Mitra Mandal of Mumbai.

But leaving Dadar is an idea I cant take up, I shoot Ranade Road or other areas of Dadar in the day time barefeet dressed in saffron and Dahi Handi is the best time to meet other street photographers both from media and my camera club PSI of India Mumbai

My friend Raju Langewal of Lal Bagh Cha Raja wants me to come and shoot hi Dahi Handi too..and I dont have wheels and it is tough getting cabs on Gokul Ashtami.

And I shall miss my Nikon AF 2'8 80- 20 Lens that I sold ff to shoot Ajmer Sharif.

I was really broke my business in the slumps this year and last year too.. and the year before last too.

My computer broke down I blog on my sons spare computer till I get a new one which will take some time I type with a single finger of my permanently damaged right hand..

A blog is a river of words that once it flows it touches shores of another mans Mind and Imagination...

Marziya Shoots on Nikon D 80

139,781 items / 1,082,394 views

And here she surpasses her Master too
marziya shakir shoots the soul of
her grand father with a shot she slew
over the head of a blogger she flew
the decisive moment now or never
before she hit the shutter button
she knew a karmic connection
endearingly true not through
the viewfinder but from her inner soul
she captured her photo guru

Om Mani Padme Hoon

139,778 items / 1,082,366 views

Shot by Marziya Shakir on Nikon D 80

She shot several shot and now she can also tilt the camera by herself while perched on the bed or dining table...

For me it does not matter how Marziya shoots or what Marziya shoots but I know she shoots me like a poet too , a picture open to all metaphoric interpretations...

The Mochi


The Mochi, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

139,776 items / 1,082,260 views

he polishes
repairs your shoes
restitching the heels back
tightening the straps
that have gone lose
or giving new soles
to old shoes out of use
on the dance floor
of life you arduously
fucked and abused
he watches you standing
on one leg all amused
while he finishes work
on the other shoe
you call him a mochi
but he is more creative
than you
street photography
captures the soul
of life on the street
its true

The Common Man On The Street

139,772 items / 1,082,237 views

his comments
they love to delete
because
he is the soul
of mankind
politics could
not defeat
for getting his vote
they place their
ill gotten wealth
at his feet
once elected
to power
more to
wealth to
accumulate circle
complete
not just the nation
but everything
that the nation stands
for they cheat
swiss bank accounts
their hands in
every scheme
their acumen
their conniving minds
you cannot beat
the story of
our saintly
schematic
sanctimonious
leaders
bitter and sweet
now modern net savvy
on blackberry's their views
they tweet
their life size cut outs
at every street corner
you meet on their
birthdays garlands
of black money
round their necks
their posteriors
stuck to their seats
hoisting the national flag
on our independence day
to the blaring of
patriotic geet

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