Mona The Child Eunuch

Mona The Child Eunuch, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

This was the first time I met Mona and these are blank posts I am adding text updating as I link them to Facebook.

I did not know about child eunuchs , but Mona is a natural born hijra or hermaphrodite, he was given away by his parents the same night he was born , to the hijras. This is what I was told.

Monas foster parents are rich and highly connected Gopal Hai and Babita Hijra.. Mona has another eunuch sibling Nandini more vulnerable and more feminine as compared to Mona who shows male tendencies of anger and revolt.

Mona is tough , and at Haji Malang he calls the shots they have two houses here one on the mountain top one below, Mona is internet savvy and his chela Is Raveena the hijra beauty and seductress.

Mona and I have been friends ever since a long time his only wish is to meet Sanjay Dutt and Salman Khan.. he calls me Uncle Firoze ..

Nandini usually stayed away from me but has now become a god friend I am her favorite she calls me Bawa.


I have documented their lives with sincerity , I have seen them in their birthday suits and it is something that hurts being father and a grand father myself. but Gopal Haji has had surgery done on their genitalia I could see.

The hijra commune does not take kindly to strangers but fortunately Gopal Hajis hijra gharana accepts me as one of their own.. and it is what you call two hand clapping..

Gopal Haji invited e many a times offering to pay all expenses to come stay and shoot them at their Hijra conference in Delhi I politely refused.

I shoot for myself , I am lucky with the hijras I dont need to stalk them , and though I have a hijra guru like Laxmi Narayan Tripathi I have never used her and though we both live in different parts of Mumbai we never meet save for the Gay Parade Haji Malang or Ajmer Sharif.


There are hijras staying close to my area but I hardly meet them I have numbers of my hijra friends but I hardly call them , most of the hijras keep changing their numbers for safety.


The only hijra who has kept in touch with me on phone is Khushi from Mumbai.. she was to visit our home to meet Marziya my grand daughter , but has not happened as yet..
I am going through turmoils on the personal front so my hijra shooting activities are at its lowest ebb.

And I dont shoot pictures for money I dont share my pictures I dont even give copies of my pictures to the hijras the only exception was Heena Hijra I gave her100 copies at the hijra cages of Peela House.

This year she did not come to Haji Malang.

Most of these hijra friends of mine including the eunuch children are separate sets at my Flickr photo stream.