The Hindu Shia of Mumbai

The Hindu Shia of Mumbai, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

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I wear the colors of my cultural inheritance and I am proud to be a Hindustani Shia Muslim.. my country its culture its collective ethos means a lot to me in a way it enhances the human belief of my own Shia religiosity and faith in relation to my surroundings..

I respect the Marriammen rituals or I would not be shooting it, and I respect their forbearance to pain , and the ah on my forehead does not take away the blood that will overflow like a river on the Day of Ashura.. yes I am connected to my spirtuality my ancestry of pain through blood .

These are my individual thoughts as a poet as a person who follows a path of Peace and Mysticism too..I have lived with Aghoris Naga Sadhus Rafees Dam Madar Malangs and Hijra Bawas.

I have begged with the Rafaees and the Naga Sadhus..from door to door I have seen humility charity and death too..

Strangely I am scared of living and not scared of death at all..

And not once am I made to feel like a Muslim while shooting Hinduism which is a thread of my documentary on Flickr.com known as Hope And Hindutva a message of Universal Peace and Humanity.

And whoever takes my camera to shoot me from the crowds cant shoot me better than Marziya Shakir 3 and a half year old worlds youngest street photographer and my only grand daughter.