My Hijras Wont Ever Be Part of A Rich Mans Coffee Book, a photo by firoze shakir photographerno1 on Flickr.
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I shoot the hijra community ,I am not a hijra activist, or a person attracted to hijra sexuality , I shoot hijras with due respect, I dont and wont ever ridicule the people I shoot , and I wont ever make fun of my countrymen , whatever their color caste or creed .. this my parents taught me and is the mainstay of my life..
I know hijras but dont familiarize with them , the only ones I interact or communicate with are Laxmi Narayan Tripathi my hijra Guru, Khushi the most beautiful hijra and Simran dancer a happily married transgender.
I shot a lot of hijras and these were gifts of God of his children, I am sure he would not alienate them for their choice of gender I think God is more human understanding than religious bigots and homophobic godmen.
I have inundated my Google+ stream with my hijra pictures to show you a world you may never see even in an Indian travel brochure ..our leaders our so called humanitarians dont have much regard for those who rebel or go against the nature of God ..
My hijra pictures did not come easy , I pay Rs 1300 per month for a net connection to MTNL Broadband my Internet provider , the net dies off at 8 pm evenings and 8 am mornings , but yet I continue ..I have a Flickr pro membership thanks to a person who gave it to me as a gift as he respects hijras and wanted to see my stream alive ..
I dont sell my pictures I give my time posting their pictures so you see them only as women and not as hijras .. at least the hijras I shoot are more women than they are hijras.
Why am I writing this , well everything in life needs change I took up a challenging assignment I sold my freedom my wings for security and a home loan , I took up a job.. so I wont have time only the weekly or public holiday, so I dont know whether I will be able to go to Ajmer or Haji Malang ..
My adventures will end , as a people photographer who shoots hijras , even my own religious documentary as a Shia will be just the main days as I have to honor my commitment I have given to my new employer and he needs more miracles than I do.. from my end.
I was a free man for 12 years , and it changed in one hand shake I have no regrets my profession is not the camera or writing or blogs , media does not have much respect for adventurers like us ..
I will blog less , after work in the nights perhaps.. and try to change my lifestyle to give a better future to my family my children and my grand children.
Luckily I dont use Twitter the way others do every time they fart loud or sneeze, my Twitter was a crossblog from Flickr to pimp my blogs..
I left Facebook though I love Marc Zuckerburg more than Steve Jobs and that has nothing to with the Garden of Eden or the half bitten apple.
I am on Google+ but Google+ is not in my bloodstream as Facebook was ..I use Google+ to pimp my blogs to a more serious audience. and a more knowledgeable audience..
But I can shut off Google+ too when the time comes .. nothing is bigger than my family..my commitment to life ..
I am far too old too take up a job as a photographer and I am not technique savvy but though I may not have high end cameras or lenses I have cosmic luck I shoot what others wont shoot I shoot the children of a lesser God I shoot hijras ..beggars and the unknown faces of India..
And Flickr is my gallery , through Flickr I show my world my ethos my restless angst...Flickr has always been my home , through its windows you see the hijras and my street life culture rituals and poetry..
A blogger is a lonely wolf .. as a blog when he cries he is noticed too,,,
