Searching For Hope On A Mound of Despair Called Garib Nagar, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Searching For Hope On A Mound of Despair Called Garib Nagar
Searching For Hope On A Mound of Despair Called Garib Nagar, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.
Ek din magar Yahan, Aisee kuchh hawa chali,
Lut gayi kali-kali ki ghut gayi gali-gali,
Aur hum lute-lute,
Waqt se pite-pite,
saans ki sharaab ka khumaar dekhte rahe,
Karvan guzar gaya, Gubar dekhte rahe!
Karvan guzar gaya, Gubar dekhte rahe.
Geet ashk ban gaye,
chhand ho dafan gaye,
Saath ke sabhi diye dhuan-dhuan pehen gaye,
Aur hum jhuke-jhuke,
Mod par ruke-ruke,
Umar ke chadhaav ka utaar dekhte rahe,
chal ud jaa re panchhi ki ab ye des hua begaana garib nagar
chal ud jaa re panchhi ki ab ye des hua begaana garib nagar, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.
174,455 items / 1,359,504 views
khatam hue din us daali ke, jis par tera basera tha/-2
aaj yahaan aur kal ho vahaan ye, jogi vaala phera tha,
ye teri jaageer nahin thi,
ye teri jaageer nahin thi, chaar ghadi ka dera tha
sada raha hai is duniya men kis ka aab-o-daana
chal ud jaa re panchhi.............
tune tinaka-tinaka chun kar, nagari ek basaai /-2
baarish men teri bhigi pankhe, dhoop men garami khaai
gham na kar ,
gham na kar jo teri mehanat tere kaam na aai
achchha hai kuchh le jaane se, dekar hi kuchh jaana
chal ud jaa re panchhi....
bhool ja ab vo mast hava, vo udana daali-daali /-2
jag ki aankh kaanta ban gai, chaal teri matavaali
kaun bhala us baag ko poochhe,
kaun bhala us baag ko poochhe, ho na jis ka maali
teri qismat men likha hai, jite ji mar jaana
chal ud jaa re panchhi.............
rote hain vo pankh-pakheru, saath tere jo khele /-2
jin ke saath lagaaye tune aramaanon ke mele
bhigi aankhiyon se hi un ki, aaj duaayen le le
kis ko pata ab is nagari men kab ho tera aana
chal ud jaa re panchhi.............
*************************************
God Save Garib Nagar From Scavengers And Looters
God Save Garib Nagar From Scavengers And Looters, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.
174,409 items / 1,359,343 views
People in time of need and disaster change as one sees everywhere , the looters scavengers and treasure hunters arrive digging the rubble to find whatever wealth that may belong to others I saw a lot of fights going on between women for possessions of utensils burnt to be of literally no use but worthy as bhangar for some monetary reward , it was sad and I dont want to broach on it.
From the time I shot this on the day after the fire from 6.30 am till about 10.30 am there was no agency to help these people , there was mo one at all save a few Muslim volunteers giving them food and without sounding biased I have seen this also during the aftermath of the Behrampada too, aid to the Muslim denomination in the time of need comes very late .
And I dont think I have the courage to go and shoot this again , their trial and tribulations have just begun, and fate really mocks humanity when self dependent artisans or workers are made homeless and beggars and this is a game of snake and ladders once a but on the top now completely at the bottom of the ladder..
And I am not a journalist nor do I have the inspiration or perseverance to be one but I am a picture man I documented this tragedy from every side walking over the rubble over burnt corrugated sheets , I normally shoot barefeet here I wore slippers but ended up cutting my feet nevertheless.
I tried every position where it was humanly possible to go and mind you this was not a photography assignment but a necessity to show you in sincerity and truthfulness.
And silence is more eloquent than speech on a photo blog the blog talks and you listen as er the communication you have with a tragedy as great as this.. this was a huge area and the victims of the fire have spread all over platform 6 and 7 and as far as Behrampada slums ahead.
And one thing it is not raining in Mumbai or it would be salt on their festered wounds too.
And of course as the elections are round the corner every politician will be here to add points to his languishing political status make hay while the sun shines and this is a political necessity this was one of the greatest vote banks ..you have this in your power the chair to scams and corruption is not far away.
Our political satraps have bodies of gold but feet made of clay.. they are more human than we are their needs are more stronger and I think as a poet I should not envy their station in life.
I wont add too much text on my blogs this documentary overflowing with pain of living in cosmic pain...
The Last Remains of Garib Nagar Bandra East Mumbai
The Last Remains of Garib Nagar Bandra East Mumbai, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.
173,915 items / 1,357,553 views
I was at my computer last night when I got a call from a dear friend about the fire at Bandra East Garib Nagar a colony on the railway tracks , he said a lot of photographers were at the scene of the fire and asked me to come to,
I politely refused and the reason is personal I don't shoot disasters simply as a human being it would shame me taking shots while people ran helter skelter for their lives , and it is obligatory for a press reporter to cover it as part of his profession , but for me as a photo blogger poet it would be inadmissible to my conscience..
I however went this morning at 6.30 am and shot the pictures and I was crying at the devastation , the pain the agony, I saw the homeless sitting on the graves of their homes , I saw Rubina of Slum Dog Millionaire with her family on a mound of despair...her eyes blank as ever...
I saw a man crying and I wept with him as I felt I had lost my home too and this is the most tragic wrath of the hand of God I ever shot.
Once close to my old house near Bandra Bazar there was the fire at Nargis Dutt Slums Lal Mitti Bandra Reclamation but I was too cowardly to shoot it, I shot the aftermath of the fire at Behrampada slums .. and the rebuilding but without sounding fatalistic the Muslim poor community living at grassroot level is marked for continuous disaster , so many lessons but a very late realization by the families and the authorities allowing them to build matchstick houses one top of the other , blaming the fire engines is not the remedy or the answer but the common man needs to blame someone..
I saw the fire men working and some places the fire still burns and they are working nonstop , the firemen are human and have families too.
But though there was no casualty I am told the loss is huge everything lost forever , dreams all burnt out in the gutters floating as ashes... all the cottage industries , the tailoring readymade garment workshops all wiped in a single stroke of bad luck..
I only hope and pray after seeing these pictures shot by a poet and not as a photographer people will come forward to help this mass of unfortunate humanity...
This is a set at Flickr I shot with weeping eyes..and it killed me every second every bit.. believe me.
I will not add anymore text to my pictures unless where it is needed as explanation...The Muslim Help agencies were feeding the poor and this time everyone should come to their aid as they are Pucca Indians like you and me , lets forget about their caste color or religious background for once and I plead to Balasaheb Thackeray Saab Udhavji Aditya my poet brother and Raj Thackeray Saab their single call can do more to add succor than anyone in the time of their need.
And the State and Central government this is one big huge monstrous disaster in the beloved city of our karmic hope...Mumbai
The Story of Pain Garib Nagar Bandra East
174,314 items / 1,359,057 views
He was at Mumbra a distant suburb for work.
She had gone out of the slums to buy something leaving her two kids behind when the fie struck..she was so much in pain she did not even tell me whether she found her kids or not..
I moved away I read pain this was first time I inquired about pain and it hit me hard..
I decided I would tell a story of pain through pictures and let the world know..the least I could do as a photographer...the camera is only a balm but society has to heal their wounds.
Garib Nagar Khuda Hafiz Goodbye
174,219 items / 1,358,900 views
her hopes
her dreams
beneath
the rubble lie
time and again
she asks god why
she gets no reply
she is hurt but she
trusts god her loved
ones did not die
memories all
washed away
in a gutter nearby
no roof over head
no belongings
only the clothes
on her body
the silhouette of
the hijab
her armor
her protection
her standby
her children
see the debris
bad luck bhai
once self
dependent
now beggars
broken wings
that lie
soiled
sullied
as they dry
garib nagar
khuda hafiz
goodbye
trears
on the soul
of a beloved city
mumbai
god forbid
if this happened
in a rich mans tower
there would be
immediate help
immediate response
a greater outcry
such is the scales
of justice lopsided
for the poor the rich guy
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