Thursday, May 5, 2011

The Wound On My Leg I Got On Good Friday Lenten Walk

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Blood Sweat And Tears The Poets Heritage

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Sweeping Strokes of My Blogs

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The animal sacrifice began to the beat of the drums and the puja and before the goat is slaughtered they wait for a sign from Goddess Marriammen and than only does the slaughter begin , I was told to cut my flash so as not to disturb the goat, and when the goat nods his head there is a frenzy from the crowds two guys hold the legs at each end Ganesh brings the chopper down with a single stroke the head is severed from the trembling body of the goat.

This continues all afternoon , and the other end poultry are slaughtered with a single swipe of the blade of the knife.


Women keep offering flowers coconuts with baskets on their heads and there is a steady flow of women devotees at the Nehru Nagar Marriammen Temple Juhu.

Govindas wife Sunita Ahuja is a patron of this unique temple I was told..

Children are swarming all over the area shouting shrieking its their feast day too ..

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There Is A Poem Here But I Shall Not Write

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for her
who is
out of mind
out of sight
god created
women
gave them
everything
but robbed
them
of inner light
its man
whose humily
is greater
than his height
his soul
pristine white
he may be
evil
he may
be ugly
but man
is destiny
of mankind
in poetic flight
crazy insane
fucked forever
man
is the eternal
beauty
that flourishes
in the night
blooms
bold and bright
from his loins
flows the hope
of tomorrow
milky white

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This Is My Last Poem To The The Warrior Goddess Queen

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jeff and leyla added this photo their favorites

i have decided
to give a full stop
memories
on my souls
poetry skip and hop
she has moved shop
a story that began
suddenly flopped
deleted doomed
blocked from
her friends list
i have been
unceremoniously
dropped
my last flight
of fancy
my poetic wings
chopped
little cry baby
on the tree top
a silent pause
unforgiving
cause as
a back drop
drenched
in the nostalgic
desires
of a rain drop

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My Time Has Come To Go

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a single
swift blow
tears
held back
the poet
in me
must go
this cock
wont see
the rising sun
his last crow
he loved her
although
she viciously
on his face
shut her door
she thought
equivocally
she had scored
when the blade
touched
his feathered
crown
the neck
of a poet
with a thud
fell nimbly
on the floor
his blood
his pain
into
the gutter
of nothingness
overflowed
she was brutal
she was ungrateful
she was uncaring
she washed her hands
paid the butcher
some more
told him to see
he was dead
throw him
in the sea
that he wont
ever rise from
the sea floor
or crazy demonic
followers of his
will build a shrine
a martyr misplaced
blood sweat
tears and gore
she got busy
cooking haleem
other domestic
chores a nokrani
she calls herself
whoaaaaaaaaaa

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Maryammen Feast Animal Sacrifice..

Ganesh is a pujari ccome butcher he has been undertaking all these rituals since he was a kid, and he is deft, he also puts the peircing rods in the cheeks hooks on the backs of the devotees and later after the procession moves from Juhu beach to the Mariammen Temple he and Bhima remove the rods hooks again..

This is a very painful process one wrong move the devotees cheek could be mutilated fir good.

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Searching For A Stone Goddess In The Rains

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wherever she is
cool and comfortable
my existence
she feigns
in the inundated
waters of
my washed
sand castle
she reigns
she is cruel
heartless
holding
me like a dog
by her
cosmic chain
she has
incidentally
accidentally
caused me
the maximum pain
a beggar poet
lover of humanity
follower of hussain
you will see her
image embedded
in my soul
my sucked heart
my fucked brain

she whispers
uff ab to ap
chup rahein
ham par
jo guzri ham
kaise kahen
ap jahan bhi hain
sada khush
rahein
gutter ke pani
main chup
chap bahein
apna gham ap
khud hi sahen
pathanon
ke dil pathar
hote hain
meri
khamoshi
ko jan lein

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He Kissed My Hand And Told Me She Will Return

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this pain
this humiliation
on a poets soul
was her way
of making fun
a woman
of substance
once a friend
now part
of my setting sun
causing
injury
with a grievous
weapon
in her arsenal
of desire
my forgiveness
she had spurned
it was not right
what she had done
to a beggar poet
jocularly known
as hindu shia no 1
will she ever read
the poems i have spun
a warrior goddess queen
fondly remember
i doubt she will
ever return
my soul cries
my heart burns

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The Hijras Are Part Of My Poetic Journey of Life

I met a pretty hijra Sarla late in the night again ,she was on the beach and I had met her there a devotee of Goddess Marriammen , I shot her pictures and on my way back I met her tanked , she could barely walk, some guys had spiked her drinks , she was well dressed I tried to get her a ricksha for Ville Parle station but than a few male friends came and took her away, she was very ice to me we exchanged numbers.. to meet at the next Maryamma feast she told me she would inform me..

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I Love Tamil Culture Tamil People

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The Hijra Devotee Of Goddess Mariammen

She was unresponsive at first so I followed her told her about myself, than took her permission to shoot her pictures she begs at the traffic signal near Mithibhai College , and is a staunch devotee of Goddess Marriamen.

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Goddess Mariammen And My Nikon D 80












A few years back in the melee my Nikon D 80 slipped from hand and fell about three feet to the ground, I too was crushed by the crowds people walked over my camera I knew I was the end..but head priest Velu picked up my camera placed it at the feet of the goddess and gave it to me it was intact ..


Velu and I became good friends and though he lives in Chennai he calls me off and on..

I carried my monopod this time to use it while the rods were being removed but with the surging crowds and the danger of being pierced accidentally I hardly used it I shot a lot , and yet I could have shot more but I was drenched tired I had not eaten just water kept my spirits up.

I shot from 4 pm to 10 pm the rod removing scenes would have gone on till midnight but I walked away back towards the beach end grabbed a ricksha showered and began posting these pictures of the morning event..

Goddess Mariamman is a favorite of women and the young strapping kids with 18 feet rods in their mouth they dance leap in the air and go into a circular frenzy..

The Tamils dont get tired their energy spiritual and physical is mind boggling, and if they make you their friend than you are a friend of theirs for life.

Not once did I feel like an outsider or a Muslim I was one of them and they took care of me every step of the way.

The hijras that I met at the end would not leave me they kept cribbing and wanted to know why I had removed my hijdaeunuchblogs from Wordpress I told them because of Wordpress Support racist attitude towards an Indian blogger..and this is a fact.. I shall keep it locked till Word Press Support gets back to me and tells me why they had disabled my blogs and than enabled it again..

I think and I reiterate Flickr support is more just , more human and more understanding than any web presence on the Internet , even Facebook Help is not as kindly or supportive as Flickr Support..

And I have become a kind of folklore and celebrity for the net savvy hijda transgender community of Mumbai. so they just came stood in front of me wanting to be shot.

Finally when I reached home my wounded leg was in bad shape my grand daughter Marziya wanted to shoot me she isthe worlds youngest photographer but I was too tired to oblige instead she shot my son in law Assad Dadan.
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Bhima My Best Friend Nehru Nagar Juhu


Mother Maryamma bought us together we became good friends and through Bhima Davendra I shot the Machimar Maryamma Feast and through a guy called Suresh from BMC I shot the Madras Wadi Maryamma Worli feast and through Raja piercer I shot the Sion Dharavi Maryamma feast ..

And now most of the Hindu Tamils and other devotees of Maryamma Gujratis Maharashtrians and Punjabis know me very well..

But I will pierce my cheeks with a 18 feet rod one of these days at Mahim Fishermens Colony Maryamma Temple as I have a very good equation with the Pujari Ganesh and his powerful sister Lakshmi and I shall do this to support my Tamil Hindu friends.. a follower of Hussain among Maryamma devotees..

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The Tamils And The Shia Blogger At The Maryamma Feast Nehru Nagar Juhu

This gentleman holds a very high position at the Maryamma Temple and blessed me for shooting and sharing Maryamma message of Peace and goodwill,,,

Incidentally I had shot the Maryamma temple at Chennai too when I had gone there for Ashura Moharam.

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Maryamma Feast Nehru Nagar Juhu 2011

This morning I was invited by Bhima Davendra at Nehru Nagar Juhu where I shot the Maryamma feast, the cooking ritual and the animal sacrifice to appease Goddess Marriammen the unique much loved goddess of the Hindu Tamil diaspora in Mumbai.

I shot thee morning event barefet from 6 am till 10.30 am, I went into a trance the moment the drum began to play, and fell outside the gates of the renovated grand Mandir.

Later at 4 pm I went back to Juhu beach to shoot the second part of the feast, the cheek piercing with 18 feet rods, the chattri or juggernaut which one wears on the body with sharp rods on the body back and front.

The men women and children pierce about 150 needles attach lime ..than guys have hooks pierced on their backs to pull cars vans and bunch of coconuts on a tray..
Guys also hang from cranes.


Because I have been shooting this ritual fr many years people know me and respect me too.
Last year as the Mandir was being renovated the rituals and feat did not take place..
The Tamils of Juhu Nehru Nagar are peace loving people and leave no stone unturned to make Maryamma Mothers celebrations memorable and unforgettable..


Bhima is the guy who keeps me in the loop, and helps and supports me to promote the goodwill message of peace and humanity of Goddess Marriamen.

I shot a lot of hijras too that flock to this temple and participate in the late evening rituals of carrying hot pots on their heads with their supporters..

I was very tired so did not wait for long there were over 300 rod piercings and the crowd was huge , the last part of the event is huge cranes on which people with hooks on their backs hang from mid air.

I have just returned and I will finish the morning animal slaughter event very descriptive gory and graphic.. so use your discretion ..


I shall post the rod piercing events next...this a 23 GB card.. shot in a day..

I shot the evening event barefete and my feet got burnt by hot embers that fly from the hot pots women and men carry on their heads.


Even little children head their cheeks pierced with smaller rods and everyone walks from Juhu beach where the piercing begin till the Mariammen Temple at Nehru Nagar Juhu a short distance but takes hours.

The removal of the rods hooks is very painful and worth shooting .. and dangerous too as one wrong move the rod can enter your body... when it is swiftly pulled out from the devotees cheeks after lubricating his mouth with milk,,,

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