100,348 items / 615,278 views
I start a new set at my Flickr photo stream, Chhat Puja 2009 ..I shot it this evening, barefeet dressed like a tiger cub no pun intended...the latest flavor and statement post election in Maharashtra.
I shot from one end of the beach to another,Mr Sanjay Nirupams podium was very grand and awesome, the entire crowd was watching the song recital from the beach, I met him took a few frames and left..
I have been shooting the Chhat Puja Festival from the time Mr Sanjay Nirupam placed it on the festival map of Mumbai in a very big way.
I have tried never to miss this festival , and today I was in real bad shape I have not recovered from my viral fever but I made it to the beach...overriding all odds.
About Chhat Puja from Wikipedia
Chhath (Hindi: छठ, also called Dala Chhath) is an ancient Hindu festival dedicated to Surya, the chief solar deity, unique to Bihar, Jharkhand and the Terai[1]. This major festival is also celebrated in the northeast region of India, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and parts of Chhattisgarh. Even in Tamil Nadu, the migrants from the north celebrate Chhath. Hymns praying to the sun can be found in the Vedas, the oldest sacred texts of Hinduism. Practiced in different parts of India, the worship of the sun has been described in the Rigveda.
The word chhath denotes the number 6 in Hindi [2]and the festival begins on the sixth day of the Hindu lunar month of Kartik, which corresponds to months of October and November in the Gregorian calendar (a week after Diwali). Chhath is the holiest Hindu festival of Bihar & eastern UP. It extends to four days.
The ancient Sanskrit epic Mahābhārata has references to Draupadi, wife of the Pandavas, worshipping the sun, which was believed to help cure a variety of diseases, including leprosy, and ensure longevity and prosperity of family members, friends, and elders. In addition, it is believed that Chhath was started by Karna, the son of Surya, who became a great warrior and fought against the Pandavas in the Kurukshetra War.
This is the only holy festival which has no involvement of any priest (Pandit). People celebrates this festival by thier own.
It is celebrated twice a year: once in the summers (May-July), called the Chaiti Chhath, and once in the winter (September-November) around a week after Deepawali, called the Kartik Chhath. The latter is more popular because winters are the usual festive season in North India, and Chhath, being an arduous observance, requiring the worshippers to fast without water for more than 24 hours, is easier to undertake in the Indian winters.
Chhath is mainly a Bihari festival, and so it is celebrated wherever people from Bihar have migrated. This is a ritual bathing festival that follows a period of abstinence and ritual segregation of the worshiper from the main household for four days. During this period, the worshiper observes ritual purity, and sleeps on the floor on a single blanket. The main worshipers, called Parvaitin (from Sanskrit parv, meaning 'occasion' or 'festival'), are usually women. However, a large number of men also observe this festival. The parvaitin pray for the well-being of their family, for prosperity and offspring. They can only perform Chhath if it is passed on to them from their older generation. However, once they decide to do it, it becomes their duty to perform it every year. The festival is skipped only if there happens to be a death in the family that year.
On the eve of Chhath, houses and surroundings are scrupulously cleaned. One the first day of the festival, the worshiper cooks a traditional vegetarian meal and offers it to the Sun God. This day is called Naha-Kha (literally, 'Bathe and eat'!). The worshiper allows herself/himself only one meal on this day.
On the second day, a special ritual, called Kharna, is performed in the evening after Sun down. On this day also, the worshiper eats his/her only meal from the offerings (Prashad) made to the Sun God in this ritual. Friends and family are invited to the household on this day to share the prashad of the ritual. From this day onwards, for the next 36 hours, the worshiper goes on a fast without water.
The evening of the next day, the entire household accompanies the worshiper to a ritual bathing and worship of the Sun God, usually on the bank of a river, or a common large water body. The occasion is almost a carnival. Besides the main worshiper, there are friends and family, and numerous participants and onlookers, all willing to help and receive the blessings of the worshipper. Ritual rendition of regional folk songs, carried on through oral transmission from mothers and mothers-in-law to daughters and daughters-in-law, are sung on this occasion. The same bathing ritual is repeated on the following day at the crack of dawn. This is when the worshipper breaks his/her fast and finishes the ritual. Chhath being celebrated at the crack of the dawn on a river bank is a beautiful, elating spiritual experience connecting the modern Indian to his ancient cultural roots.
The folk songs sung on the eve of Chhath mirror the culture, social structure, mythology and history of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Nowadays, modern Chhath songs, largely Bollywood film remixes have caught on, but the old tradition still goes strong with a great degree of sanctity. The three main linguistic regions of Bihar: the Maithili, the Magadhi, and the Bhojpuri, and all the various dialects associated with these, have different folk songs; but have an underlying unity in their dedicated to Chhath. The minor nuances of the Chhath rituals, such as in the Kharna ritual, vary from region to region, and also across families, but still there is a fundamental similarity.
[edit] Yogic Viewpoint
As per the yogic view point word Chhath is a compound of two words; Chah means 6 stages and Hath refers to the science of Hath Yog (austerity). The word Chhath refers to the process of consciously obtaining the solar energy through 6 stages involving the methods similar to Hath Yog. Hath here refers to the austerities like fasting, standing in water, etc. This entire process has been termed by the yogis as a Conscious Photoenergization Process having 6 stages.
Stage 1: Fasting and the discipline of cleanliness leads to detoxification of the body and mind. This stage prepares the body and mind of the Vratti (devotee) to receive the cosmic solar energy.
Stage 2: Standing in a water body with half the body (navel deep) in the water minimizes the leak of energy and helps the prana (psychic energy) to move up the sushumna (psychic channel in the spine).
Stage 3: Cosmic Solar Energy enters the Vratti’s pineal, pituitary and hypothalamus glands (Triveni complex) through retina and optic nerves.
Stage 4: Activation of Triveni (tri-glandular complex) Pineal, pituitary and hypothalamus
Stage 5: A kind of Polarization of happens in the spine, which results in the Vratti’s gross and subtle bodies getting transformed into a cosmic powerhouse. This can also lead to the awakening of the latent psychic energy popularly known as the Kundalini Shakti.
Stage 6: The body of Vratti (devotee) becomes a channel, which conducts, recycles and transmits the energy into the entire universe.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chhath
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Mr Sanjay Nirupam and Me At Chhat Puja 2009
A Gift To Shri Balasaheb Thackeray From A Barefeet Blogger Of Mumbai
A Gift To Shri Balasaheb Thackeray From A Barefeet Blogger Of Mumbai, a photo by firoze shakir photographerno1 on Flickr.
176,921 items / 1,386,311 views
not only
the hindus
hirday samrat
a samrat
of all indians
beyond caste
color creed
or community
most sought
holistically
healing
the poor
mans lot
trying
to save
mother india
from scams
corruption
inherent rot
those who rob
this golden pot
will never stand justice
will never get caught
he does not hate
muslims only
the anti national bigot
time of calamity
always on the spot
a message
i send from one
poet to another
a flower of peace
my camera lens
captured
as a poem
somewhat
Dear Honorable Chief Minster
176,501 items / 1,382,915 views
flowers on
his body
now turned
as heavy
as chains
on the soul
of Christianity
in Amchi Mumbai
blows that rain
crosses fall
demolished
blood flowing
down the drain
dear hon
chief minister
for once
be human
feel our pain
dont politicize
it as a plank
for your next
election campaign
so much
to your electorate
you have to explain
why are your
people so cruel
inhuman
is the refrain
through such
heroics
of demolishing
heritage structures
what do you attain
illegal structures
rise like
towers of babel
do we complain
silently
watching
the beak dance
of democracy
what it contains
so dear sir
once just once
be humane
together
for peace
progress
humanity
honor retain
Another One Bites the Dust
falling in love
with her was
a great mistake
she was as original
as she was fake
my ass with
my clothes on
she did take
love for loves sake
a lot moment
a lost flake
on the soul
of the poetry
of my life
another
earthquake
although
i have deleted her
from my fucked
consciousness
her memories
our incomplete
pillow talk
our poetic love making
only a keepsake
for another
heavenly endowed man
my love she did forsake
from my bent bough
a taste of love
she did partake
in business parlance
she retired me
with a golden
hand shake
one sided
failed love
biting the dust
eating shit
in simpler words
a fucked
heartbreak
The Whites and The Blacks
the haves
the havenots
back to back
silence
on the soul
of a street drama
as sound track
a picture
that could
hve been shot
more effectively
by glenn losack
my guru my mentor
to mother india
one day
will come back
for his lady love
buy some
turquoise
some Indian
artifacts
knickknacks
the American Jew
a shia pandit
beyond all
racist attacks
a nikon d 90
for marziya
he will unpack
Why Are Women All Furry and Feline?
poking people
on facebook
log in sign
women are
never in
the kitchen
always
online
hanging
out
on google+
while
they dine
women after
he made one
god resigned
woman
a wife
girlfriend
also
concubine
woman
no dictionary
could ever
correctly define
women new bottle
old vintage wine
a bit tangy
taste divine
woman
mans only
lifeline
his temple
of doom
his only shrine
Ok I Tripped I Fell I Lost It ..I Mean The Tshirt
Ok I Tripped I Fell I Lost It ..I Mean The Tshirt, a photo by firoze shakir photographerno1 on Flickr.
176,483 items / 1,382,825 views
My dear friend Ali Reza Shirazi has a tshirt store at Bandra Hill Road called Final Destination , the craziest collection of weird Tshirts that I come for the heck of it and shoot.. it amuses him and the clients in his shop..
For me his shop is letting off steam from the pressure of work and life...
His shop is an extension of my own mind shop though... cramped with words upon words , trying to get the fuck out of my head... some make it some dont..
Most of my fucked words love to get attached to my hijra poems and I dont blame them my hijras would get you a rise in the worst recession of your life time..
I dont wear printed tshirts or printed stuff only tiger leper prints...and plain black body fits.. I dont wear shirts at all.. nor trousers or jeans I would have to be drugged to be made to wear it..
And I wear slippers out of necessity I hate footwear I dont have shoes ..not a single pair..
I wear bandit trousers very baggy and loose and dhotis.. my color is black..
I used to wear saffron but it does not turn me on anymore..
I can come up with the craziest sense of fashion and style with my old clothes but I have lost that part of sartorial libido... I think simplicity is the best form of presentation..
My jewelry adds to what I lack in dress sense.. but I sold of some exotic pieces every time went broke.. and so I make do with what I have.
I used to wear hats Sufi caps but I gave it up for the turban.. the turban keeps the head cool and hides the gray matter too..
Happy Diwali To Master Chefs Kunal Vikas and Ajay
Happy Diwali To Master Chefs Kunal Vikas and Ajay, a photo by firoze shakir photographerno1 on Flickr.
209,285 items / 1,720,175 views
From Nerjis Asif Shakir 3 month Old Star Plus Google+kid youngest Indi Blogger Baby
I Am A Chip of The Old Blog
209,284 items / 1,720,164 views
i am
nerjis
asif shakir
a malang
all day
long
i slog
learning
to hold
the camera
3 month old
baby bloggers
pictorial
prologue
a cosmic
circle
a cog
He Will Take a Breath of Fresh Air In a 700 Crore Park
he is the common man
of uttar pradesh
poor miserly
his lifes base
his back
against the wall
he is a gone case
he lost the race
when he inked
his finger
he was back
in a maze
bhul bhuliayan
as always
elephants
in the park
as they graze
statues
that time
will raze
history
will erase
instead
jobs hospitals
schools colleges
in its place
misplaced priority
megalomaniac
display
political pollution
as the mind strays
a nondescript future
this old mans gaze
Dam Madar Beda Par - I Become A Dam Madar Malang
Picture was shot when I was being initiated as a Murid of Peer Sayed Masoom Ali Shah Baba Malang Madari Asqan..this year in June 2011 at Ajmer Sharif ..
I have known the Dam Madar Malangs that sit at Char for many years . I always made it a point to visit them as I liked their spiritual state of mind , and their austerity, these dread head Malangs with hair as long as 30 feet or more keep the head covered in a giant turban, that they dont remove in public..
They live on a cemetery during the Urus of Khwajah Garib Nawaz also known as the Holy Saint Moinuddin Chishty Sabri from the Sufi order of Chisthiyas..one of the most famous important Sufi pilgrimage center in Ajmer Rajasthan.
All those Sufi Malnags Rafaees , and people of peace from all communities come to the annual celebrations of the Holy Saints birthday known as u7rus.
I come here to and my host is a a very devout Sufi scholar Peeersaab Fakhru Miya Hijra No 6 who propagates the message of Ahle Bayt.. Imam Hussain and his father Imam Ali.
As a Shia born I am very comfortable with his teachings and I stay every year at his house he is my extended family..this year my Belgian friend Marc De Clercq a great famous photographer who shoots hijras street life malangs and who walks on foot from Delhi to Ajmer with the Dam Madar Malangs had a desire to become a Malang , so we both became Malangs and our Peersaab is Peer Sayed Masoom Ali Shah Baba Malang Madari Asqan extreme right in the picture and his Murid Syed Saab Madari..
I went through the initiation ceremony first became a Maang and the following day Marc became a Malang too..and I walked barefeet with Marc from Taragadh to the mountains to the grave of a Eunuch Saint and his biological son , the toughest trek for me as my feet were cut up burnt but I did not give up till I had reached my destination.
Marc De Clercq is a great friend of my Hijra Guru Laxmi Narayan Tripathi now in Big Boss house and Marc shoots medium format , he has shot the eunuch festival of KoOvagam for many years I have yet to shoot it , I am plumb broke when it takes place so I have never been able to shoot it all..
But I dont begrudge him or my fate I shoot hijras through the year on streets besides shooting them each year at Ajmer and Haji Malang..I have no sponsors or financial backing to pursue shooting the study of hijras as a pictorial documentary, but I have shot over 17000 images of hijras till date..all at my Flickr Hijras of India set and collection that includes Hijra poetry and Hijra shamans exorcists and soul healers . .. eunuch children too..
I dont sell my pictures nor do I distribute my pictures , my pictures are all photo blogs , I pimp them through my Wordpress site Hijras of India or through Twitter and Google+ I am not on Facebook..
Marziya Shakir my three and a half year old grand daughter is totally a fan of Marc De Clercq and now that we are spiritual brothers Marc is related to Marziya too..
And Marziya Shakir is eagerly waiting for her photo Guru Dr Glenn Losack MD he saw her gift of vision and bought her the Nikon D 80..when she was a very tiny tot..
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Shah-e-Mardan Sher-e-Yazdan Quwat-e-Parwardigar Lafata Ila Ali La Saif Ila Zulfiqar , originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1 ....
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Dargah of Hazrat Syed Ali Mira Datar Unava Gujrat , a photo by firoze shakir photographerno1 on Flickr. HAZRAT SYED ALI MIRA DATAR'S G...
