Tongue Piercing With a Trishul

Tongue Piercing With a Trishul, a photo by firoze shakir photographerno1 on Flickr.

This is ritual undertaken by women not just Hindu Tamils but other communities too..at Mahim Macchimar colony the Koli women get their tongues pierced too.

And mostly they cover their face with a hanky once they have pierced the tongue , they follow the procession from the beach to the Marriaman Temple in this case the temple at Nehru Nagar Juhu.

At the temple late in the night the rods from the cheeks the hooks from the back and the lime clusters hanging on needles from the arms and back are removed.

This feast is akin to Thaipussam of the Tamils of the Far East.

I have documented this feast at various venues of Mumbai and hopefully this year might pierce my cheeks with a 18 feet rod.. and for me it is not about religiosity but simply supporting my Tamil friends in their spirituality.

Street Photography is Shooting The Soul of Humanity

Street Photography is Shooting The Soul of Humanity, a photo by firoze shakir photographerno1 on Flickr.

231,909 items / 1,951,612 views

Whatever you guys out there are shooting I have shot it too be it studio lighting shots and I have shot with one of the most eminen photographers my guru Mr KG Maheshwari and late Mr BW Jatkar and I have shot table tops with another guru Mr Anil Bhartiya , learnt the nuance of stealing souls from Vinay Paralkar , Bhupesh Little ,to name a few .

I have shot seagulls ,,I have shot macro I have not shot wildlife nor have I shot nudes .. but I have no regrets ..

It was Mr Shreekanth Malushte who taught me street photography.

Late Mr PC Little taught me humility in photography and made me see images to be shot as verses rhyme and poetry.

Over the years as I moved from analogue photography , I met great masters of photography on the net , absorbed their patience perseverance I began to gather their vision in bits and parts ..I could not dare to steal their vision completely ..

I will name just a few Glenn Losack, Tom Andrews ,Eric Parker Benn Bell Anthony PoseyJean Marc Gargantiel Marc De Clercq , Laurent Lascelles , Laurent Design LDG Roland Luthi ..

The list could go on but it would be incomplete if I did not include Late Jeff Lamb and this post is dedicated to him , the poet photographer who shot visuals that needed no text.. he changed he molded me he had one wish and that was to see my grand daughter 4 year old Marziya Shakir as a complete street photographer , he loved her like his own, and he gushed about her innocence as the worlds youngest street photographer Marziya beegan shooting Mumbai streets with a hand held Nikon D 80 when she was less than 2 year old.

And I still admire works of friends on Flickr , Google+ I am not influenced by them I say this in honesty they are big names huge photographers but they dont shoot scum shit that I show you through my street urchins lepers and others.

So this is a post to thank all of you most of all those of you who are not photographers but who encourage with me your positive criticism comments I could not complete all this without you..

You are what gives strength to my Humility.

I thank Jack C Crawford because without him you could not see all my pictures he bought me the Pro Flickr membership and added me to his circle of great friends the best on Google+
Thank you Sofie , Rodney Pike Pio , Rodney Longoria Eve Danny and all the all of you.. love you guys ..

Happy Day After Mothers Day ,...

She has been neatly folded wrapped and put back in the closet we will bring her out next year Bravo Hurrah Long Live Mothers Day ..

LONG LIVE THOSE WHO MAKE MILLIONS ON MOTHERS DAY WITHOUT GIVING A PENNY TO THE MOTHER WHO BEGS ON THE STREETS

this is the land my destiny my birth my death ..no dont want your dollars pounds or francs

this is the land my destiny my birth my death ..no dont want your dollars pounds or francs, a photo by firoze shakir photographerno1 on Flickr.

the master of the rings..brings you all these things hope on paperwings

the master of the rings..brings you all these things hope on paperwings, a photo by firoze shakir photographerno1 on Flickr.

the human horse of india

the human horse of india, a photo by firoze shakir photographerno1 on Flickr.

my turn to pierce my cheeks will come soon..

my turn to pierce my cheeks will come soon.., a photo by firoze shakir photographerno1 on Flickr.

I take you back to the beach for the cheek piercings..

I take you back to the beach for the cheek piercings.., a photo by firoze shakir photographerno1 on Flickr.

This is the last part pf the Marriamman feast I held back to show you all the proceedings at the Marriamman Temple Nehru Nagar Juhu ..after the animal sacrifice in the morning gets over late in the afternoon the piercings begin at the close by Juhu Beach .

The piercers walk in a huge procession from the beach back to the temple this perhaps takes about 4 hours as it is slow paced , men pulling cars rickshas with hooks in the back.. I have shot so much of this in the past I gave it a skip , barefeet I headed to the Temple to shoot the removal of the hooks and the rods.

So this is the genre of my street photography, I shoot it with a demonic passion I am a diabetic I dont drink water or eat in between I just shoot , I am exhausted tired but I do it without complaining.

I dont do this for money , this is not my religion but yes it is a vital part of the ethos of my country and culture.

I shot this on 9 May it has taken me almost 5 days to upload post it at Flickr.. bits on Google+ Twitter and Pinterest..

I Pimp my blogs as a barefeet blogger , beggar poet ..