And so I end the long series not too long as I moved away half way I did not follow them to the Macchimar Colony Marriamman Temple where the hooks rods are removed I was far too tired and was drained out, I had eaten nothing just come chick pea biscuits and a cup of tea..
My feet were in very bad shape as the path from the beach towards the Mahim main road is jagged cobblestones , so I took a a detour and came out from the beach end , and it is a unlit path , stepping on a piece of glass or cigarette butt means disaster fir my diabetic feet .
But I have faith in God and my barefeet have eyes they take care of me ..and I had to be careful as mentioned earlier I leave for Ajmer to shoot the Urus and I am a Dam Madar Malang I have to refuel my pledge .
Strangely I did not meet hijras at this event as I always meet them here it was here I had met Anamika hijra ..
The hijras too believe in Goddess Marriamman the Goddess of Fertility and Good Health.
As I became a Malang I will only be wearing blackin Ajmer .. here too I wore black I normally wore saffro in keeping with the spirit of Hinduism.. as message of peace and Humanity.
And I wont be connected to the net so you guys will have some peace and wont see the darker side of my photo stream.
I will miss my frends on Google+ and Indi Bloggers a little cozy place where I post my links in the wee hours of the morning and read the younger peoples blogs too we as old fogies have to promote young bloggers and not just pimp our own stuff.
And blogging is a very powerful tool that moves mountains government and God too..
I find it very tough to shoot this I have to run backwards as he approaches me pulling the car but this time I tried all the tricks in the book to get it right , mostly I avoid this segment as I rush forward to shoot the more exciting removal of the rods at the temple.
But I have shot this ritual extensively over the years and so this year I just drifted away, left midway for home, I have to keep my energy intact as I am going to Ajmer Sharif to be with my Malang brothers .
I leave in a day or two, my Peer brother Marc De Clercq is already there waiting for me , my host Peersaab Fakhru Miya Hujra no6 called me ..and he is the only person who loves me like his family , I stay in his house and he takes care of all my needs.
He along with his sons Farid Miya and Qambar Miya .. I have another good friend Saboor Bhai and the Sufi man of peace Syed Salman Chishti.. who only calls me Photographerno1.
I am dying here in Mumbai.. and I have to reach Ajmer and I will complete this set.. I have hardly shot anything new.
And as I am not showing the hijras of India to the public I will not shoot them as vigorously as I used to shoot them instead I will concentrate shooting the beggars and the Malangs and the Rafaees.
If I get time I will try to go to Pushkar I have only 4 or 5 days in hand including travel time .. and Char Yar beckons me ..and one day when I renounce all this material world and its trapping I would like to live in Ajmer among the Malangs and the beggars .
I have no other desire .. it died within me a very long time back..
Here at Mahim Macchimar Colony predominantly a Koli commune of indigenous fishermen folks , the Goddess holds a very high position and is as famous as the others in the pantheon of Hindu deities.
There are are a very few Hindu Tamils but the followers of Goddess Marriamman come from diverse communities..
Shilpa is a Koli this is her second year of cheek piercing I shot her last year and again this year she was more peppy over confident and her husband was there from the start to the end to give her support , he felt her pain and I shot this too when the rod was pushed forcibly into her cheeks it was as though Nilesh's soul was being pierced too.
This is the genre of my photographer the dark side of humanity with positive results..at Sion Koliwada last year I shot Santosh hijra having his cheek pierced and this feast is a collection at my Flickr photostream.
I want to pierce my cheeks too but it does not seem to be happening , I am very close to this community everyone knows me respects me ..and you wont be surprised I start speaking Tamil too.
