Monday, July 23, 2012
The Spiritual Beauty of The Goat
serenity dignity
to which he is bound
ready for the butcher
when he comes around
the definition of his life
is death without defiance
he will be slaughtered
a sacrifice profound
their heads bowed in prayers
be it mumbai or karbala of old
a thought in the foreground
tears on the soul of humanity
a thought home bound
he gave his head but not his hand
he stood his ground
The Curse of the Damin on Battis Shirala Nag Panchami
The Curse of the Damin on Battis Shirala Nag Panchami, a photo by firoze shakir photographerno1 on Flickr.
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This was shot may years back at Battis Shirala the Snake Town of Maharashtra once upon a time, the festival that bought hordes of foreigners to this sleepy town off Islampur near Ichalkaranji in Sangli district ..this feast during Nag Panchami was famous all over , I had come to shoot it without realizing the rituals of Snake puja had been banned.
I was lucky I got to shoot a few frames a few kilometers away from Battis Shiral in a village called Suryagaon..but folklore goes the Damin or rat snake was caught by unscrupulous poachers and placed as a trophy around necks of visiting tourists , the rat snake or Damin being a sensitive non poisonous snake died due to this horrible treatment..
Huge piles of dead Damin were thrown on the outskirts of the town and this came to the notice of the animal activists and the famous Battis Shirala snake festival came to a sudden end.
But the Snake puja in homes continue, cobras bought from the border areas of Karnataka and after the festival they are again set free , and some rituals never die can never die from the soul of Humanity.
And for shooting this event I owe my inspiration to a humble creative media photographer Nitin Sonawane of Times Group , it was his pictures at the PSI Gallery that made me dream snakes for several weks and after speaking to my Naga Sadhu Guru Shri Vijay Giri Maharaj of Junagadh I went and shot the same and I saw a cobra in my dream in my house a few minutes back that made me reminisce and add my thoughts on this blank post..
My right hand due to a Moharam sword injury , where I cut my tendon doing kama matam in Delhi, is now shaped like the hood of a Cobra .. it is permanently deformed and I type all my blogs one finger of this damaged hand.
If there is any festival I really miss shooting as a photographer it was the Snake Festival of Battis Shirala ..
Breaking My First Fast With My Grandchildren .. 22 July 2012
Breaking My First Fast With My Grandchildren .. 22 July 2012, a photo by firoze shakir photographerno1 on Flickr.
At home everyone uses the camera , thanks to Marziya Shakir , she has made each one at home a photographer , her mother takes instructions from her .
My wife , my sons all shoot pictures though not as crazy as I do, my daughter is a photographer we both had Mr Shreekant Malushte as our teacher.
Breaking My First Fast With My Grandchildren .. 22 July 2012
Breaking My First Fast With My Grandchildren .. 22 July 2012, a photo by firoze shakir photographerno1 on Flickr.
Marziyas mom was laying the table for Iftar , wife was breaking her fast at her friends place..and Marziyas mom took the shots adding to daughter Nerjis Shakirs curiosity as she feels only Marziya and I shoot pictures and she is absolutely possessive about anyone using the Canon 60D which she believes is her camera.
Iftar Time Breaking of My First Fast 22 July 2012
Iftar Time Breaking of My First Fast 22 July 2012, a photo by firoze shakir photographerno1 on Flickr.
Marziyas mom made all the Iftar stuff but I took my grand children and bought some mixed chicken delicacies from Afzal Bhai of Islami caterers.. and I miss the old man who stood outside Kalpana chemists and made chana and alu chat.
He disappeared others took his place but none could match the magic of his chana mixing fingers , he would request me to take his pictures which I did year after year till his disappearance.
This is actually Nerjis Asif Shakirs second Ramzan she was born last year on 15 Shaban..
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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...
