Friday, August 3, 2012
Sakibs Sandal Mahim 2009
Sakib is a very dear friend, he has a number of florists shops in Mumbai and at Haji Malang.I began shooting the sandals , dargahs rafaees through Sakib and Firoze Rafaee , but it was Fahad Khalil Pathan the son of the late Peshimam of the Makhdoom Shah Baba mosque who introduced me to them.
Incidentally I met Fahad Khalil Pathan during my weekly trips to Chor Bazar and the Kamatipura flea market.We both wear Kerba or amber, and Fahad has a very old and impressive necklace, so we became friends .
Fahad was the person who took me behind the Makhdoom Shah Baba dargah and introduced me to the Chancawalli Rafaees ..and thus began my tryst with the fakirs mendicants body piercers.
I thought this introduction was necessary especially for my friends at Facebook where I post most of my stuff too, I have posted 5001 links at Facebook..and samplers of my Flickr sets..
It was at Sakibs sandal I met Nazim Bhai brother of Peersaab Fakhru Miya Hujra no6..and thus began my Ajmer connection and trips.
Ajmer threw me into the laps of Nizamuddin Dargah.. that I shot during Chehlum in Delhi a long time back.
Haji Malang I try not to miss..there are a lot od Dargahs I have not seen , Meena Datar Unjha, Kariar Sharif, and Tajuddin Baba in Nagpur I would like to visit if I get an opportunity and divine encouragement.
Shooting the Urus circuit is a rare specialty ,its not mere photography but requires the mijaaz, you need to shoot this as a deewana or there is no meaning to the images you capture, I firmly believe I shoot emotions sparkling with life and spirituality..it has taken me a lot of time , a lot of struggle shooting the bawas I became a bawa myself..
And all this I owe to Sakib, and his best friend Abhijeet the Hindu Khadim of Haji Malang.I can live with my hijra friends but Abhijit gives me lodging boarding free..takes care of my comforts.. and climbing the Malangad mountains barefeet is a tough trek mind you, I am a diabetic.
Sakib is a rafaee a fact very few people know.
These pictures of his Urus shot in bad light are a must see, he removed his shirt lay down on a bed of nails, with a nail neck strap on his neck, and a huge boulder was placed on his chest..Sakib is amazing at overcoming pain.
All this was shot on 5 December the Siddi performers were here , and the most unique is the making of the sandal paste..that Sakibs brother and Nazim Bhai jointly prepared , all this was placed in a Palki..
The procession took of from Sakibs brothers house and I shot this till the Food lane , but the most unusual was a boy bleeding has he began cutting his tongue with a sword.
I know if Dr Glenn Losack MD was to see all this he would go berserk...and to shoot Hassan Ganda lifting a 50 kg boulder with his penis well Glenn would even sell his soul to the devil...
Hassan Ganda could make a lot of money but he has renounced to world..women would give him anything to have his progeny but this crazy proud bawa highly opinionated is not interested.
The thing that he has envied and wanted me to present to him is a rare stick curved like a snake with a silver birds head that I have ..but I never could think of giving it to him.. somethings cannot be bought or sold.
Shimr Tyrannizes Humanity Once Again
238,797 items / 2,009,271 views
but this time
he will be
slaughtered
by al qaem
vindicating
the essence
of ghame hussain
blood
of mohomed ali
maula hussain
in his veins
break away
sajjads manacles
tauk and chain
no more no more
yazidiyat ever again
bar yazid lanat
his ancestry
every grain
from the skies
on his accursed
soul fires of rain
alam abbas
mashke sakina
will rise again
end of pain
ya hussain
ya hussain
Shimr Tyrannizes Humanity Once Again
238,797 items / 2,009,271 views
but this time
he will be
slaughtered
by qaem
vindicating
the essence
of ghame hussain
blood
of mohomed ali
maula hussain
in his veins
break away
sajjads manacles
tauk and chain
no more no more
yazidiyat ever again
bar yazid lanat
his ancestry
every grain
from the skies
on his accursed
soul fires of rain
alam abbas
mashke sakina
will rise again
end of pain
ya hussain
ya hussain
The Tazias on Ashura Lucknow
The Tazias are replica of Hazrat Imam Husains Shrine , that is kept for 9 days in the House Imambada.On the 10th Day called Ashura the day of the Martyrdom of Imam Hussain they are carried bare feet to the Karbala Talkatora and put to final rest or buried.This is an absolutely sad day for the Shias.
Baba Gurshahani of Haji Malang and Me in Mumbai
Baba Gurshahani of Haji Malang and Me in Mumbai, a photo by firoze shakir photographerno1 on Flickr.
Baba Gurshahani is connected to Haji Malang a very saintly holy man ,stays at Cliff most of the property near the foothills of Malangad belongs to his family.
He was very happy to know that I too am connected to Haji Malang and this was shot near my work place at Bandra.
Malpua Chacha and Me Shot By My Wife
138,224 items / 1,070,875 views
My wife is a simple lady a housemaker though of late she has started dealing in Lucknowi chicken kurta sets , sets from Kokatta Jaipur and operates from home including bridal wear as my work shows no sign of improvement.
Earlier my wife was very confident and shoot my picture with guests mostly Flickr photographers who came to partake our hospitably but of late she is reticent and feels shy and avoids taking my camera in hand .
All this is due to the fact that Marziya has given all the amateur photographers in my house a very big complex , so now Marziya is the yardstick at home for good photography , and even I find my own prowess with the camera lacking and misplaced in front of Marziyas love for photography.
Yesterday I had taken her to the Ganesha workshops she painted a few idols and took pictures of the artisans sitting and working on the floor I lost count the number of pictures she shot..
The Chacha is the guy who makes Malpuas and he is the one who told me my pictures on the Internet have made him famous in his village.,
KAMA ZANI Shia Head Cutting
Kama Zani is the ritual of cutting your forehead with a dagger or a sword.
The head is washed with water, the hair parted in the center , you take the dagger make seeps across the top of the head , while the group surrounding you encourage you invoking the name of Hazrat Ali..you slash perhaps once or twice the guys surrounding you try to snatch the blade away from you, than you beat your cut head to draw out the blood, some let it flow, if it is very severe the first aid guys bandage it applying generous amount of rose water nothing else.
At Rehmatabad in the cuts are far to sever than the first aid guys rush yu to the local Habi Hospital for medical attention, stitches in most cases.My friend Baqar Nassear cuts open his back with the deadliest sword he takes about 72 stitches,the piece of flesh is not to be found in most cases.
In Lucknow a guy called Guddu Bawarchi, slashes himself with a sword rushing into the crowds not letting any one stop him...than there is a guy in the anjuman of Bane Qama who pushes the blade deep into the crevice of the head than deliberately turns the blade severing the scalp.. nothing happens .
I have done it at Athvi in Lucknow , with a sword , than again I did it in Ashura in Lucknow this year , I have not had the curiosity to see the pictures shot by Guddu, I had to be bodily held by half a dozen guys before I gave the sword back, I had taken the sword slashed-it while falling to the ground.. I dont know whether Guddu shot those pictures.
In Delhi at Jamma Masjid I snatched a guys sword slashed my head , he pulled it from my hands , it was blunt nothing happened, it is in this scuffle that I cut the tendon of my right hand.
In Hyderabad they cut their foreheads like they cut onions, I have not seen such syncchronized forehead cutting anywhere else...Sameers, Syeds kids from Palla Gulli cut their heads like professionals they are about 8 years old...
Google Search will never get this information even on a Shia site...
Self flagellation with blades is known as Zanjir Zani, the blades range in various size, people pay a bomb to make customized zanjirs, my Iranian friend Hadi who is a Sumo wrestler looking guy uses 24 inches blades..Raju Mirza he slashes ferociously needs stitches every time
Ali Shah is the only person in India whose back is a jigsaw puzzle there is no place but he scourges and cuts his forehead in a way that is not human at all.
Ghulam from Babula Tank is another dangerous Kamazani expert.
Among the Maulamas who cut their foreheads is Maulana Agha Roohi , his nephew Maulana Irshaad Abbas .. you got to be 3 feet away from them.. they are mean they do it with a passion that comes from within exponents of Tabarah.
Than there is a Maharashtrian Hindu guy Ganesh a friend of Baqar who scourges his back on Ashura.The Sunni beggar whose picture I have posted cuts himself with razor blades tied to a string..
Than there are girls in Hyderabad who as a Mannat cut their foreheads at Bargah of Hazrat Abbas.
I gave one of my zanjirs to Munna bhai in Lucknow.
My other pair is the deadliest I dont give it to anyone I carry it in my camera bag.. I have scourged every city that I have visited with these blades..
I have always wanted to barbecue the blades, than hit them on my back but the guys in Lucknow stopped me from doing it saying it would become a trend..
Who knows perhaps one day..
UPDATE
I dont scourge anymore since my Delhi Chehlum I only do kam zani these days...
Hindu Muslim Two Sides of an Indian Coin
Shri Vijay Giri Maharaj and Me
he a Naga Sadhu from
Juna Akhada living
at Shanti Ashram
near Film City
we met at
Nasik Kumbh
Timbakeshwar
under a banyan tree
fused in our
cultural ideology
shivas third eye
on my camera lens
capturing harmony
hari om was his repartee
hindu muslim
two sides of an indian coin
our indianess the only reality
in a demarcated divided world
blinded by hate
where man to man dont see
spiritual terrorism
what a tragedy
right wing hindu radical or
misguided jehadi
dismembering
the heart of one god
the soul of our nationality
destroying humanity
Shri Vijay Giri Maharaj is a very noble man, he gives space to your beliefs, he indulges you as man..a sensitive earthen pot of clay.. holding precious emotions a slight touch the pot cracks ..everything spills out ..
I consider him a very good influence yes I bond with him…this has nothing to do with our diverse faiths or upbringing.
This picture was shot by my help Hussain at Shanti Ashram…where Shri Vijay Giri Maharaj lives..
April 24th, 2007
The Great Khali Big Boss Shoes Size 22
The Great Khali
Dalip Singh Rana[4] (born 27 August 1972), better known by his ring name The Great Khali, is an Indian professional wrestler, actor, and powerlifter. He is currently working for WWE as a member of the SmackDown roster.
He debuted alongside Daivari and had alliances with Ranjin Singh and Jinder Mahal. However he spent most of his career as a singles superstar and in 2007 he became the World Heavyweight Champion.
Before embarking on his professional wrestling career, he was a police officer in the Punjab state police.[7] He has appeared in four Hollywood films as well as two Bollywood films.
The Meaning of Death and Sacrifice
I shot this a slow motion flow of emotions sparring of life v/s death, through Jimba a much loved goat of Bandra Bazar Road, I showed you a collage of painless sacrifice, Jimba was a symbol of the essence of Bakra Idd in its true sense, it was not about buying a goat getting it done over with, Jimba was raised as a human child, lost his animal attributes as he lived among kids.
Yes Jimba was a child as much as a child a child can be, in between I interrupted the flow of Death by showing you through links his bond with my grand daughter, I am not a butcher , I am a poet as we all are in one way or another..I showed a poem of life as it ends like all things have to end.
I would have not shot this if I had taken the normal route to my house ,mind you I walk barefeet and walking through blood flowing slums is not an easy thought too, I am a diabetic and my bravado is on leash..
As I write this I have already cut my bare feet shooting the Mahim Urus..so I could have never known about Jimbas sacrifice, I was destined to shoot Jimba as I never mentioned till now that Jimba loved me dearly not just as Marziyas grand father but as a photographer and I am crying , because Jimba loved to be photographed , almost like any kid I shot..he stalked the red doors of my old shop, he knew I never scrounged, at least not as a photo blogger, as photo blogger I did not shoot pictures I shot text that you read smoothly as you would read a poem.,,
Yes blogging can be injurious and addictive too, but you cannot give if you have nothing to give, through the humility of my pictures I give you what God gave me..no it is not vision Mr Bhupesh Little I am still amateur, all visionaries dont end up as street photographers..photography is reading life's musical notes and replaying them by ear here my childhood friend Dinshah Sanjana would truly agree.. I am not a musician but I lived with the finest at Jony Castle Wodehouse Road, they all touched me ..as music touched the soul of Keith Kangas now silent guitar..strangely the one person who inspired me to shoot pictures like a musician was a shy reticent guitarist Neil Chattophdaya grandson of Harindranath Chattopadhya the veteran comic serious actor..
Yes this is Jimbas sacrifice I shot ...
And I understand Dr Glenn Losack MD s philosophy of life through pictures because we are both musicians at heart..
Photography is Music you either have it or dont..
Fire Walk or Ag Ka Matam Bandra
I start another series on the Shia Moharam segment , walking on hot coals , known as Ag Ka Matam.
I have walked on fire in most of the cities that I went to shoot Moharam, save Hyderabad and Kolkatta.
Lucknow is the pioneer in this form of mourning for the Imams family that braved and walked barefeet as captives from Karbala to Yazids court in Damascus.
This captive family was no ordinary family but the blood stream of the Holy Prophet..Peace Be Upon Him.
I was not allowed to shoot pictures of the Hussain Tekri Ag Ka Matam, because of reasons unknown to me , but because the rights were sold to some exclusive channel. I was told by some people it is alleged.
A few Shia think in terms of big bucks..
Lucknow Ag Ka Matam at Diyanutdaulah and Kazmain are the best
The much touted Bada Imambada Fire Matam is a total eye wash, amateurs that have given it a complete bad name..I sincerely hope that Maulana Kalbe Jawad Saab takes more active interest in this event placing it in capable hands...
The Mumbai Fire Matam is mostly done by the Khoja Shias at Bandra Supare Talao.At the Khoja Shia cemetery Arambagh at Mazgaon.
Also at Mira Road.
A Shia Child Carries Hussain In His Eyes
he is a child but an adult in disguise
a shia child carries hussain in his eyes
yes his innocence his paradise
beneath his feet he tramples
yazidi lies ..
tears for fatima
from within he cries
he is a giant allbeit his puny size
Appu My Friend
238,797 items / 2,008,843 views
limbless
akimbo
life choked
at the river
bend sorrow
down stream
as it flows
from beginning
to end a living
pain no hands
to tend legless
knees politely
bent head
bowed to god
from evil
he defends
broken faith
he mends
moments lost
illusions
in deleted
dreams
that hope
suspends
memories
that we
had spent
chor bazar
the shia cemetery
st michaels church
appu i miss you
my dear friend
Flashback
lost in the wilderness
of a romantic bus stop
a love life once idyllic
now flippity flop
holding the heart
of loneliness
pain revolving like a top
dreams washed away
on the rocks of carter road
memories non stop
the pesky hijda
the intruding eyes of the cop
life once full of fun
now a full stop
a woman's life aging
in a post marital
antique shop
the love of life
once a Sallu look alike
now a bank teller
white collared slop
a wife also
a domestic prop
from the corners
of the corridors
of despair
the neighbors
eavesdrop
what you sow
is not what you reap
a bad seed brings forth
a bad crop
tears that fall from
moistened eyes
like raindrops
to my great friend David Hazell
a poetic satire on married life...
The Greatness of Baqar Saab lies in his Humility
The Greatness of Baqar Saab lies in his Humility, a photo by firoze shakir photographerno1 on Flickr.
108,458 items / 705,496 views
He sits on the floor , this great man of the moment , a healer , a visionary and a loving human being..
Walking Over the Sleepers of Faith
108,463 items / 705,523 views
This is a Hyderabadi thing , the mourners lie in the path of the Alam and of course the Alambardar wont step on them but they sleep as a ritual to be under the protection of Alam Abbas .. this I was told keeps them free from evil, bad health..its signifies holistic healing..but they would prefer the Almbadar to walk over them for 100 %cure..
Ghame Hussain
I had cut my head first at the Bargah in the afternoon, but there was no one to shoot me, and besides I was bleeding heavily I was rushed immediately for clean up and bandaging..
This was shot by Ejaz photographer when sadness prevailed , all the mourners had left , we were in the privacy of Baqar Saabs room at the Bargah..
The end of Ashura proceedings leaves a vacuum , an emptiness and a pain, I was on my legs since morning , no water no victuals, and I would have left much earlier to shoot the Bibi Ka Alam, but there was a problem, in the morning I had given my Nikon battery charger with a battery for charging to a guy ,I knew by face but had forgotten to ask his name , and neither could I find him nor my charger , so I waited till the end when the Alamdars came back, I found the charger it was with a person I did not know nor did he know me..such was my luck..thanks to Imran I got it back safely from the person concerned.
Later I cut my head again more severely in the evening behind the Bibi Ka Alam procession on the streets of Hyderabad..
No Escape ...
108,627 items / 706,416 views
muslim beggar woman
the usual land scape
be it lucknow mumbai
hyderabad
from her impoverished
destiny - no escape
standing begging for alms
in a funereal drape
hidden beneath her hijab
her pain her sorrow
her life in bad shape
from the cauldron of
her karmic calamity
a few crumbs scrape
her dreams
like a bunch
of sour grapes
slits for eyes
at a stony wall
of silence
agape
Patta Patta, Boota Boota Hal Hamare Jaane Hai
Jaane Na Jaane, Musalman Hi Na Jaane, Hindustan To Saara Jaane Hai
koie kisi ki khatir matam kare toh jalte hain log ..
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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...
