Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Shooting Ganesh Visarjan at Chinchpokli ... 2012

One of the reasons I stayed behind for Lalbagh Chya Raja at Chinchpokli , it is convenient to shoot here I had marked a standing place and the guys around me saw that no one usurped it and they were richly rewarded because when the guys on board the the Lalbagh Chya Raja float saw me threw me a couple of garlands a coconut I gave to these people that guarded me and my bag fiercely.

All the volunteers on the float know me as I have been shooting Lalbagh Chya Raja barefeet walking with them till Kumbharwada ..

And there are other Muslims too I have met who come to see Raja and it is not his religiosity but his over all contribution to peace hope harmony among all the denizens of Amchi Mumbai.

I have some fabulous memories of nice people I met on this journey and at Byculla slums the Wagri community recognized me as I was a Friday regular at Kamatipura flea market and Chor Bazar.

But my feet were in bad shape because of back to back barefeet walks during GSB Ganesha Visarjan and 7 Day Ganesha Visarjan at Juhu Beach.

You can imagine that when I came to the Pandal at 8 am I had one batawada water , and than at Ganesh Gully two batawadas and till Byculla I ate nothing drank nothing ..

I had my first cup rather two cups of tea at Byculla ..and this was my sustenance till the end of my aborted journey at Nagpada Police Station and I took a cab back home ...to Bandra .

Waiting For Lalbagh Chya Raja at Chinchpokli ..

The Bag That Let Me Down ..The Fate of a Painted Clown


feet burnt
black and brown
a turban as a crown
searching for a memory
card that turned my
world upside down
a cosmic circle of
pain going round
round silently
without sound
oxymoron oscillations
beat my head and pound
nostalgic neurosis
on the rebound
chained manacled
a beggar poet
Prometheus bound

Like Me She Too Cannot Do Without The Mouse

The Beggar Poet of Bollywood Shot By Pratik Koli

Ganesh Gully Mumbai Chya Raja Visarjan 2012

Ganesh Gully Mumbai Chya Raja Visarjan 2012

Tekjukaya And Chintamani Cha Raja Face To Face


This is the place standing on a small garden platform I shot all the three main Ganpatis of Lalagh , Mumbai Cha Ganesh Gully Raja Tejukaya and the most famous one Lalbagh Chya Raja , it was here the volunteers on the flat who knew thew me flowers I gave to the public and coconuts I gave to the guy who was minding my stuff here ,which was near my feet..

This is the Chinhcpokli cross road a little ahead is Vijay Khatus Ganesha workshop....

Tejukaya Chya Raja Visarjan 2012

Tejukaya Cha Raja ..Purcha Varshi Laokar Ya

Hindu - Muslim Two Eyes Of The Soul of Mother India

Jai Maharashtra Shot By Venay Parelkar

Amchi Mumbai Shot By Venay Parelkar

Two Muslims .. Who Participate In The Ganesh Visarjan

Shot by Venay Parelkar

Tejukaya Cha Raja Visarjan Lalbagh 2012


The name “Tejukaya” brings to light a great personality from the British times named “Rao Bahadur Seth Shri Tejukaya J. P.”, a civil constructor by profession. He has very efficiently and responsibly constructed several constructions since 1890.
Description
Tejukaya Mansion Ganeshotsav Mandal is one of the biggest and famous Ganesh mandals in Lalbaug, Mumbai.

Since 43 years, it has been diligently and actively treading the path led by Lokmanya Tilak, taking every step towards social wellbeing and awareness while also being famous for its fabulous sets and huge Ganesh idols created by its very own sculptor Rajan Zhad.

The mandal is very grateful to people who have consistently helped them in all these years, including respected Shri. Pramodkumar and Kantilal Tejukaya, sculptor Shri. Rajan Zhad and the founder Shri. Aba Tawde and all the people who give their wholehearted love in the form of donations, advertises and good wishes. We are also thankful to BEST, Kalachowki Police Station and Brihanmumbai Mahanagar Palika for all the help that they have always officially extended and hope to receive such undaunted support in the future.



Phone097 73 112716
Emailcontact@rajatejukayacha.org
Website www.rajatejukayacha.org

This Man Is A Well...He Will Quench Your Thirst With His Knowledge of Photography

The Only Person Who Knows My Tryst With Photography Is Venay Parelkar



I met Venay by chance many years back, I was a student of Mr Shreekanth Malushte and we were called to an outing at National Park and Venay was there ,, and I could not get my cut BW roll to adjust to my camera , and I knew nothing about cameras I hate camera manuals , they are never consumer reading friendly .. we became friends and than I joined the Photographic Society of India as life member .. and here I learnt a lot under late Prof BW Jatkar Saab my second Guru and finally met my third final guru Mr KG Maheshwari.

Anyway as this is a blog all I can tell you Venay also teaches photography, he is inimitable , he will put the soul of photography in your sub consciousness ..he is versatile , very street savvy and sees pictures before the camera sees them.

I am lucky to have his guidance his wisdom and his friendship that I treasure with all my heart...he is shy reticent low profile and I hope he becomes the President of PSI he will change the rules of the game and add fresh breath and air to a depleted soul of a 75 year old organization..

Photography is a flower you share its fragrance you share its aromatic holistic touch .. I find all this missing from camera club culture you may disagree with me but I say what my camera eye sees when it sheds tears on the soul of the past masters Mr Mitter Bedi Bhardwaj Unwala and Sam Tata Ambalal J Patel and other doyens who gave their life soul to bring photography to the common man..

May the Soul of Photography Rest In Peace ..

My Lalbagh Chya Raja Visarjan Journey Barefeet From Lalbagh To Nagpada 2012


Whether it was my pre intuition or a warning from cosmic forces of my impending loss I dont know but at Chinchpokli the bastion of Chintamani Chya Raja I switched cameras and began shooting on the much heavier Canon EOS 7D with vertical grip,,

Instead of following the Raja pushing through crowds , I did not have the strength , I walked towards Chinchpokli and decided to wait for Raja and shoot him from here and I met my dear friend mentor Venay Parelkar , he was waiting for eminent photographer Shivji who had come to shoot the Ganesh Visarjan from Jodhpur.

He was going to Girgaum Chowpatty and told me to come along with him , but for several years I have been shooting the journey of Raja so I was tempted to join him but at the same time reluctant and my new bag was heavy.. I shoot with a single camera and I had bought two cameras I had come and shot the Lalbagh Chya Raja Arti and Rajas departure celebrations at 8 am at the Pandal and the card and all my other unused cards worth Rs 20000 were stolen from me at Nagpada along with my wallet.

But in the melee I lost Venay Parelkar and so carried on shooting the Raja following him instead .it was my destiny and so I reached Claire Road where calamity struck..

But I must tell you all every year I meet the hijras when I set out to shoot the Journey of Lalbagh Chya Raja , I had met Reshma Hijra last year , this year she had come with a larger floral tribute and I met other hijras from Lucky Compound.. .

I also met a transgender at the Pandal Rose I shot her pictures all in the stolen card .. I shot the shopkeeper of Lalbagh who gave me batatawada a bottle of water free also in the stolen card ,,,including pictures of me shot by Sagar Bekal and pictures of Raja shot from the trolley at the Pandal by Sumit Kale volunteer of the Mandal all gone..

So this is my Lalbagh Chya journey I kept it on hold to post the pictures of my 5 year old grand daughter Marziya Shakirs birthday party... Forgive me ..

I shot 2 memory cards of this journey ..the guy who stole my stuff from my bag hung on my back in the crowds , opened the first compartment .. the second compartment had my camera Canon 60 D and too my good luck it was down below and on top of it was a heavy naryal coconut given to me by a volunteer at Byculla Bridge ... so it was well protected ..at Nagpada Petrol pump a fellow photographer told me my bag was open and my kingdom crashed .

I informed my wife she said come back but I still went to Nagpada Police Station and informed them of my loss to the duty officer he did not take my complaint but noted my details in a book with my address number...and told me he would call me if they found it..

However I shall shoot this journey again next year be more careful... and try to be less overconfident .. because the thief is much smarter than the photographer on the street ...and works in groups in a crowd... pinning you in such a way that you will never know you are being robbed ...

I Quit A Job To Be a Grandfather Full Time

Marziya Shakir 5 Year Old

Marziya Shakir is my first grandchild .

Born at Holy Family Hospital Bandra on 24 Nov 2007.

She is the first born of my eldest son Asif Shakir web designer .

As there were complications when she was born I could only see her the next day 25 Nov 2007 and from that day religiously baptized her with my camera ..letting the soul of my camera seep into her soul forever

I carried her all around hung on my waist she saw me shoot political rallies beggars and hijras too,,, and I took her to Salman Khans house and she was a regular visitor to Mr Rajesh Khannas house .. I let her reach out to my camera and assisted her as much as I could by the age of 2 Marziya was shooting pictures ,,,I documented important days of her life , Moharam her sickness her birthdays , and took her showed her places of worship the Church the Temples ..

She shot Moharam zanjir matam, she shot the interiors of Churches , she shot Durga workshops Ganesh workshops and the Bengali Durga pandals in Bandra and around Bandra.

She began shooting the beggars the unfortunate and adopted a homeless lady near our house the Umbrella Lady of Bandra Reclamation giving he pocket money to her weekly.

She shot the Republic Day , the Carter Road football marathon Mount Mary Feast but as she is growing rapidly into a little lady I began taking her out less , but she had a childhood with dogs cats goats and began her love for animals.

She met the Kolis of Bandra fish market when she could barely walk and Manjula from Worli Gaon who sells fish in the market became her favorite aunt.. and both chatted away Manjula speaking in Koli language and Marziya nodding he head understanding it all.

I did not want Marziya Shakir to be a photographer but yes through the camera I taught her basic human values and when dressed in a black burkha she offered her Shraddanjali to Ms Dimple Kapadia at Ashirwad , Dimpleji hugged her and Marziya Shakir shot the pictures that Dimpleji saw on the camera monitor..

And when Akshay and Twinkle got their first daughter Nitara Khanna Bhatia. I sent Dimpleji a message that the wishes of Mr Rajesh Khanna had been fulfilled because he loved Marziya and her sister Nerjis immensely...he loved the girl child as a doting father ..

And so I shot Marziya Shakirs 5 birthday .. Assad and Saif shot the video.. it was a purely homely affair and as this post is about Marziya Shakir I will digress less bit nowadays Marziya Shakir shoots on her own IPad ..

And I am now teaching photography to her sister Nerjis Asif Shakir since she was 5 month old.. Nerjis Asif Shakir is the Camera ...The Vision and the Soul of My Own Photography too.

Time will tell .. so all I can tell you as a grand father of 3 girls what you imbibe in your child , what seeds you sow is what you will reap , some things we teach our children and so much and so much more they teach us.

I thank all of you for her birthday wishes your love for her and your support..

All the eminent photographers friends who visited my house have been shot by Marziya Shakir youngest street photographer of Bandra ..though now the eponymous title has been usurped by Nerjis Asif Shakir 14 month old.

daddy dear they respect and fear


to the people
in his area
a savior
messiah
he protects
from political
pitfalls gives
them an ear
with his love
blessings
all their
problems clear
their faith
in him
his efforts
sincere ..

Micchami Dukkadam

‎"Micchami Dukkadam". Say this to one - say this to all. A beautiful tradition in the Jain religion. The Jains, a small religious denomination, present residing mostly in India, follow this beautiful tradition of saying "Michhami Dukkadam" to all their brothers in humanity.
"Michhami Dukkadam" means - please forgive me. Isn't it lovely to ask for forgiveness from all your family, relatives, and friends ? How important it is to mend all fragile relationships and keep our human relationships barometer clean of the baggage of negativity, and hatred !!! Indeed, "Michhami Dukkadam" is the formalization of individual forgiveness to a community setting. It has far greater effects of increasing human compassion than individual forgiveness. It encompasses a whole community, a whole society.
Forgiveness is indeed a most important human value. It allows the human race to mend their past mistakes. It teaches humanity a lesson in forgiveness. There is nothing to be ashamed of in asking for forgiveness. And when asked for forgiveness from someone always give it. Forgiveness is a great healer.

MICCHAMI DUKKADAM.

courtesy text Mansoor Showghi

About Micchami Dukkadam

Michchhāmi Dukkaḍaṃ is an ancient Prakrit phrase literally meaning — may all the evil that has been done be fruitless.[1] It is especially used on the Kshamavani Diwas or Forgiveness Day, celebrated on Samvatsari, the concluding day of the eight or ten day Paryushana festival, one of the main festivals of the Jain community. On this day, Jains request forgiveness from each other for all offences committed.[2][3] The phrase is also used when a person makes a mistake, or recollects making one in everyday life, or when asking for forgiveness in advance for inadvertent ones. [4]


Khamemi Savve JivaI forgive all living beings.
Savve Jiva Khamantu meMay all souls forgive me,
Mitti me Savva BhooesuI am friendly terms with all,
Veram Majjham Na KenviI have no animosity toward any soul.
Michchhami DukkadamMay all my faults be dissolved.
[edit]Etymology

The phrase Michchhāmi Dukkaḍaṃ is also found in the Airyapathiki Sutra [3]. It literally means — may all the evil that has been done be fruitless, and comes from the Prakrit language, a vernacular Indo-Aryan language, closely linked with Pali and used abundantly in the Prakrit canon of Jainism.[1] The Sanskrit version of the phrase is mithya me dushkritaam meaning "may the evil of it be in vain". [3] or simply put "May my misdeeds be undone."
[edit]Overview

After the pratikramana (Jain prayer, literally "introspection"), Jains seek forgiveness from all the creatures of the world whom they may have harmed knowingly or unknowingly by uttering the phrase—michchhāmi dukkaḍaṃ. As a matter of ritual, during Samvatsari—the last day of the Jain festival paryusana—Jains utter the phrase— Michchhāmi Dukkaḍaṃ after pratikraman.[5][6] Paryusana falls during chaturmas, four months in the rainy season, reserved for yearly pratikarmana, introspection, penance and fasting, when even the wandering monks temporarily abandon their wandering life and settle down amidst the householders, giving discourses and organizing scriptural recitations.[3]
As a matter of ritual, Jains greet their friends and relatives with Michchhāmi Dukkaḍaṃ, seeking their forgiveness. Forgiveness is requested by saying "Michchhami Dukkadam" to each other. It means "If I have caused you offence in any way, knowingly or unknowingly, in thought, word or deed, then I seek your forgiveness".[5] No private quarrel or dispute may be carried beyond Samvatsari, and traditionally, letters have been sent and telephone calls made to friends and relatives asking their forgiveness.[7]

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