I shot this particular series at Banganga in 2011 and I have shot them like a fanatic , firstly as a street photographer they added a new dimension to expansive street vision , sea of barbers , and the religiosity attached to this Brahaminical ritual, this was a high caste Hindu thing..to the laymen it was merely a ritual on the eve of Navratra.. but for those who took part it meant bunking work, or for the working class North Indian , a loss of his days earnings , so he came here at dawn , got his act together , completed the tonsure and the immersion of the Pind offerings , Pind Dan , and if you wanted to leave Banganga well it was another crazy story jam packed buses , share a taxi fleecing the Bhaiyyas and ironically the taxi driver fleecing the Bhaiyya is a Bhaiyya himself.
I look like a Hindu, dress like one and till date those at Banganga take me for a Shiva Bhakt because of my tiger printed attire turban and exotica.
And I am happy at least as photographer I am showcasing my countryman's spirituality , his emotive state of Mind.
And all this because a Hindu friend seeing me cutting my head on Ashura had taken the zanjir and cut his back I took a vow that as long as I live as a tribute to his mother who gave him birth I will shoot her religion Hinduism as Hope and Hindutva a message of Peace , and among all my albums my own Shiasm about 51000 blogs my Hindu blogs are 58000.
And because I was the first to showcase this ritual on the Internet in 2005 , my picture was used by Wikipedia too.. I talk about Pitru Paksha in Mumbai Banganga , shooting the barbers was incidental or maybe co incidental.
So I continued shooting barbers mystifying their art craft as healers their magic fingers , as healing elements .
And barbers have Shifa .. the Muslim word for holistic healing ,and these are old pictures I am re tweaking as monochrome , this pinkish picture would have looked horrid as a black and white ,, What do you say.. and perhaps these few barbers were from the same Pink Gang..
And this long epistle to all of you is inspired by a Facebook comment.. poets basically need no excuse .be it rhyme or no time ,, words are the soul hidden in silence sublime ,,
