Street Learning Poor Kids

I posted a comment on a friends post at Facebook  that I am copying here , he has a local paper that is doing exemplary work on Bandra ,,

I was wondering so called Muslim kids , educated , savvy should take out time and tutor poor kids in the pre dominantly poor slums , where mothers go to work at houses of the rich, father drives the ricksha , but alas no one has time for such meritorious concerns , the Muslim politicos the super rich never built a school on the lines of Fr Agnel where every poor student irrespective of his religion could learn some trade , and ironically if they build it it will be a Madrsa only for their community , when will we come of this Mousetrap ,,and the top lines I wrote is in keeping with the spirit of Ramzan ..voices like ours sadly will not be found in your paper too, as you have to survive and you need all the political support patronage , I hope you understand my feelings I am not just a photographer poet stylist but also a product of a convent school what my teachers taught me is bubbling out ,,

And the picture I am posting here is of poor school kids who come to Carter Road and young and old come to tutor them guide them in their studies and homework,, here I bought Nerjis made her sit with these poor kids , and Nerjis loves reading , writing drawing , there is not a single second that she will leave her I Pad , so obviously this cyber learning has bought her forward in her playschool too..

I used to take Marziya my elder grand daughter to the slums where a taxi drivers daughter taught the very poor , in her house ..education is the need of the hours and tutions cost a bomb..

Even my maid , a lady works at 6 or 7 houses , every day morning to night , simply to educate her kids she has 5 of them , and her husband is suffering from cirrhosis , so for the poor , very poor Muslim it is tough and politicos who go out to give free exercise books and get their faces plastered on banners is the lousiest message at
self-aggrandizement - .

And coming back to Muslim kids from the slums going wayward it is because of lack of vocational guidance no counselling , and too much of internet time at cyber cafes .etc etc

So these are my inner thoughts , and hope someone does something for the slum kids ,..

Jesus In The Rains ,, He Keeps Silent While The Whole World Complains

These are the few iconic crosses crucifix at Bandra Bazar Road, most of these Crosses were placed in gratitude by the East Indians for the bounties they received from the Lord , for saving them and their family from the Great Plague .

And these relics are centuries old , adding to the inherent charm of the East Indian commune known as Gaothans fishing villages , which had their Parish close by , and fields stretched as far as eye can see .

But good dreams turn into nightmare , thanks to the lust of money power greed , most of these ancient homes were usurped from the East Indians pushing them out into the distant suburbs of Uttan Nalla Sopara.

For a short while I stayed at Veronica Road as tenant and it was a lucky place belonging to Agnes , after we moved out Preity Zinta came to stay here , it was perhaps much luckier for her than us.

And now Bandra has adopted us we have been living in the Bandra Bazar gaothan for many years now , it has become a part of us , and when  something hurts the East Indians it hurts us too.

Being a Muslim has not been an excuse to turn a blind eyes to our neighbors woes ..

So the cross covered in plastic watches centuries go by , as waves of pain after pain hits the East Indian community ,unnecessarily targeted for removing the Crosses by the very people they bought to power by their votes.

And sadly the Church watches mutely from a distance , and it is these Crosses in the bylanes of Bandra that reached out to the common East Indian man woman in the time of his tragic tribulations ,,

And when Crosses get desecrated it is a humiliating thought , acts done by the cowardly in the night under darkness , and as far as governance or law and order in Mumbai goes forget the common man even God is not safe in our beloved city ,, of Dreams .

2nd Death Anniversary Mr Rajesh Khanna 18 July 2014

18 July 2014

I got a call from Bala that I was invited to a very private puja at Ashirwad Carter Road , in the memory of Mr Rajesh Khanna in remembrance of his second death anniversary by Ms Dimple Kapadia.

This was a strictly private affair with Dimpleji  at the helm and her very close family friends , her daughter Twinkle Khanna Arav and Nitara her grandkids.

Bala had strictly told me not to shoot pictures but this one I requested her for Mr Rajesh Khanna  fans and friends , Dimpleji thought for a moment and allowed me to take this shot , after seeing it on my camera monitor.

The prasad was huge giant Dahi puri , and I took her leave remembering all the moments I had spent here with my grand children in this house of Dreams.

Remembering Mr Rajesh Khanna Second Death Anniversary

".When someone you love becomes a memory, that memory becomes a wonderful treasure to always hold in your heart miss you forever & always."

Today is Kakaji second death anniversary,, I had met Bala a few days back wanting to know if there was any event by the family in his Memory ,but he was clueless .

And Death sometimes brings you closer to the people you knew who passed away ,, and every death for those who lost their dear departed is untimely ,

Kakaji had great dreams for me , and now I confess he was very unhappy that I had taken up a job , and was no more independent , it hit him hard ,but the money was good and I had to pay off some debts , and I still owe friends a thought that berates and kills me ,

He asked me time and again to leave the job , and was sure my good times would return , I did leave the job after Kakaji passed away..

And I have no regrets as I was like a bird with clipped wings in a gilded cage .

My grand daughters , he did touch them earnestly , that both Marziya and Nerjis have never forgotten him , he had that power to endear , he had that power to love unconditionally ..Sometimes I wonder what if I had not shot those lonely moments of his , and I always took his permission before shooting him..

He was a person living in the past , weaving stories keeping himself entertained , he was sad but he hid it cleverly beneath his smile a consummate actor he could be brilliantly deceptive in letting you touch his inner wounds .

There was so much I saw but I kept it to myself , those were his private moments I was an accidental trespasser , he loved my family , a call from him , meant that I should leave everything and come at once to Ashirwad, and I guess this was the big reason he hated my new job , I could not leave work like before .

There were those crazy moments he would drive down to treat me to ice cream at Natural Icecream chatting away talking about Bandra , he would insist he would drop me at home , but Bandra Bazar Road is horrid congested to say the least ,he would drop me at Elco, and head home.

His greatest happy moment was when he was going to Goa to be reunited with his family , he gave me a huge lot of clothes all brand new to be altered to his size , made new stuff , and he was particular about what he matched , Bala would stand by as I made sets of his favorite attire to be worn as formals or as beachware .including his floppies his keds.

And these are memories I have stored , in a vessel of my mind , he would personally call my wife if he knew I was unwell , and tell her to take great care of me ,,

And after his designer Moez's death , he took me under his wings ,,

He was highly excited about Riyasat , I am sure he never knew it would be his last signature swan song ,, he was very fond of Mr Ashok Tyagi , cheering him up , cracking jokes on the sets on the first day.. and I had come to meet him and take his blessings ,,,

So I wish Mr Ashok Tyagi his team the very best for Riyasat..and Ashokji gave me an opportunity to add a sartorial uniqueness to his look as a Don..flashy but subtle..by Bollywoods Most Wanted Darzi of Bandra.

I complete 300,032 Photo Blogs At Flickr . I began blogging at Flickr since June 2007

Thanks to Flickr for giving me this platform and thank you my Flickr friends followers  and all you esteemed viewers ,,

Without your encouragement comments , guidance love it would have not been possible

Allaahummal'an Qatalatal Ameeril Momeneen 21 Ramzan Martyrdom of Imam Ali

Every year I used to shoot this sad event the ruthless murder of Imam Ali in a mosque celebrated as a painful memory by the Shias all over the world and in Mumbai at Zainabia in the wee hours of the morning  of 21 Ramzan.

A replica of his coffin called the Taboot is placed in the hall and prayers duas are offered by the ladies and the gents.

Later there is short majlis once the majlis gets over the Taboot moves around the hall and exists out into the streets where hardcore zanjir matam kama matam and sword matam take place and a lot of anjumans groups participate with hand matam  till the procession finally moves to the Iranian Moghul Majid where all this comes to an end.

This is a complete series at my Flickr photostream...like a story board of moving images of pain and sadness of the Shia community..

However I have stopped shooting Shia segments in Mumbai completely due to personal reasons and the hooliganism that exists among a few Shia youth of Mumbai..

I vowed never to participate in Moharam in Mumbai ..I shoot Moharam in other cities where there is humility decorum respect for azadars ..


Hazrat Ali ibn Abu Talib or Imam Ali cousin of the Holy Prophet was his son in law married to his daughter Princess Fatima and Hassan and Hussain were their offsrings ..
Hazrat Ali is considered to be the first Shia Imam of the Twelvers and the fourth Caliph..


THE MARTYRDOM OF IMAM ALI (A.S.)

mam Ali (A.S.) had prophesied his departure from this world several days before hand, and on the day of his martyrdom he mysteriously desired his sons Hasan and Husain to offer their morning prayers in the house and not to accompany him as they usually did to the mosque. When Ali was leaving his abode, observes S. Ockley in his famous work the History of the Saracens, the household birds began making a great noise and when one of Ali's servants attempted to quieted them, Ali said, "Leave them alone, for their cries are only lamentations foreboding my death."

The fateful nineteenth of Ramadhan

On the 19th of Ramadhan Hazrat Ali came to the mosque in Kufa for his morning prayers. Ali gave the call for prayer and became engaged in leading the congregation. Abdur Rahman Muljim pretending to pray, stood just behind Ali, and when Ali was in a state of prostration, Abdur Rahman dealt a heavy stroke with his sword, inflicting a deep wound on Ali's head.

The Holy Prophet(S.A.W) had prophesied the assassination of Ali and his issues. Regarding Ali he had said, "O Ali! I see before my eyes thy beard dyed with the blood of thy forehead."

His last moments His blood-drenched lips parted into a thanksgiving prayer and he said, "Lord! I thank Thee for rewarding me with martyrdom; how kind art thou and how gracious. May thy mercy further lead me to the realm of Thy grace and benevolence." The murderer was caught and brought before him. When Hazrat Ali saw that the ropes with which his murderer was tied were cutting into his flesh, he forgot his own agony, and requested that he be untied and treated more humanely. Touched by these words the murderer started to weep. A smile played on Hazrat Ali's lips and in a faint voice he said, "It is too late to repent now, you have done your deed. Was I a bad Imam or an unkind Ruler?" He expressly ordered that no harshness should be shown towards his murderer. He should not be tortured before his execution, his body should not be mutilated, and members of his family should not be made to suffer on account of his crime and his property should not be confiscated. Ali's justice was always tempered with mercy, even to the worst of his own enemies.

Ali was taken home from the mosque, and lay mortally wounded, yet he was answering all questions put to him. His sons Hasan and Husain were given the last advice, and finally Ali told them that his coffin was to be lifted only from behind, as the front would of itself be automatically carried, and they would have to take the route guided by the coffin itself. At the place where the coffin would stop, they would find a grave already dug for him. Hazrat Ali also requested his sons that he should be buried secretly, because he feared that his enemies would desecrate his grave. The coffin stopped at Najaf, which is about four miles from Kufa.

Ali's last testament

To his sons Ali spoke thus:

"Remain steadfast in piety and resign yourself to the will of God. Never aspire to anything, which is beyond your reach. Always be truthful and merciful towards the orphans. Help the poor and needy, and try to live in the world in a way which may help it to become better. Stop the tyrant from his oppressions. Assist the afflicted and act upon the commandments of God; and do not be put off by any obstacles. Lastly, I ask you to bury me in some place, which is unknown to the public. No less than 10,000 persons have I killed by my own hands on different occasions, and I do not wish their relatives to violate the sanctuary of my repose, and expose my corpse to indignity."

After this talk with Hasan and Husain, Ali addressed his third son, Muhammad ibn Hanfia, and said,

"You have heard what I have told your other two brothers. I also want you to do the same. In particular, I command you to respect and obey your elder brothers. They have a right to claim your fealty. Always do whatever they command you.

He entrusted all to the care of his eldest son Hasan, except Abbas. Then he heard Abbas, hardly twelve years old, sobbing. Hazrat Ali asked him to come near and gave his hand to his second son Husain, saying :

"Husain, this child I am entrusting to your care. He will represent me on the day of your supreme sacrifice and will lay down his life in defending you and your dear ones."

And turning to Abbas, he said:

"Abbas, my child, I know your unbounded love for Husain. When that day comes, consider no sacrifice too great for Husain and his children."

Then, addressing the other members of his family, he continued,

"O thou Hashimites! After I am gone, do not spill Muslim blood, and do not kill any one except my murderer."

Right until the end Ali continued to talk of the good of the Muslim community, to fulfil the commands embodied in the Holy Qur’an and to submit to the will of God. Repeatedly calling upon the name of God and constantly re-affirming the belief in the Unity of God and in the Divine Mission of the Holy Prophet. Ali was to survive the mortal wound for three days. Speech was finally silenced at the approach on the third day.

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