Friday, December 19, 2014

Mama The Man With The Camera Is He A Beggar Like Us




limping barefeet
wound on his head
mama i am sure he
is a beggar like us
one of the living dead
pain in his eyes i read
perhaps using the camera
as a beggars bowl our
pain he spreads ..
mortally wounded by
the original sin of being
beggars ..we are the left
overs of gods bounty
through tears he bred
to always beg be at
the mercy of the well fed

no i dont want to return home
no ghar wapsi to become
a hindu i d rather be dead
the religion of my mother
is the essence of my humanity
he looked into my eyes silently
moved ahead ..a beggar poet
a hindu shia i am what i am
when my body was being born
my mortal soul had fled
religion destroyed humanity
killed god  the poison spread

killing innocent children
an eye for an eye the Taliban
code of honor build on fear dread
if he is a shia hindu or jew
the commander said off with hs head


Mama Why Are They Not Begging Like Us ,,,Are We Different




hands in their pockets
stony eyed they stare
but alms they wont give
for beggars they have
nothing to spare
mother child
conjoined pair ,,
the other side of
the royal minaret
the limping lion roars
ghar ghar islam
but for the poor
fuck they care
the untouchables
of Islamic Indian society
held captive in a lair
will they even give a
dime from their royal
share ..a falling house
of doomed humanity
they wont repair ..
allah ho akbar as
the royal minaret
blares ,, wear and tear
i d rather be an indian
than only a hindu or a
muslim the patriot swears
politicians want sectarian strife
to build their dynasties for
wealthy comfort for their heir

Sadal Vida Hussaina Wa Hasrata Hussaina Hakim Shame Laeen Ast


The Mark Of Hussain..Kama Matam And Kids




All over the cities I have shot documented Moharam..I have seen little kids getting their heads marked with the blade of a dagger .
Little kids who perhaps hardly know what is happening but are aware of the grimness of the moment.

In Hyderabad almost every child , including little girls get the head cut by the dagger known as the kama, it is a symbolic cut unlike the swift rapid strokes by Shia adults while hey do their kamazani.. or kama matam.

Almost every Shia child has a bandage on his head in Hyderabad on Ashura day .. and Chehlum.

In Chennai the child has his head cut on Ashura day and here strangely even Hindu mothers with new born boys have the childs head cut for holistic healing purpose ,, I asked one Tamil Hindu mother waiting for her childs head to be cut, why she was doing it , she replied to keep the child healthy and prevent evil eye ,, I had no words to respond .

In Mumbai the head cutting starts at Kaiser Bagh from eve of 8 Moharam and the kids get initiated thanks to Munna Bhai who helps them get over the fear of the blade.

Than the kama matam continues on 9 Moharam juloos that begins at Honda junction .. and ends a Amin Imambada .

More kama maam on Ashura Day morning a Amin Imambada , and later at the Ashura juloos on the streets of JJ till Mazgaon .
Within the Shia cemetery the kama matam is of sheer frenzy, and mostly teenagers take part.

Lucknow kama matam  takes place on Ashura day juloos and Chehlum juloos .. but than comes Athvi the last day of Shia mourning and kids participate in large numbers at Kazmain..led by Baney Bhais Anjuman,

In Hyderabad even girls women do kama matam..

In Delhi Ashura day kama matam takes place at Kashmiri gate , and Chehlum near Jama Masjid and Sher E Marda cemetery.

In Kolkatta it is basically hand held razor matam.. and some kama mata,

At Hussain tekri Chehlum the Kashmiri Shia kids do inense kama maam most of the Kashmiri adults puncture their scalps with surgical needles .

As a people photographer as a documentarist I shoot , I dont hold opinion , I dont proselytize nor do I glorify bloodletting ,, but yes I shoot it prolifically .

My grandkids all girls are not scared of the kama ..


And this post is to give you the meaning of kama, this child was watchin me with two daggers , and than he walked upto Baney Bhai asking him to cut his head , and there is absolutely no force , child abuse ,,and this kid had no fear no apprehension ..
And for the record I hardly shoot kids doing kama matam, these are just a few I took ,, kids in Lucknow have requested me to bring them kama when I next come to shoot Moharam.

Ham Kare Matam Lage Chot Apko . Koste Hain Ham Yazid Aur Uske Bap Ko


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