To My Good Friend Serene

thanks to alex tender
i met her gushingly
unblushingly like
a pubescent teen
awed of her personality
her robust mind her
clarity of thought
a woman like her i
had never seen who
tells her mind her
thoughts pristine
living with fish fauna
crocodiles her
surroundings
evergreen
unlike this indian
/Rumpelstiltskin
shooting beggars
to mind meld
this poetic paean
a broken lamp
fulfilling wishes
this mystic Aladdin
disembodied unseen

Wassim Qazilbash Bravest Shia Lady In Lucknow ,, My Mother In Law

She is the most sprightly lady , does all the domestic chores , loves her husband dearly , she has a son three daughters , she has seen a lot of pain lived all her life in a tenanted house , sharing a common toilet ,,but she had faith and after almost 37 years she got her own place close to the place she stayed .and in the area she loves defends Nakhas Bajaza.

She came to fetch me at CharBagh station ,made great dishes for me , and I bought her oil for her bad legs ,,

She is a Tabaraie ,, defender of the Shia faith to the core , if you dare say something bad about Imam Hussain or The Ahle Bayt she will simply give you a tight slap..you dont mess with this diminutive lady ,
Once during the unfortunate Shia Sunni riots she stood out on the streets with a rolling pin.. she is a pucca Maulaiee ,, this lady s father was the most respected revered Shia from Kashmiri Mohalla Zakir Hussain BUL BUL SALWATI .

Her father in law Dr Matin Qazilbash married second time and her husband gave a way all his property to his step siblings and lived as a tenant at Hashim Building .

Earning from Diamond Cassettes promoting the Majlis of Maulanas big and small but than when bad times came no Maulana was there to help them out , my father in law Abbas Qasim being proud never licked their spiritual ass ..

And here I must reiterate Maulanas mostly help those who bow to them kowtow to them this is sheer hypocrisy among Shias too , the rich wont ever help  the poor ..and it is tragic to say the least I am a Lucknow born but Mumbai gave me love shelter and this well being in return I buried both my mom dad in Marathi soil ,,,Yes Mumbai is my Dharam bhumi not just my karambhumi .

My wife has lived in Mumbai for 38 years but loves Lucknow , and comes here by train to attend her mothers majlis and leaves back the following day ,, so this time I followed her to shoot Chehlum second time in the city of my birth.

Perhaps it is the blessings Janab Kalbe Abid Sab gave us in 1977  26 November when he solemnized my marriage that though there were bad thunderous marital clouds of discord our marriage has survived the test of time.

And when we were leaving for the station to return to Mumbai Wassim Baji as I call my mother in law began to cry like a little child she insisted on dropping us  at the station.9 pm in the night our train the Lokmanya Tilak was to leave at 10.45 pm

This is love you seldom see sadly I have no parents so she touches me at the very soft spot of my scarred soul.
I wanted to leave this space blank but I finally spilled the beans .. trying to give you a character sketch of the bravest lady in Lucknow hardcore Modiji fan..yes she says very proudly Ab Ki Bar Modi Sarkar ,,

Most of the Shias are Modiji supporters .,,,the poor and the poorest of the poor I mean.

And this is my humble tribute to my Mother In law I deliberately shot her blurry but she is a very beautiful lady in her heydays she was called the Saira Bano of Lucknow .

Her family hails from Siwan Bihar .

Why You Find Shia Kids Intense About Moharam

Simply because the Shia mother the beacon of Spirituality keeps the flame of Hussainiyat alive , taking her kids of every age to religious discourse called majlis , matams , and from a very early age this is absorbed by the child.

Majlis is the staple of Shia spirituality remembering the Battle of Karbala , really a battle between Good and Evil..

Sadly having shot Moharam all over the major cities of India the organizers build Sabils distribute Niyaz during the procession but you will hardly find mobile toilets for the women folk.. but despite all this the Shia mother the Shia ladies overcome these hurdles shortcomings only for the love of Imam Hussain.

This is my last Moharam segment of 292 pictures , shot in poor light conditions , shivering hands barefeet and my diabetic condition keeps the blood trickling from my head wounds .. but I documented what I saw the spirit of Shiasm.
And this is my tribute to the Shia mother ,,,my mother my childrens mother , and grandchildrens mother .

And our spirituality finally pays the ultimate tribute to Imam Hussains mother Princess Fatima who lost both her beloved children tragically Hassan and Hussain.

I dont glorify blood , but our history is written in our blood we Shias have been persecuted for 1400 years for simply stating tha yes here is Terrorism in Islam.. Muslims first love killing Muslims and than hen they have destroyed the Shias the Hazaras than they shoot murder rape other ethnicity .

The Talibans The ISIS the radicals all children of Yazid wont rest till they have destroyed the very core message of Islam Peace and Brotherhood .
I am an educated Muslim that is perhaps what saved me from the fires of this worldly Hell and come from good parentage .

And mind you we Shias are products of our surroundings our upbringings I refuse to be a narrow minded bigot Shia , my parents instilled humanity in me much before they consummated to create my human form.

I have been schooled by Christians , but never once did they ever encroach the parameters of my Soul.. I studied Catechism in my early years and my belief in my heritage my ancestry has remained intact.

Maybe my forefathers may have been Hindus , but I am happy being a Shia I d rather be a Shia than  just a Muslim and not the Muslim of contemporary Wahabbi or Salafi mindset ,, and I would rather be a Hindu than a Wahabbi or a Salafi venom pouring Islamist .
These are my personal views , and I shoot Shiasm as Humanity as a vital part of Indias diverse religiosity .

I shoot with my time my camera , I dont do photography for money , photography merely is my poetry of Life.

I show you my backyard and if it is graphic bloody you dont need to see it at ll.

I dont need your criticism you have issues with Shiasm I am not a Mullah or a scholar , go discuss with them .. I shoot all religion I am a citizen of the world but yes Indian first .

I have shot over 60000 Hindu blogs , over 58000 Shia blogs and Sufi blogs .including Christian ethos .

I am a photoblogger my grammar being bad unstructured I use pictures as my storyboard.

I have Shiasm for those who are not Shias .. my foreigner friends , who might never ever venture into my world ,,my world is simplistic devoid of semantics polemics or other high powered philosophy ,, dont please judge me by what I shoot I definitely dont shoot porn..

I shoot reality as real as crystal as the tears in my eyes .. yes we Shias cry we mourn we bleed but we want to live in Peace ..Let Us Live ..

Run Mein Hai Nala Kuna Zainab-e-Dilgeer Hussain,

Run Mein Hai Nala Kuna Zainab-e-Dilgeer Hussain,
Hussain, Hussain, Haye Hussain

Lo Khabar Jald Kay Beparda Hay Hamsheer, Hussain
Hussain, Hussain, Haye Hussain

Haath Malti Thi Behan Bhai Ka Kattha Tha Gala (x2)
Kuch Na Bas Chal Saka Majboor Thi Hamsheer, Hussain
Hussain, Hussain, Haye Hussain

Haye Abbas Aur Akbar Hain Kahan Dekhain Tho (x2)
Sar Khuley Jaati Hai Darbaar Main Hamsheer, Hussain
Hussain, Hussain, Haye Hussain

Hotay Abbas Jo Zinda Thi Bhala Kiski Majaal (x2)
Kartay Yun Aal-e-Nabi Ki Koi Tashheer, Hussain
Hussain, Hussain, Haye Hussain

Lab Pay Us Waqt Bhi Tha Shukr-e-Khuda Wand-e-Jali (x2)
Jab Kay Haton Pay Tarapda Raha Baysheer, Hussain
Hussain, Hussain, Haye Hussain

Bekhata Sibt-e-Payambar Ka Gala Kaata Hai (x2)
Shaam-o-Kufa Main Thi Zainab Ki Yeh Taqreer, Hussain

Saath So Kursinashinon Ka Jahan Ho Majma (x2)
Hai Rasan Basta Wahin Waris-e-Tatheer, Hussain