Much before I graduated to cutting my head with a dagger for a Moharam Shia ritual known as Kamazani or Kama Matam I used to scourge my back with flagellating blades known as Zanjeer .. sharp 15 inches blades on steel chains.
I mostly scourged my back and the blade and chains I had were light weight and cut my back fiercely .
Than I god frozen shoulder on both arms it became utterly impossible to use the blades as my shoulder joints hurt at slightest movement .
So I began cutting my head with a dagger it was much easier and less cumbersome than the blades .
I used a sword once in Mumbai but it was a heavy blade Irani sword and here too I could not move my arms ,,so I stuck to doing Kama Matam.
The dagger I used was given to me by my Hindu friend from Pushkar , he comes from a family of iron smiths ,,I used this kama that he gave me twice in Hyderabad and Delhi and Lucknow.
But this year I took several kamas from him to give to a few friends , for Chehlum in Lucknow I used two new daggers one long the other a hunting knife in black steel, but my relatives took away the daggers after I had cut myself , I told Guddu I needed one , so he got it back and I cut my head three times at different places in the Chehlum procession.. my mother in law took away the dagger ,,
And now I have three , the older one has a loose handle I have to get it repaired , I told Raj Tilak my friend in Pushkar I wanted a mean fierce one so I shall use what he sends me for Ashura in 2015 hopefully .. where I will be I dont know but it wont be Hyderabad and not Mumbai.. I dont do Moharam in Mumbai..
And this guy at Do Tanki Mohomed bhai does a great job.. with the sharpening on this giant wheel and again on a smaller wheel too.
He is the best ,, I have never seen anyone who does his job as passionately like him and he loves the feel of my daggers .
