The Day In The Life Of A North Indian Migrant In Bandra

My Blood Test After Two Months ,,At Lilavati Hospital Bandra

I am totally disappointed , disgusted and disillusioned , with my diabetic dilemma .since 3 months ..For 15 years I was taking a diabetic medicine .. but 30 March 2015 , a very close friend insisted I visit his Doctor at Mahim Kapda Bazar Dr SD Jain,, I gave in went to meet him, a great person he instilled alot of confidence in me ..I was walking rigorously at MET Cricket grounds Bandra Reclamation , about  6 km average every morning .since 10 Feb 2015.
I had stopped eating meat , my family eats chicken everyday both times , I gave it up, red meat mutton is cooked sometimes , nobody likes fish in my family unless I bought rawas or gol.. sometimes .I ate one chapatti some gravy , or a vegetable dish.. no cold drinks , I donr drink alcohol, I dont smoke at all.

I walk a lot otherwise too , long stretches ..my weight was 68 kg.. I hardly go to doctors , if I fractured my leg it was to the bonesetter ..even my gall bladder problem that troubles me sometimes I have kept the operation on hold , once my diabetes is under control and for better times.

In January 1 2015
My blood sugar was 193 fasting and 342 post fasting..
No walking no exercise only Internet .couch potato.

Before I met Dr SD Jain ..9 March 2015
My blood sugar status ,,Fasting 240 Post Lunch 306

He changed my medication and called me after two weeks with my blood test report .
29 March 2015
It was 161 fasting and 283 post fasting  1.62 creatinine.
I took my lipid test etc..

He prescribed Tab Glynase 1 before breakast  1 after breakfast ..
Tab Janumet one before dinner one after dinner asked me to come see him after two months .. that will end by 31 May .

Yesterday I walked 6 .75 km at Bandra Met and this time decided to get my Blood sugar test at Lilavati Hospital Bandra  ,, I got my 3 month Glycosylated Hemoglobin test done too,,

The reports came in last evening ,, hitting me hard  .
30 May 2015
Fasting blood sugar 232 H
Post blood sugar .352 H
GlysHemoglobin Test 10 60h
MPG mean Plasma Glucose  257 MG/DL

So here I must mention I drink black tea , I dont take sugar or Equal at all , no junk food ,,So yesterday I took an appointment for 19 June for Dr Shashank Joshi highly acclaimed diabetologist endocrinologist..All my walking friends have been talking highly about him , he is out of the country but will return in June .

The strange part of my story is that initially I was told about Dr Shashank Joshi before I met Dr SD Jain , I was given the wrong name so I was searching for Dr Chirag Joshi at Bandra Turner Road and ended up thus to the second recommendation at the clinic of Dr Jain. .

I shall now go for my walk ,,I wanted to blog , this my kids take OJamin a pancreatic tonic , my wife said because I stopped it my blood sugar has gone up, she put me back on Ojamin this morning ,Bandra Medical boss Mr Nair  was telling me that Salman Khans help takes Ojamin and his blood sugar has come down considerably and he told me Salmans dad Salim Khan sab recommends it to a lot of people ,, .

I was taking Ojamin for many years I simply stopped it ...

My blood sugar 28 December 2014
was 178 Fasting
275 post lunch.

So this in short is my Diabetic Dilemma ..I have posted it that some doctor friend on Facebook will give me a second opinion.. or timely advise ,  Thanks

Mohomed Salim Khan Became A Beggar After The Death Of Mr Keki Balsara

The Day In The Life Of A Muslim Beggar Couple

Jesus - Prometheus Bound

wants to break away
from the cross touch
the ground ,,help
heal the poor all
around no he does
not want to wear
a cassock a heavy
garment that does
not allow the cries
of the poor touch
the heart that
hardly pounds
jesus wants to
break free completely
the nails the shackles
break through the speed
of sound ,,get back to
his loved ones that he
found neglected
forgotten when he
was not around ,,
as the blood flows
from his head with
thorns still crowned
with his blood he
wants to baptize those
i am Life and the Resurrection
a faith on a rock I had found
to build humanity peace abound

The Rafugar ..The Darner Of Waroda Road Bandra

Hardcore Body Piercings Marriammen Feast Markandeshwar Nagar Worli 2015 ...

Hardcore Body Piercings Marriammen Feast Markandeshwar Nagar Worli 2015 ...

Marriammen Feast Markandeshwar Nagar Worli Hardcore Body Piercings 2

This Is A Picture A Day But Garbage Wont Go Away Bandra Bazar Road

This is the garbage dump near my house at Bandra Bazar Road .. and the issue is not about just dumping the garbage but the callous attitude of those who throw the garbage on the floor instead of the garbage bins , and the garbage generated from this filthiest Bandra Bazar market is in tons , which the two now painted garbage bins cant hold , people are lazy , so they litter the place around the garbage bins ,

There is is no CC Tv here no security guard , who could catch and instantly punish the offenders with hefty fines ,,, frankly the Bandra Municipality does not care nor does our only Congress Corporator , he hardly comes this end ,, I have nothing against him but we voted for him we need to see that he addresses our problems to the satisfaction of all concerned , And honestly the Congress party does not care about Bandra they once did during the times of late Mr Sunil Dutt .


So every morning I take pictures and I have been shooting garbage since more than 5 years or more .. even the Municipal Conservancy staff are tired of this garbage site , the stink the filth and I think you can blame them for bunking from work as filthy as this .. suspending the Municipal conservancy staff is an understatement , all the Municipal think tanks and guys in charge of garbage disposal should be sacked not suspended for destroying our beloved Amchi Mumbai.

And I can assure you in totaly sincerity you will not find such a glaring sire at Bandra Kala Nagar near Matoshree Bandra  East , you wont find this at Pali Hill  Band Stand or Carter Road ,,As a senior citizen not affiliated to any political party , as a man who shoots pictures I have captured this all with no hidden agenda , I simply want to show the crass and empty hyperbole called Swach Bharat that is in deathly state of inertia at Bandra Bazar Road .

When will the Bandra Municipality get serious the day they hire security here and fine the litterbugs this place will be back to normalcy.

When our MLA Advocate Ashish Shelar did a Bhumi Pujan for ladies toilet it was splendidly cleaned , why is it in a mess now ,, I have decided I may not have the selfie record , but on my Flickr timeline you will see the largest collection of Garbage Porn pictures of Bandra .

Marriammen Feast 2015 Markandeshwar Nagar Worli pt 2

Street Stories Of Another Kind - Banana Seller

We became friends recently after I shot his pictures and a video , and he let me into a secret , that he was waiting for June when he will take a long break to visit his family in his native place in Uttar Pradesh..
Like a little child he is counting days and I meet him every morning when I come for my walk at MET Cricket grounds , he is aware of my health problems so first think he will inquire of the same .

These are poor migrants , they dont want the full sky just a fistful of happiness , he is 75 plus , I told him he should retire , but he replied he needs to work or he will lose all interest in life ,, and mind you he is a devout Muslim ..for what he is , and for his business he simply thanks Allah..Most of his clients are Maharshtrians , Hindus , and he respects them , always has a kind word ,, I stay at the Bazar but now even I buy my bananas from him..

I still cant remember his name , but that hardly matters to him or to me , and when I take out my mobile phone to shoot me , he looks into my soul and his humility connects with my own.. my father was a migrant too.. he is struggling but he hides his pain from me , with a beatific smile , but I read his thoughts ,,and honestly I would not want to live as long as him..I have lived long enough , I have exhausted my lifeline ,, and I am not a hypochondriac I shoot life I shoot death .. and I am hanging in between,..I just want to get away from this planet ,soon so I pray to God to help complete some of my commitments and out standings .He can do this in a second or even a minute or he may not do it at all. and I will certainly not hold it against him.. so in short photography is not just shooting a picture but shooting a part of me too.. through the banana seller his story hangs my own story.. I dont give charity for charity's sake and I am a beggar too so I understand the beggarly survival of the poorest of poor man.

I shoot Dickensian characters ,they become part of my Human Comedy , and I have shot the same person for many years , and seen the change and the only glaring change they are still sitting by the roadside begging ..And there are dear beggar friends who ask me quizzically ..do people see our pictures ..I tell them yes .. and positively too ,, Maria the leper lady had returned I never got to shoot her and she must have left as the monsoons are harmful, he body parts start falling .. and so she might come back in winter .. in time for Christmas .

I knew a friend wealthy rich lived at Cuffe Parade , got hooked to brown sugar , he was older than us , highly educated with a Danish wife , and he became a beggar , I would see him at Fort he would call out my name and like a coward I would run , I knew he would ask me for money to buy drugs , and more than that seeing him like this shabby holding his loose pants with one hand ,, I was too ashamed to meet him .. I have not seen him for 20 years now or more and I pray to God he finds peace wherever he is ,, I have a lot of stories ..as I am not a writer I type with one stumbling finger I try to shoot them in a single frame ,,I add text sometimes but most of my 309,670 photos at Flickr  private public are wordless ..no text .

As my target audience is on cyber space , some faces, some faceless , nameless I succumb to writing some detail on my pictures , my pictures will always have a title ,,and will always be part of my sets , over 700 sets at Flickr ,,Street Photography , Poetry , Shiasm , Hinduism Sufism , Christianity .. but all part of street photography , street life street angst .. my world is a street ...bitter and sweet , where hope hovers to converge on Misery but they never meet ..I shoot empty eyes empty stomachs ,, who really cares what they eat.. their miserable cosmic fate they could never cheat ,,, death with open arms moves away from them...he too is despondent in defeat  ..with a blindfold on his eyes hungrily searching ..for living souls .. running around barefeet .

Happy Morning

Marriammen Feast Markandeshwar Nagar Worli 2015

Hardcore Possession Marriammen Feast Markandeshwar Nagar Worli 2015

My genre since the time I began people culture ritual photography has been Possession , Occult , Hazri Dua Tawiz and Exorcism..
I shot and documented this during the Sufi Urus , in Mumbai Haji Malang Ajmer , Mira Dattar and many other Shrines .
I shot possession mostly during Durga Visarjan at Juhu when the goddess enters the body and it was incredible ,,But the maximum Hazri I shot at Hussain Tekri Jaorah ..a place where I have not gone since many years ..
Here at Worli the men women even children were in a trance .. bodies moving by themselves , bodies in a state of continuous motion..and I have shot of the wildest ones where a Hijra priest at Mahim Marriammen Feast , starts speaking in the voice of the goddess , and starts conversing .. this was out of the world ,, the hijra Krishna is a hardcore devotee of Lord Iravan and The Koothandavar Temple at Koovagam.
I have not met him for sometime now ,, and the Hijra Ashok who would have his cheeks pierced at Sion Koliwada Marriammen feast with the huge gathering of Hijras in tow ..
So now you know why I would rather shoot all this Magic Of India than the Mumbai Marathon , Vintage cars , and Kala Ghoda Festival.. nothing touches my soul as these ritualistic feasts do I have promised my Tamil friends that once in my lifetime will pierce my cheeks with a 18 feet road to show my solidarity as a Muslim with their Faith and their culture .
And I hope to shoot the Marriammn Feast in Salem Tamilnadu too.

Piercing the Mouth Chest And Back and Possession

Actually when the drums start beating and people go into a possession like trance it is called the Devi entering the body and taking possession of the devotee .

And all this happened while the puja was taking place at the end of Haji Ali fisherman's jetty ,.where the Hindu Tamils had gathered to celebrate their annual Mother Marriammen feast of Markandeshwar Nagar slums Worli on Annie Besant Road .

I was invited by my dear friend Sundar a Tamil graphic artist I have known for several years now through Shanmugham of Madras Wadi near Worli Gutter close to Atria Mall.

Shanmugham was at the Nehru Nagar Marriammen feast Juhu Beach 2015 .. I have been documenting these Thaipusam type rituals over 15 years now at various Mumbai Tamil dominated locales .

Here the devotee first had hooks inserted in his back to pull a jeep or some vehicle , and hooks on his chest , including fish hooks two sets in his mouth .. the mouth hooks were incredibly painful..This time I shot a lot of videos on my Canon 60 D and my mobile phone but I shot stills and as the rituals started late the light was bad .. and this happens off Eden Hall Worli on a patch where the Kolis sell fresh fish like Boiee and Karkara and you can see the lights of the Haji Ali Shrine ,

I left early as the devotees crowd walk back after the piercings to the Markandeshwar Marriammen Temple to remove the rods and the hooks ,, I skipped this because I was tired and not in very good shape ,,There are no photographers , it is a private event on public space , and the Tamils take this feast for Mother Marraiammen very seriously.

This is my new set at Flickr as my tribute to Mother Marriammen and my Hindu Tamil friends ,,

The Face Of Hunger

I was in the cab heading home to Bandra via the back lanes of Mahim.. My cab stopped for a while when I saw this man greedily eating a batatwada , I took this shot called him towards my cab and gave him money to have lunch..he hurriedly took the money and moved away as my cab moved ahead .

I meet a lot of people , and most of the time I dont have my camera , but than I use my mobile phone ,,I try to capture faces , pleasing poor faces , and some faces that can haunt you forever .

Does hunger have a Face ,, yes with a big glaring mouth..  outside mosques , restaurants dargahs you will find so many faces waiting for food , even the regular drugaddicts bums outside Mahim eatery that take money from the passing cars to feed the poor ,, which is pure business and nothing else ,,but there are a lot of people that go to sleep on an empty stomachs ,,I am sure of that ,,,

This morning I went for my walk after a gap of two days I walked about 4 km..than met the banana seller chatted with him , I had a small glass of wheat grass from my friend Mr Chandrashekar Rao he sells the tiny cup of fresh wheat grass at Rs 30 ...He is a nice guy , and has a lot of clients who drink a glass after their walks at MET Cricket grounds Bandra Reclamation..

I take a short cut through the Bazar Beef market and see their depressed faces and no buyers for buffalo meat ..I bought some brun and spotted the Bandra Bazar Road dump finally pained garbage bins ,, The most miserly agency with no clue about Garbage management at all, no vision , no love , no dedication is the Mumbai Municipality and those whom we elected for last 20 years dont really care a bit for Mumbai..

Mumbai is a duck that is kept only for laying golden eggs and they wont feed it all ,,let the rains begin and you will see for yourself and the Mumbaikar too has lost his passion to live , his soul has lost its humanity and has made him a robot , mechanical and he loves to be taken for a ride ,, with rhetoric's hyperbole and political empty hollow oratory.. Sadly those that rule Mumbai hail from other hick towns so far them it has been Nanded Nasik Latur Baramati and other towns for progress and development but never Mumbai.. Mumbai is the sacrificial lamb to be used for making generating their own personal wealth .. I dont know how to put it more succinctly

Why Is The Poor Muslim Man..Depressed

in any crime
taken for granted
as the first suspect
the muslim man
perplexed robbed
of his right to eat
to work as a butcher
he now seeks another
profession muslim man
oppressed ..his future
bleak his children
uneducated .his problems
his so called leaders wont
address .he is hounded by
a anti muslim paid press
forced pushed against the
wall brainwashed by muslim
political parties for his vote
he is forgotten you know
the rest ..there are criminals
in every community but the
muslim man is held first
under every pretext ,,hands
bound mouth gagged what
next..politicians of all color hue
use him as a vote bank he lives
in ghettos dirty filthy surroundings
his body soul his fate annexed
by cruel time ,,,in every context

the rich muslim has it better ..
good homes good education
for his kid his own business
he was fortuitously blessed
why must he bother for the
poor muslim in a mess ..
the muslim clergy busy
with fatwas ..repressively
take him back to the dark ages
no development no progress
through a picture the apathy neglect
of the poor muslim i express .. please
only read my words as pictures my
picture as text ..one day surely
muslims hindus all communities
will feel for each other ,, the only
path of our indianess ,,the only
path to collective success ..humanity
humility ..through qualities we possess


I shot him from a cab near Nargis Dutt Nagar on 26 May ,, and I added  words to what I felt living in Mumbai last 60 years a product of the Kurla slums when I was a year old ,, good times happy times came as my father mother pushed their way out of the slums to relocate and live at Wodehouse road thanks to the family of Late Nawab Kashmiri  they helped us my fathers  hard work and a lot of luckchanged our lives - this migrant family from Old  Lucknow ..

 I never forgot the slums ,, my life there as a child running naked in the slums a shanty my mother would describe with tears in her eyes . on the fringe of a Hindu crematorium..it was called bakhar..my mother was merely 15 year old .. she did not know to stitch , cook or manage a shanty with a leaking tin roof .. though she came from an impeccable ancestry daughter of Daroga Nabban Sab of Pata Nala Lucknow descendant of Poet Mir Anis.Nor  did she ever tell her Mother Nazmi Begim what she was undergoing.. her father was already dead

Marriammen Feast Markandeshwar Nagar Worli 2015

As I was completing my backlog of street pictures shot on my Canon 60 D.. I posted an update at Facebook without a picture , I mostly blog with pictures ,,

Posted On 26 May 2015 ..

This evening I left home took the Worli Sea Link had some stuff to deliver to a client , and than took the same cab to Markandeshwar Nagar near Worli Gutter and opp Atria Mall .I was invited by my Tamil friend Sundar a graphic artist , they were celebrating their annual Marriammen Feast and it was the first time I was going to shoot it ,, and I had decided I would shoot a lot of videos on Canon 6O D and my mobile phone , and at the same time I was in bad shape as I have not fully recovered from my ailment .. but God is Great and I took my chances .

The cheek piercings hook insertions on the devotees backs began late after a puja at Haji Ali sea face opposite Eden Hall ,, the puja that has hypnotic drumming and it increases with crescendo , and powerful energy all around and men women kids under trance like state and possession.. this continued , people trying to control those that were falling on the grounds ,, I mean it was scary and  weird .. totally hypnotic ..

Than I shot the piercings , and almost every Tamil knows me here as they have seen me around at Nehru Nagar Juhu , Worli and Mahim Macchimar Colony Sion Koliwada Marriammen Festivals ,

It was getting dark and I decided to leave the removal of the rods at the Markandeshwar Marriammen Temple .. I jumped into a bus and finally reached home a few hours back..I will upload the stuff tomorrow as I have street backlog.. My grandkids are back from Lucknow .. so I am now feeling much better .

Wife has gone to the wedding of her best friends daughter with the rest of the Shakir clan.. I avoid weddings and Shia social gatherings in Mumbai...I feel out of place ,,,and my health is in bad shape ..so I dont want to add my sick face to someones happiness ..

So this is my new set and in the picture is my Tamil friend wellwisher Sundar he stays at Markandeshwar Nagar where the story starts and once they reach Haji Ali end near Eden Hall puja and piercings and than removal of the rods hooks at the Marriammen Tmple I did not shoot I was tired unwell and in bad shape ,, I left , but I had shot a lot of videos this time ,,

This set is also part of my Hope And Hindutva collection at Flickr.com

The Street Illusionist

posted at facebook

I sincerely thank all of you who Like my pictures , viewing my timeline with your precious comments I type with a single finger of a permanently damaged hand , and hopefully wish there was a Tweet button at Facebook or a Favorite button as at Flickr ,, I on my part have a deadly hate for the Like button I have never used it , not even accidentally or impulsively , I realized it was habit forming and addictive . I also request those who are new on Facebook , to remove me from their feed , thereby you wont see my posts ..it can be a nuisance to anyone ,,
I have very few people on my feed because of this one finger commenting problem.. and I hate being tagged on your religious posts , keep them among your young vibrant friend circle ..I dont respond to your pokes , your game requests ,which I think auto tags us without you realizing it ,,I add people if we have friends in common.. I try to delete requests from people with no profile and shitty pictures ,, Sorry ..Whatever your religion, even if it is same like mine ,.. even if it is not same ,,just read me as a street poet and a street photographer only ,,thank you ..

My Friend Vinay Parelkar

Vinay Parelkar is a devoted photo enthusiast , a passionate photographer a great teacher , and if someone does learn photography from him , I can assure you he will be a successful photographer
I met Vinay and Chitra Gokhale the first time when Mr Shreekant Malushte
took our batch for an outdoor shoot at National Park , I was learning photography from Mr Malushte and both Vinay and Chitra had come to assist him with the students as we were to do outdoor portraiture with ambient light and a few reflectors ,and this was a very long time back .
Vinay Parelkar has been my friend mentor guide , and his artistry , master craftsmanship.. in fine art photography is outstanding and commendable .
I always felt , that it is dynamic , visionary photographers like Vinay that should be at the helm of a photographic learning institutions , but camera clubs and perhaps the one we belong to has never kept this in mind , so we get to see the usual shit produced reproduced from one salon to the next .. and judges who dont know their elbows from their rectum..a man who has shot only flowers all his life what do you expect from his judgement when he sees a picture of a beggar .. he throws it in the dustbin.
So in a way I am happy that Vinay did not become the President of our club.. God saved his soul from burning in pictorial Hell I still feel sorry for Mr BW Jatkar , Mr Manchekar they were never given their worth , simply because they came from cultured backgrounds and could not be street fighters ,and camera clubs have passed their age , you need to re invent and for me Flickr became my camera club.. even though I say Fuck F Stops before taking a shot , and than in retrospection I am happy I met Vinay and he changed me considerably making me less opinionated .. more constructive minded and now that I am gradually going to give up photography for good and learn shooting videos , street videos hardcore life videos I hope to interview Vinay Parelkar ,and ask him what makes him tick.how has he reached heights with his Art and his Creativity ..Mind you , you see a picture as picture if you are using blinkers of a camera club I see a picture simply as a blog .. and this is photo blogging a million light years from decadent regressive analogue photography , shooting pictures for picture sake .. and not for Gods Sake ,,because God has gone silent , he makes us talk through our pictures

Lanat Bar Yazid

Kyun dushmani hai tujh ko Ali o Hussain se fursat mile toh poonch kabhi walidain se

tera sajdah teri namaz mili hai hussain se

I Did Not Know Losing a Friend Could Kill Me Too

This was shot by another photographer friend , at the funeral of a very dear friend who loved respected me a lot .. late Mr Dinesh Pai .. a devout Gaud Saraswat Brahmin he was at the helm of affairs at the GSB Seva Mandal Ganesha celebrations ,, before the Lord was to be bought to the Pandal , he would diligently call me invite me for Darshan ,

And than having lived in Mumbai for 60 years I am taken aback when I hear stories of media create Hindu Muslim rift .. barring a few Muslim friends ,, all my friends are Hindus or Christians a few Parsis ,, real good friends trusted old time friends .

I have till date never felt ill at ease or uncomfortable as a Muslim perhaps I am more human than Muslim... as I never allowed religion to come in the way of my relationship with people from diverse ethnicity ..

So Late Mr Dinesh Pai was like me perhaps better than me , he did not bring religion in our friendship, he graciously allowed me to shoot Lord GSB. Though a board further away said No Photography ,, I met Dinesh Pai Sab through another dear friend also a GSB ,, Dr Bhujang Pai.

And all these years I have shot  the GSB Pandal as well as Lalbagh Chya Raja ,,,and showcased their darshan through my pictures online.

Than there is my childhood friend Ramesh Mulchandani of Strand Hotel . I used to go to the Hanuman Mandir at Strand with him while he took darshan I stood in a corner , and paid my respect too.

I have till date 61000 Hindu blogs , and all because  instead of only harping about my religion  it was important to give respect another mans religion too.

Which now brings me to the main topic .. why does one join a social networking site .

I mean if you see guys in real life chasing skirts drinking fornicating gambling but on Facebook they become Saints posting religious stuff and tagging my ass for no reason at all.  tagging me to make me aware of my religion and my beliefs as though my parents were shortcoming in their contribution to my upbringing ..I am a Muslim but sadly I cannot  wear blinkers like you ..I dont need them.. My friends are Jews and though I am not like the politics and imperial hegemony of Israel I dont blame my Jewish friends for all that .

I have Pakistani friends , but their politics and their sectarian ideology of Muslims killing Muslims disturbs me too and so I will never visit countries like Pakistan Saudi Arabia ,,I have no interest and I am not a Travel blog I d rather shoot beggara and garbage in my backyard .

This was a funeral I cried a lot and we Shia cry easily we were born to cry it is in our Blood ,,, that is nothing but the Blood of Hussain.

And this was an empty post I added my inner angst .. I have seen to much death and devastation in my last 60 years ,, and I see Death more clearly than I see Life .

A Legend Called Nawab Kashmiri - A Great Actor of Indian Cinema

photo courtesy Munawar N Kashmiri

These pictures are seeing the light of day for the first time .. no picture of Nawab Kashmiri exists on the net.. these are the first ones thanks to his son Manu Kashmiri who allowed me to share this doyens heritage with all of you..

My Tribute To One Of The Greatest Actors of Indian Cinema

We stayed as tenants at the house of Late Nawab Kashmiri.. He had already passed away when we came there ..His mother in law Ammi gave my father shelter , we were living in the far off slums at Kurla...My father used to work at N Swamy Rao tailoring establishment at  Colaba close to the old Colaba bus depot and Pandya  Parsi Agiary.

Nawab Saabs mother in law Ammi was blue blooded royalty daughter in law of the second son of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah .

The house was opulent , it had all the amenities even a mechanical life size horse on which  Nawab Sab did his exercise .. a huge  10 feet mirror on an ornate frame , where Nawab Sab I believe honed his acting .

As kids we would try out too.. Ammi had given some other parts of the house on rent too as it was huge , so we had Mr Perkins at the back with his handdsome children John Desmond and Christina , before the moved in a Parsi lady Mehroo lived there till she moved on the first floor of Rajsi Brothers at Electric House .

Ammi was very geneous and closely protective of two families that lived at Bhendi Bazar , Rajjo Baji Sarwar bhai of Piru lane their sons Sikandar , Ghulam Hussain and Ghulam Abbas .. Sarawr bhai drove a cab and his family originally from Madras were devout Shias.

Than there was Ishtiaque Bhai with his two children.. I remember his daughter Acchio as a child she was besotted in love with me ,, puppy love .. childish romance of dreams yet to be born..

In one of the side rooms lived one of their relatives Tutu Bhaiyaa , and Nawab Sabs brother Late Agha  Jani Kashmiri sab who lived at Warden Road was a regular visitor , handsomely dressed in a Tshirt and trousers ,,, Agha Jani Kashmiri sab , was dashing , and we looked forward to his visits he gave u money to buy sweets ,,

Ammi hosted Maulana Kabban sab , and there used to be a huge spread best of food and another person involved with the Nawab Saabs family was Nakkan Bhai Batatwala of Bhendi Bazar roo.. his beautiful daughter Ruksana was much loved by Akthar baji ..who was Nawab Sabs eldest daughter and two sons Anwar Bhai and Manu Bhaiyya.

Ruksana  died and it saddened all of us .. she loved nohas marsiyas and was a great human soul.

After Maulana Kabban Sab passed away his son Maulana Kalbe Abid Sab began visiting the family and my dad  a poor guy would call him to our house to taste our mothers delicacies .. Maulana Kalbe  Abid sab knew my mothers family late Daroga Nabban Sab of Pata Nala .Later my marriage with my wife Afshan was solmmenized by him .. in Lucknow.

The Perkins left when Mr Matthews bought the huge Kashmiri house and later the entire building embarrassingly naming it Jony Castle... The Perkins stayed at Shellys Hotel near Radio Club and than migrated to foreign lands .

My dad after leaving N Swamy Road where he woorked as a coatmaker took a shop on rent called Ambasaador next to Vali Mohomed Tailors and Charagh Din also on Wodehouse road .

My father Mohomed Shakir was a hot tempered crazy impulsive man and a born adventurous romantic ,, he once put a hot iron on the back of his chela Gobind ,,who worked for him.. Gobind Master stayed at Cuffe Parade but loved my Dad a lot despite this incident ,, For him his Guru was God ,,, 

The one great day was the regular Shayri mehfils at Nawab Sabs house .. mostly rendered by late Begum Akthar ...

Aye Mohabbat tere anjaam pe rona ayaaa . . .

Aye Mohabbat tere anjaam pe rona ayaaa

Aye Mohabbat tere

Janey kyo aaj tere naam pe rona ayaaa

Janey kyo aaj

Yu toh har . . . . .

Yu to har shaam umeedo may guzar jaati thi . . .

Aaj kucch baat hai jo shaam pe rona ayaa . .

Aaj kucch baat hai jo shaam pe. . . .

Kabhieeeee . . .

Kabhi takdeer kaa maatam . . .

Kabhhi duniya ka gilaaaa. . aaaaa

Manzil e ishq may har daam pe rona ayaa

Manzil e ishq may . .

Jab huaaaa . . .zikr zamaane may

Mohabbat ka shakeeee. . . .

Mujhko apne dile nakaam pe ronaaa ayaa

Aye Mohabbat tere anjaam pe rona ayaaa

Aye Mohabbat  . . .

So these were the early 50s  60 s of changing Colaba ... we moved away to Breach Candy and than finally settled at 3 Mohini Mansions Strand close to the hustle bustle of the Colaba Market ,,,

The house is still there my younger brother Zahir Shakir lives there now ,, we all moved away to our respective homes away from Home ,,, and these are but snippets of fading Memory 

And this post is for Zahra Jafar Mehdi​   daughter of my fairy godmother Akthar Baji ..without her I would have been just another typical Miya kid lost in the backlanes of oblivion.. a skull cap a lungi and a many holed  inner vest... chewing pan and spitting out the same on some white washed wall

She changed it all by educating me ,,,remolding me ,, and this is her great contribution ... so now you know why I shoot the poor the destitute the homeless I see myself in their eyes ,,, I could have  been one of them  if my dad had not bought us to live with Nawab Kashmiris family at Wodehouse Road...from the dirty filthy slums on a Hindu crematorium at Kurla ..

Actors Never Die They Are Immortalized On The Soul of Cinema Eternally

I wish  I could tell you my relationship with Mr Rajesh Khanna ..I had met him at a party during the success of Sauten ,,, than I met him when I wore a newspaper suit I had made for Govinda in Gambler and wore it for the premier of Mr Nitin Manmohans Eena Meena Dika ,, and he never forgot me ,,

When Moez his designer died .. he took me in his charge ,,and I made his personal clothes , and he would chat for hours and what really bought us together was his abundant love for Marziya my granddaughter she was 18 month old and he would feed her on his laps and rebuke me for not taking good care for her .. he would tell me Marziya is my granddaughter and Mazrziya loved him too .. He would ask me if I ever needed money and I would politely refuse  I would charge him only for the clothes I made ,..I had far too much respect for him , he was a legend and times would narrate filmy anecdotes that made me laugh and cry..

He would take me to the Ice cream parlor and honk at the guy to bring ice cream , for Marziya .. would insist dropping me home , and I would tell him my house lanes are bad so he would drop me near Boran Road and me rushing with the melting icecream for Marziya ..

He would call my wife if I was not well and such was his humanity ,, he would tell me not to give credit to his producers , take the money before delivering the clothes ,, he had great plans for me and when I rejoined Badasaab as a Gen Manager he was very upset, as now my time was no more mine ,, I could not come like old times  only on holidays ,, and this last shoot for Havel fan..he was in terrible pain , in very bad health but did the photo shoot and as soon as everyone had left he hugged me .. and asked me How Was It ,, I said super duper and we both had tears in our eyes ,,

Yes I miss Kakaji terribly , he left a part of him with me and nobody will ever take it away from me ,,,

Long Live Kakaji

I Shoot Death .. Upclose More as Poetry Less as Prose

i hide my fleshy soul
in  black clothes
i am naked in the
eyes of my inner
angst my camera
both ..i am happy
to be unhappy too
much happiness
would kill my creativity
a life without pain
i would loathe ,
i am hardly human
in a degraded world
of crass commercialism
calumny sycophancy
that only treats man
as a sacrificial goat

democracy decimated the soul
of man with a single vote

“What matters is how quickly you do what your soul directs.”
a rumi quote

a poem dedicated to my very dear friend davidseibold


ek fakir jisne khaie hai dil pe gehri chot...sukhe hot ..

My Best Friend Ramesh Alva ...Why I have Never Celebrated My Birthday All These Years..

Ramesh Alva once stayed at Great Western Building , we started as enemies before we became friends , he would bully me in school as I did not know him we fought our battles at Backgardens , he came with his friends I came with mine ,, we were both in 3 rd Standard at Holy Name High School perhaps 193 .
Than oneday we met during the Prize Distribution day at CJ Hall , I was a brilliant student got lots of-books as presents and they were a lot Ramesh came forward and helped me , we became friends and we had a common friend Ramesh Mulchandani that made the bod more easier and w had yet another friend Dennis Fernandes ...now in Suriname .
I was staying at Strand Cinema and Ramesh M at Dhun Mahal Garden road ..Ramesh Alva and his family moved in at Strand too.. and we became much closer , though both the Rameshs were much closer than I was ..we had some great times , great Holi days bhang and what not ..
And once we got married all three of us arranged marriage I was the first one .. but I remember if I ever went to Madras Cafe that belonged to the Alvas .. Ramesh Alva never charged me a penny and he was very proud of me ...he used to tell me whenever you are hungry come have meals at my restaurant , because of this kind nature everyone loved him the Jews from the Synagogue in his hotel lane , the ragpicker ladies , the Max Mueller students mercury travel staff , Rhythm house bosses and staff and I can never imagine Ramesh Alva ever having an enemy..he loved his wife kids and when is father died left his house to live on his own.. Ramesh Alva was never allured by money or by wealth .. he was plain simple human.
My mother loved him , he had this most beautiful smile , he would com to my house bring her Idlis Dosas and she would bless him ..and than rebuke me in the same tone for not being like Ramesh Alva.
Ramesh Alva passed away and on his funeral I cried like i had lost my own blood brother ,, and he gave me a  reason to remember him till I die too,,


He died on my birthday 10 Dec .
Till date i have never celebrated my birthday in the memory of this true friend ,,
RIP Bro.. I dont know why I remembered you today..
Because I Could Not Stop for Death
by Emily Dickinson
Because I could not stop for Death,
He kindly stopped for me;
The carriage held but just ourselves
And Immortality.
We slowly drove,
he knew no haste,
And I had put away
My labour,and my leisure too,
For his civility
We passed the school where children played,
Their lessons scarcely done;
We passed the fields of gazing grain,We passed the setting sun.
We paused before a house that seemed
A swelling of the ground;
The roof was scarcely visible,
The cornice but a mound.
Since then 'tis centuries;
but each Feels shorter than the day
I first surmised the horses' heads
Were toward eternity.

My Humble Naryalwala Bandra Bazar Road

The moment I finish my walk at the MET Gardens Bandra Reclamation I walk in through a short cut from the Bandra Bazar Sunni Mosque greet the beef butchers and if time permits I shoot the greatest Garbage dump..there was a Bhumi Pujan and the placed look spotlessly clean but alas it was short lived it is as bad as it was before and I feel sorry for all the efforts dedicated by our MLA Advocate  Ashish Shelar ,, Today I walked about 4 km.

As I head towards home my Naryalwala coconut seller cuts open a new fresh coconut for me offers me coconut water , he charges me Rs 30 ..

I never drank Naryal pani before , I prefer drinking lots of water instead...I lead a very simple sedate life I yearn for nothing nor am I envious of people who I have seen become rich overnight .. I ask God to give them more ,, but I also ask God to instill compassion in their souls so they can truly help the poor and the hopeless.

But there is one thing if the Indian government allowed I would leave everything and go and fight the ISIS In Iraq.. I am not a soldier warrior but I would like to stand not just for the Shias but for the Yezdis , the Sunni tribes and all minorities that are facing this human degradation.. if we dont stand up for them now  than it will be too late  and this has nothing to do with Religion.. the one Religion that is way above everything is the Unborn child in its Mothers Womb .. He needs a better world a better tomorrow ,,

World powers watch the mayhem like eunuchs all scared of belling the cat.

Those Who Once Ate Beef Do Not Not Find Buffalo Meat Palatable

A ban is a ban is ban they can do nothing about it , eat it or dump it , today being Sunday the Bandra Bazar Beef Market looked like a morgue , deserted and  lonely .The beef butchers now buffalo meat sellers sat dejected ..even restaurant owners I am told dont buy this meat ,, most have shifted their beef items using chicken or mutton.
After eating beef for so many years , now trying to develop taste for buffalo meat might take a long time ,,,and ironically leaders who want  us to go eat beef in Pakistan should be the first one to be sent there and their pompous ass whipped ..There is no stopping BJP Motormouths ,, mouths that were only born as Mouths without Brains ,,,

And the company that blames its HRD trainee for the letter and the goof up thinks we Mumbaikar are chutiyas ,, I mean every employee follows and implements the company policy written and unwritten..I was lucky all my bosses were Hindus ,,and in introspection I am lucky I never worked for a Muslim boss ,.. and I dont consider my stints in Muscat as  Muslim boss as they were more racist as Arabs than as Muslims towards people of Indian  origin..

The only Muslim boss I favorably worked for ever is Me ,, and at all times it was my Hindu employee who headed my vision and plan.

The one aspect remains if any employee ever  harassed me , troubled me invariably it  was my Muslim employee ,,,yes I am retired now but if I was to hire some one it would not be on caste color or creed only on Merit ,, politicizing this issue is unnecessary and shows as Indians we are regressive and still living in the dark ages..

The Camera Was The Greatest Text Book Of My Life

I hardly use my camera not as passionately as I did once upon a time ,,and I was dead against using my phone as a camera ..but after I gave up the Blackberry and took the Mortorola G ,, I gradually began shooting pictures , I shot over 4500 images on this one phone .

I found carrying my DSLR a pain in the butt , unless I was to shoot a religious feast or some street event ..

I dont see movies at all , not even those that have my sartorial stamp.. I find the film world of cinema make believe and false ,, and despite being connected to Bollywood .

I did not even see the movie I acted in ..I am not a good actor ,,I dont watch TV or news though I did watch a few World cup cricket matches .

I dont read books I cant due to my diabetic condition and diminishing eyesight ,, the only news  I read is from Hindustan Times and once a week Sunday Midday.

I dont mix around I dont socialize party , I keep to myself occupied with my flowerhorns and the java sparrows , the birds will chirp deafeningly to wake me up to feed and water them.

The flowerhorns see my shadow and begin jumping like crazy folks ,, once they are fed they move away.

And what really made life blissful was taking my granddaughter Nerjis to the Bandra Talao letting her feed the pigeons and shoot the ear cleaners ,,and she loves the Bandra skywalk but carrying her up the steep horrid steps was hard .. and the guys who designed the Bandra Skywalk stairway really took the public specially old folks for a ride including the politicians who passed the plan..  so the Bandra Skywalk is nothing but a wasted effort a white elephant ,,and forgive me but the Mumbai Manoos keeps quiet and loves getting fucked for the wrong reason they want others to fight their battle ,,and as the politicians know this they love kicking the public ass .. for the rich the Bandra Skywalk is nothing but a mode that they will never use ,, Rich people lead rich life ,, and who ever comes to power needs them so they are always well taken care of..
The poor and the poorest are doomed .. go to a kerosene shop see the long line of Muslim women Marathi Manoos waiting in the hot-sun for their kerosene quota ,,

Mumbai cops who think they are Gods gift to Mumbai , some of them using filthy language abusing and bullying the poor on the roads , imagine the treatment in the cop station..
Most of the Mumbai cops have no compassion or humanity , you have to prove your innocence even when you are not guilty , I know of many incidents ,,hope all this changes one-day.

So now I shoot fewer pictures I shoot videos ,,and most of the people street folks I shoot dont speak Hindi,, I have not yet mastered the art technique of shooting videos ,, but I shoot as is where is..

I Am A Garbage Bin .... Made From Cheap Rusty Recycled Tin,,

miserly mumbai municipality
did not spend money to add
beauty to my metallic skin
my wheels missing ,,in bad
shape i am battered bruised
by the chicken trucks that
come to the bazar bang
me in ..hollow dented
outward and within,,
has the bandra congress
corporator ever felt my pain
the next civic elections
no way will he win yes
bandra free congress
despite no acche din
the BJP  satraps busy
with other areas .
the next modi wave
will definitely not
bring them in..

Madhubala Anarkali

Mumtaz Jehan (February 14, 1933 – February 23, 1969), more popularly known as Madhubala (literally "honey belle"), was an Indian Bollywood actress who appeared in classic films of Hindi Cinema.[2][3] She was active between 1942 and 1960. Along with her contemporaries Nargis and Meena Kumari, she is regarded as one of the most influential personalities of Hindi movies.[4] She is also considered to be one of the most beautiful actresses to have worked in the industry.[5][6]

Madhubala received wide recognition for her performances in films like Mahal (1949), Amar (1954), Mr. & Mrs. '55 (1955), Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (1958), Mughal-e-Azam (1960) and Barsaat Ki Raat (1960). Madhubala's performance in Mughal-e-Azam established her as an iconic actress of Hindi Cinema. Her last film, Jwala, although shot in the 1950s, was released in 1971. Madhubala died on 23 February 1969 after a prolonged illness.

Early life[edit]
Madhubala was born Mumtaz Jehan Dehlavi,[7] on 14 February 1933 in Delhi, British India.[1] She was a native Pashto-speaker.[8] Her father was Attaullah Khan, a Yusufzai[1] Pashtun from the Swabi District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in British India (present-day Pakistan), and her mother was Ayesha Begum.[9] She belonged to an orthodox middle-class family[10] and was the fifth of eleven children. After her father lost his job at the Imperial Tobacco Company in Peshawar,[11] he relocated to Delhi followed by Mumbai. There, the family endured many hardships. Madhubala's three sisters and two brothers died at the age of five and six. The dock explosion and fire of April 14, 1944 wiped out their small home. The family survived only because they had gone to see a film at a local theater.[12] With his six remaining daughters to provide for, Khan, and the young Madhubala, began to pay frequent visits to Bombay film studios to look for work. At the age of 9, this was Madhubala's introduction to the movie industry, which would provide financial help to her family.[9]

Early career[edit]
Madhubala's first movie, Basant (1942), was a box-office success.[13] She acted as the daughter to a mother played by actress Mumtaz Shanti. As a child actress she went on to play in several movies. Actress Devika Rani was impressed by her performance and potential, and advised her to assume the screen name 'Madhubala',[10] literally meaning "honey belle". Her first lead role, at the age of 14, was with producer Kidar Sharma when he cast her opposite Raj Kapoor in Neel Kamal (1947).[13] This was the last film in which she was credited as Mumtaz before assuming her screen name 'Madhubala'. She achieved stardom and popularity in 1949 when she was cast as the lead in Bombay Talkies studio's Mahal – a role intended for well-known star Suraiya. Madhubala, with established actresses, screen-tested for the role before she was selected by the film's director Kamal Amrohi. The film was the third largest hit at the 1949 Indian box office. Following the success of Mahal, Madhubala appeared in the box office hits Dulari (1949), Beqasoor (1950), Tarana (1951) and Badal (1951).

Hollywood interest[edit]
In the early 1950s, as Madhubala became one of the most sought-after actresses in India, she attracted interest from Hollywood. She appeared in the American magazine Theatre Arts where, in its August 1952 issue, she was featured in an article with a full page photograph under the title: "The Biggest Star in the World - and she's not in Beverly Hills". The article described Madhubala's immense popularity in India, and explored her wide appeal and large fan base. It also speculated on her potential international success.[12] Academy Award winner American director Frank Capra, while visiting Bombay for International Film Festival of India, was keen to give her a break in Hollywood, but her father Ataullah Khan declined.[14]

Stardom[edit]
Madhubala's co-stars Ashok Kumar, Raj Kapoor, Rehman, Pradeep Kumar, Shammi Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, Sunil Dutt and Dev Anand were the most popular of the period. She also appeared with Kamini Kaushal, Suraiya, Geeta Bali, Nalini Jaywant, Shyama and Nimmi, notable leading ladies. The directors she worked with, Mehboob Khan (Amar), Guru Dutt (Mr. & Mrs. '55), Kamal Amrohi (Mahal) and K. Asif (Mughal-e-Azam), were amongst the most prolific and respected. Madhubala also became a producer with the film Naata (1955), in which she also acted.[15]

During the 1950s, Madhubala took starring roles in almost every genre of film being made at the time. Her 1950 film Hanste Aansoo was the first ever Hindi film to get an "A" – adults only – rating from the Central Board of Film Certification.[16] She was the archetypal fair lady in the swashbuckler Badal (1951), and following this, an uninhibited village beauty in Tarana (1951). She played the traditional ideal of Indian womanhood in Sangdil (1952), and produced a comic performance as the spoilt heiress, Anita, in Guru Dutt's satire Mr. & Mrs. '55 (1955). In 1956, she acted in costume dramas such as Shirin-Farhad and Raj-Hath, and played a double role in the social drama Kal Hamara Hai (1959). In the mid-1950s, her films including the major ones like Mehboob Khan's Amar (1954) did not do well commercially.[17] However, she bounced back between 1958 and 1960 when she starred in a series of hit films. These include Howrah Bridge, opposite Ashok Kumar where she played the role of an Anglo-Indian Cabaret singer involved in Calcutta's Chinatown underworld. In the song Aaiye Meherebaan from this film, she lip-synced a torch song dubbed by Asha Bhosle which has remained popular to this day. Among other successful films, she played opposite Bharat Bhushan in Phagun; Dev Anand in Kala Pani; Kishore Kumar in Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi; and Bharat Bushan again in Barsaat Ki Raat (1960). Then in 1960, she appeared in the magnum opus Mughal-e-Azam.

Madhubala acted in as many as seventy films from 1947 to 1964, and only fifteen of which were box office successes.[17] Dilip Kumar regrets that "(h)ad she lived, and had she selected her films with more care, she would have been far superior to her contemporaries ..."[18] Kumar also points out that "actresses those days faced a lot of difficulties and constraints in their career. Unable to assert themselves too much, they fell back on their families who became their caretakers and defined everything for them."[19]

Mughal-e-Azam and later work[edit]
It was the film Mughal-e-Azam that marked what many consider to be Madhubala's greatest and definitive characterization, as the doomed courtesan, Anarkali. Although the film took nine years to complete, it was not until 1953 when Madhubala was finally chosen to play the role. Bunny Reuben in his Book Dilip Kumar: Star Legend of Indian Cinema claimed that Dilip Kumar's role was instrumental behind this selection.[20] Mughal-e-Azam gave Madhubala the opportunity of fulfilling herself totally as an actress, for it was a role that all actresses dream of playing as Nimmi acknowledges that "as an actress, one gets a lot of roles, there is no shortage of them, but there isn’t always good scope for acting. With Mughal-e-Azam, Madhubala showed the world just what she could do."[21]


Madhubala in Mughal-e-Azam
However, by the late 1950s, her health was deteriorating fast, and Director K. Asif, probably unaware of the extent of Madhubala's illness, required long shooting schedules that made physical demands on her, whether it was posing as a veiled statue in suffocating make-up for hours under the studio lights or being shackled with heavy chains. It was also a time when Madhubala's relationship with Dilip Kumar was fading out, and "the lives of Madhubala and her screen character are consistently seen as overlapping, it is because of the overwhelming sense of loss and tragedy and the unrelenting diktat of destiny that clung to both and which neither could escape".[22]

Mughal-e-Azam was released on 5 August 1960, and became the biggest grossing film at that time, a record that went unbroken for 15 years until the release of the film Sholay in 1975. It still ranks second in the list of all time box-office hits of Indian cinema. Madhubhala was nominated for a Filmfare Award for her performance in Mughal-e-Azam.

In 1960 Madhubala was at the peak of her career and popularity with the release of Mughal-e-Azam and Barsaat Ki Raat. She did have intermittent releases in the early 1960s. Some of these, like Jhumroo (1961), Half Ticket (1962) and Sharabi (1964), performed above average at the box-office. However, most of her other films released during this time were marred by her absence and subsequent lack of completion due to her prolonged illness. These films suffer from compromised editing, and in some cases the use of "doubles" in an attempt to patch-in scenes that Madhubala was unable to shoot.[23] Her last released film Jwala, although filmed in the late 1950s, was not issued until 1971.

Personal life and controversies[edit]
In their 1962 book Self-Portrait, Harish Booch and Karing Doyle commented that "(u)nlike other stars, Madhubala prefers a veiled secrecy around her and is seldom seen in social gatherings or public functions" (p. 76), and went on to say that "(c)ontrary to general belief, Madhubala is rather simple and unassuming" (p. 78).[10][24] This is echoed in Madhubala's sister's interview with the Filmfare: "(Madhubala) became a craze because she was never seen in public. She wasn’t allowed to attend any function, any premiere. She had no friends. But she never resisted, she was obedient. Being protective, my father earned the reputation of being domineering".[25] Dilip Kumar added, "She was extremely popular ... and I think the only star for whom people thronged outside the gates. Very often when shooting was over, there’d be a vast crowd standing at the gates just to have a look at Madhu ... It wasn’t so for anyone else. That was her personal effect on fans. Her personality was vivacious."[26] But, "she was aware of her beauty," reminisces B. K. Karanjia, former Filmfare editor and a close friend of both Madhubala and her father, "and because there were so many in love with her, she used to play one against the other. But it was out of innocence rather than shrewd calculation."[27] Dev Anand recalled in a similar way: "(s)he liked to flirt innocently and was great fun."[28][29] However, with Dilip Kumar she had a long association.

Dilip Kumar and Madhubala first met on the set of Jwar Bhata (1944), and worked together again on the film Har Singaar (1949), which was shelved. Their relationship began two years later during the filming of Tarana (1951). They became a romantic pair appearing in a total of four films together. Actor Shammi Kapoor recalled that "Dilip Kumar would drive down from Bombay to meet Madhubala ... she was committed to Dilip ... he even flew to Bombay to spend Eid with her, taking time off from his shooting stint ..."[30] "They even got engaged", said Madhubala's sister.[25] But, Madhubala's father Ataullah Khan did not give them permission to marry.[31] Dilip Kumar said, "She was a very, very obedient daughter",[32] and who, in spite of the success, fame and wealth, submitted to the domination of her father and more often than not paid for his mistakes.[33] "This inability to leave her family was her greatest drawback", believed Shammi Kapoor, "for it had to be done at some time."[34] The Naya Daur (1957 film) court case happened in 1956 when Dilip Kumar testified against Madhubala and her father in favor of the director B.R. Chopra in open court. This struck a fatal blow to the Dilip-Madhubala relationship as it ended any chance of reconciliation between Dilip Kumar and Madhubala'a father.[35] Reflecting on this, while Dilip Kumar said he was "trapped",[36] Shammi Kapoor felt "this was something which went beyond him (Dilip) and he couldn’t control the whole situation ..." [37] However, Madhubala's sister Madhur Bhushan claimed that "(Madhubala) said she would marry him (Dilip), provided he apologised to her father. He refused, so Madhubala left him. That one 'sorry' could have changed her life."[38]

Madhubala married Kishore Kumar in 1960, and according to Leena Chandavarkar (Kishore's fourth wife): "When she realized Dilip was not going to marry her, on the rebound and just to prove to him that she could get whomsoever she wanted, she went and married a man she did not even know properly."[39] B. K. Karanjia assumed that "Madhubala may have felt that perhaps this was her best chance" because by this time she became seriously ill, and was about to stop working completely; however, he added that "it was a most unlikely union, and not a happy one either." [40] Madhubala’s illness was known to Kishore, but like all the others, he did not realize its gravity; Ataullah Khan did not approve of his son-in-law at all, but he had lost the courage to disapprove.[41] Ashok Kumar reminisced in a Filmfare interview: "She suffered a lot and her illness made her very bad-tempered. She often fought with Kishore, and would take off to her father's house where she spent most of her time."[42] Madhubala's sister echoes this view albeit in a slightly different tone: "After marriage they flew to London where the doctor told her she had only two years to live. After that Kishore left her at our house saying, ‘I can’t look after her. I’m on outdoors often’. But she wanted to be with him. He’d visit her once in two months though. Maybe he wanted to detach himself from her so that the final separation wouldn’t hurt. But he never abused her as was reported. He bore her medical expenses. They remained married for nine years."[25]

However, Madhubala's love-life continued to be the subject of media speculation. Mohan Deep wrote an unofficial biography of Madhubala titled Mystery and Mystique of Madhubala, published in 1996, where he claims that Kishore Kumar regularly whipped Madhubala, who would show her lashes to Shakti Samanta.[43] Mohan Deep also questions whether Madhubala was really ill or whether her ailing was a fiction.[44] Shammi Kapoor, a long-term colleague of Madhubala, refuted Mohan Deep's claims, which he described as being "in bad taste". Paidi Jairaj, and Shakti Samanta, both of whom worked with Madhubala, rejected Deep's biography emphasizing the glaring difference between fact and fiction, and film journalist M.S.M. Desai, who had worked as a journalist on Madhubala's sets, questioned Deep's method of research saying, "Mohan Deep was not around at the time of Madhubala, so how is he capable of writing about her without resorting to hearsay?"[45]

Final years and death[edit]

Prithviraj Kapoor visiting the grave of Madhubala in 1969
Madhubala had ventricular septal defect (hole in her heart) which was detected while she was shooting for Bahut Din Huwe in Madras in 1954.[46] By 1960, her condition aggravated, and her sister explains that "due to her ailment, her body would produce extra blood. So it would spill out from the nose and mouth. The doctor would come home and extract bottles of blood. She also suffered from pulmonary pressure of the lungs. She coughed all the time. Every four to five hours she had to be given oxygen or else would get breathless. She was confined to bed for nine years and was reduced to just bones and skin".[25] In 1966, with a slight improvement in her health, she made a valiant attempt to complete her work in Chalak opposite Raj Kapoor, which needed only a short spell of shooting, but she could not even survive that strain.[47] When acting was no longer an option Madhubala turned her attention to film direction. In 1969 she was set to make her directorial debut with the film Farz aur Ishq. However the film was never made as during pre-production, she died on February 23, 1969, shortly after her 36th birthday. She was buried with her personal diary at the Santa Cruz Muslim cemetery by her family and husband Kishore Kumar.[48] Her tomb was built with marble and inscriptions included aayats from the Quran and verse dedications. Controversially, her tomb was demolished in 2010 to make space for new graves.[49]

Madhubala's strong presence in the public memory has been evidenced by all recent polls about top actresses or beauties of the Indian cinema.[50][51][52] Every year, on her birthday, numerous articles are printed and television programmes aired to commemorate her, to the present day. Her posters are still in demand and sold alongside contemporary actresses, and modern magazines continue to publish stories on her personal life and career, often promoting her name heavily on the covers to attract sales.[53] Many believe, however, Madhubala remains one of the most underrated actresses as "her beauty attracted more attention than her talent."[54]

In 2004, a digitally-colorized version of the original Mughal-e-Azam was released, 35 years after her death. In 2012, her 1962 release Half Ticket was also remastered, digitally coloured and re-released.

On March 18, 2008, a commemorative postage stamp featuring Madhubala was issued.[55] The stamp was produced by India Post in a limited edition presentation pack. It was launched by veteran actors Nimmi and Manoj Kumar in a ceremony attended by colleagues, friends and surviving members of Madhubala's family. The only other Indian film actress that was honoured in this manner was Nargis Dutt, at that point of time.[56]

Filmography[edit]
YearFilmDirectorNotes
1942BasantAmiya Chakravartyas Manju; credited as Baby Mumtaz
1944Mumtaz MahalKidar Sharmaas a child artiste
1945Dhanna BhagatKidar Sharmaas a child artiste
1946PujariAspias a child artiste
1946PhoolwariChaturbhuj Doshias a child artiste
1946RajputaniAspias a child artiste
1947Neel Kamal (1947 film)Kidar SharmaFirst film as a heroine
1947Chittar VijayMohan Sinha
1947Mere BhagwanMohan Sinha
1947Khubsoorat DuniyaMohan Sinha
1947Dil-Ki-RaniMohan Sinhaas Raj Kumari Singh
1948Parai AagNajm Naqvi
1948Lal DupattaK.B.Lall
1948Desh SewaN.Vakil
1948Amar PremN.M.Kelkar
1949SipahiyaAspi
1949SingaarJ.K.Nanda
1949ParasAnant Thakuras Priya
1949Neki Aur BadiKidar Sharma
1949MahalKamal Amrohias Kamini
1949ImtihaanMohan Sinha
1949DulariA. R. Kardaras Shobha/Dulari
1949DaulatSohrab Modi
1949AparadhiY.Pethkaras Sheela Rani
1950PardesM.Sadiqas Chanda
1950NishanaWajahat Mirzaas Greta
1950NiralaDevendra Mukherjeeas Poonam
1950MadhubalaPrahlad Dutt
1950Hanste AansooK.B.Lall
1950BeqasoorK. Amarnathas Usha
1951TaranaRam Daryanias Tarana
1951SaiyanM. Sadiqas Saiyan
1951NazneenN.K.Ziree
1951NadaanHira Singh
1951KhazanaM.Sadiq
1951BadalAmiya Chakravartyas Ratna
1951AaramD. D. Kashyapas Leela
1952SaqiH. S. Rawailas Rukhsana
1952DeshabakthanAmiya Chakrabarty
1952SangdilR. C. Talwar
1953Rail Ka DibbaP. N. Aroraas Chanda
1953ArmaanFali Mistry
1954Bahut Din HuyeS.S.Vasanas Chandrakanta
1954AmarMehboob Khanas Anju
1955TeerandazH.S.Rawail
1955NaqabLekhraj Bhakri
1955NaataD. N. Madhokas Tara
1955Mr. & Mrs. '55Guru Duttas Anita Verma
1956Shirin FarhadAspi Iranias Shirin
1956Raj HathSohrab Modias Raja Beti/Rajkumari
1956Dhake Ki MalmalJ.K.Nanda
1957Yahudi Ki LadkiS.D. Narang
1957Gateway of IndiaOm Prakashas Anju
1957Ek SaalDevendra Goelas Usha Sinha
1958PoliceKali Das
1958PhagunBibhuti Mitraas Banani
1958Kala PaniRaj Khoslaas Asha
1958Howrah BridgeShakti Samantaas Edna
1958Chalti Ka Naam GaadiSatyen Boseas Renu
1958Baghi SipahiBhagwandas Varma
1959Kal Hamara HaiS.K.Prabhakaras Madhu/Bela
1959Insaan Jaag UthaShakti Samantaas Gauri
1959Do Ustad (1959)Tara Harishas Madhu Sharma
1960Mehlon Ke KhwabHyderas Asha
1960Jaali NoteShakti Samantaas Renu/Beena
1960Barsaat Ki RaatP.L.Santoshias Shabnam
1960Mughal-e-AzamK.Asifas Anarkali; Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Actress
1961PassportPramod Chakravortyas Rita Bhagwandas
1961JhumrooShankar Mukherjias Anjana
1961Boy FriendNaresh Saigalas Sangeeta
1962Half TicketKali Dasas Rajnidevi/Asha
1964SharabiRaj Rishias Kamala

Firemen Rescuing A Crow At Chapel Road Bandra

This morning after completing my walk at MET Gardens Bandra I decided to walk home through Chapel Road ,, and the Fire Brigade was having a tough time entering the narrow lane , so the fireman moved in and there was this crow helplessly hanging upside down from a tree caught in a manja thread , he could not release himself and other crows were attacking him and I believe some kind lady had informed the Fire Dept .
The firemen all young guys , took a pole and attaching other poles to it tried to remove the thread entangling the crows leg.. , but it was utterly impossible than another fireman passed the pole to his colleague who climbed up the house of Akthar Imam sab and with great difficulty managed to save the crow who happily flew away to freedom.. I shot some frames and this short story I thanked the firemen .. and told them that I was ashamed that our society , our government remembers their service only after their tragic death.
And those warped politicians that politicize the death of the firemen for their only way of being seen in media as great sympathizers ..sadly none of our political leaders so called satraps have compassion ,, most have joined politics to become super rich..from rags to riches .. and even those politicians that have their roots in Mumbai use Mumbai as a milking cow ,,
The only time an issue comes on the burner is when there is a disaster Kalbdevi building collapse ,all these years they never thought of it ,, they want night life for the elitist but wont take other important issues like the mill workers , displaced bardancers now walking the streets , as whores and prostitutes .
The government of the people for the people by the people is only a government for the rich.. they are the Note banks ,,they have to be appeased at all costs .
Whenever there was a coalition government n Maharashtra it was the poor that suffered and the common man caught between the devil and the deep sea
..
I mean does the Government and the erstwhile CP of Muumbai not feel ashamed of rogue cops , cops that frame innocent people , women raped are more scared of the cops than the rapist who raped her ,,, and when will this end ,. the police brutality , police insensitivity , police rudeness ..people today are demoralized by our police force ,,,I am sure there are good cops ..but why do we see stories of bad cops now and again...why dont they have CC Tvs in police stations that a known for the wrong reasons than the right ones ..imagine corruption is a regular thing with Mahim crooked cops being in the news regularly ,,,and these are the guys who offer the first sandal floral tribute to Holy Saint Makdhoom Shah Baba.
Why not hire source deserving candidates offer them good salaries perks and groom them to be the pride of the Indian Police Force .
Even the firemen are treated shabbily ,,humanity has no respect with the politics of Maharashtra ..be it Congress or BJP.