I once had a very serious problem a few years back I accidentally shot the Lalbagh Chya Raja moving into the sea at about 4 am ..and I was caught by some Marathi boys and a few ruffians they thought I had shot the idols lying on the beach ..and I was wearing a Lalbagh Chya Raja cap with my Press card had a name that was Muslim , they all ganged up against me a few were drunk too and handed me over to the cops on the beach I told the inspector to my check my images on the monitor if there was any picture shot by me of the idol on the beach take whatever action he deemed fit but the guys pressurized him, they thought I was a terrorist wearing saffron shooting the Visarjan ..I told the Inspector he could call Mrs Shatrughan Sinha she would vouch for me.. but the Inspector deleted my pictures with a sage warning would I like strangers shooting my dead parents bodies if they were lying on the beach.
I was left of he did not confiscate my camera not did he levy a fine those days for shooting on the beach ,,I walked back dejected and felt that I promote Hinduism through my pictures and this guy deletes all my pictures of the Arti of Lalbagh Chya Raja on on the beach too..
I came home called up my friend Subhash Solanki who has a camera shop at Fort told him about the incident , he said to give the card to him and miraculously I got all my images back.
This evening because of low tide there were lot of idols lying on the beach and me and my friend Ravi Shankar kept removing them placing them respectfully on one side , we stopped a lot of foreign photographers from taking the shots explaining to them politely that it would hurt the sentiments of the Hindus ,,
I think photography should be constructive so I am posting a picture of an Idol from Matunga that had come for immersion at Chowpatty Girgaum.. I would never shoot pictures to hurt any community or my photography would be meaningless and my camera a weapon of destruction ,, I shoot rituals culture and 65000 Hindu blogs but all showing the beauty of India .
And I still wear saffron proudly carry my press card which on the reverse side has the picture of my patron Swami Avdesh Anandji Maha Mandlehwar Juna Akhara ,, and I have not changed my religion or my name ,,I am as Hindu as you are provided you have eyes to see it in a Muslim.
