I made sure my granddaughter Marziya Shakir and Nerjis Asif Shakir shot him too , while he was being sculpted , and both were 2 year old respectively ,they could barely hold the camera but I guided them.. the most important aspect of photography they learnt was placing the camera strap round their neck before taking the camera from me ,
Marziya is 7 Nerjis is 4 ,, both have shot the Ganesha pandals and the eyelids of the third eye of Shiva are Ganesha and Parvati ,, I use Hindu interpretation symbolism.. and for me that is the essence of my photography and all my 3 Gurus were Hindus ,, most of my photographer friends who pushed me deep into photography were Hindus ,, and so I promoted Hinduism through my images and my Hindu Blogs as Hope And Hindutva a Message of Universal Peace ..I am a victim of the 93 Hindu Muslim riots but it has not come in the way of my life ,.. it changed me certainly , it made me wary of politicians of all communities , most politicians only use the divide in religion to divide us as Indians ,..
Photography binds us all.. the camera gives conviction to our dreams ,, our imagery ,, and I am not a professional photographer .. a hobbyist poet photographer passionately mystically involved with photography..
Photography has kept me poor it did not make me rich like commercial photographers ,, but it gave me the richness of the poor , it gave me the wealth of their enduring pain.. it made me strong it changed me incredibly ,,
Yes I shot Ganesha ,, through the Third Eye of Shiva embedded in my camera consciousness ,, he had to be different ,, metaphoric and larger than life ,, and if my friend Vinay Parelkar had not bought me to Girgaum Chowpatty I could have never shot this huge tapestry of devotees the lashing waves and the soothing fury of the Gods ,,
वक्रतुण्ड महाकाय सूर्यकोटि समप्रभ
निर्विघ्नं कुरु मे देव सर्वकार्येषु सर्वदा
Vakra-Tunndda Maha-Kaaya Suurya-Kotti Samaprabha
Nirvighnam Kuru Me Deva Sarva-Kaaryessu Sarvadaa
Meaning:
1: O Lord Ganesha, of Curved Trunk, Large Body, and with the Brilliance of a Million Suns,
2: Please Make all my Works Free of Obstacles, Always.
