The Sandal Of Hazrat Syed Haji Abdul Rehman Shah Baba

This is a photo frame of the iconic Holy Saint Of Dongri I shot at a shop when I came here the second time on 2 March to shoot the Sandal procession .. where my Rafaee friends were going to take part in Zarb body piercing acts ..

The new Murshad is Mashouk Ali Baba the youngest son of late Sikandar Wali Baba ..and he now is in charge of the Chancawali Rafaees I have been documenting for over 15 years.

The main exponent of Zarb is the incredible Chalak Ali . I was wrongly informed that the Sandal will start at 3 pm , and it actually started after 7.30 pm well managed and organized by an influential famous devotee of Syed Haji Abdul Rehman Shah Baba .. Yusuf Bhai his son , brothers and a dedicated group of volunteers.

This was a huge sandal well decorated bullock carts ,DJ and musicians performers and the works , fireworks ,,

I shot the zarb and because of the diabetic wound on my leg left early taking a train to Bandra from Sandhurs Station and also shot a Palki of a Hindu Goddess of the followers from Ratnagiri.

Two sides of a coin Sufism and Hinduism living amicably side by side at Dongri.. and Dongri is also known as Imam Hussain Chowk.. the harbinger of Peace Hope Humanity.

I Thank Those Who Add Me On Flickr But I Dont Follow People Without A Profile Photo And Bio

Thank God Mumbai Is Not Saudi Arabia

Street Photography Is Choreography of Time And Space

The Four Letter Word For Forgiveness Is Love ,, St Michael s Church Mahim

Street Photographers Are Born Not Made

not necessarily photographers
they have migrated from another
trade ..shooting the poetry of life
pictures immortalizing moments
moments that do not fade streets
they raid elusive short stories
hunting people as prey stalking
the soul of solitude pitfalls they
evade precious moments that
do not jade .a set erected by
cosmic fate people as actors
on a moving revolving stage

my 10000 poem at flickr.com

For 40 Years Mohomed Kassam Has Been Cleaning Ears At Bandra Talao

There are two seniors both at each end both Muslims , the third ear cleaner is younger he was my first friend and I ha shot him many times at Bandra Bazar.

The seniors know me and allow me to shoot their pictures at work at the Bandra Talao.

Mohomed Kassam has a grown up son and a grandson both come to see him at work ,,and this humble old man is staring at dark and bleak future as with the renovation of the Bandra Talao  they might have to move out from here away from their regular clientele and hunt for customers on the move ,, in the various bylanes of Bandra or in the slums.

I come here when I get off from the bus at the Bandra Talao bus stop and if I see them with a customer I begin shooting them on my mobile phone ..this was the first time I got good closeups .

And the Municipal officials want them to get the fuck out of here go back to their hometowns as one of them told me full of pain .and fear of being uprooted from this iconic location.

The earcleaners of Bandra Talao are more famous than the earcleaners from other areas of Mumbai.

The Ultimate Secret Art Of Ear Cleaning ,, Made In India