The Rafugar ..The Darner Of Waroda Road Bandra

Rafugar the Darner in Hindi they call him रफ़ू करनेवाला.. he darns your torn garments with the threads of the same garment and he does it precisely , patiently and silently .

Watching him at work is a cinematic experience , seconds stretch into minutes and sometimes a badly torn rich trouser made of worsted wool can take upto an hour.

This work was earlier called Kashmiri darning as it is very minute work and the Kashmiri darners were masters at this art , darning Kashmiri expensive Pashmina shawls.

And here you will see he is not bothered about my presence shooting him on my Motorola G.. I hardly take my DSLR unless it is for an event as it is a burden carrying it on my walks.

And honestly there is a lot of stuff to shoot on the streets if you apply your brains vision will come gradually , but first you should have the ability to see pictures and it is when you have shot them you will be able to enjoy another mans dreams ..darning holes in his unfulfilled dreams ..

And most important this Muslim darner has photogenic character , a sculpted face that adds to the simplicity of his life and the precision of his  age old profession.

There are many questions I would like to have asked him.. his name , whether any of his children are in the same trade , whether he taught somebody this trade , ..When did he begin darning , was his father a darner but than I know if I ask so many questions I dont think I could have shot all these pictures .. a lot of Muslim professionals are very private about their lives and fiercely guard their privacy.

Maybe next time I will shoot his video.. silently as silently as he darns holes of the Wedding coat of Uncle Joe ..that beautiful cream Sharskin suit that he wore at his wedding 60 years back with wife Theresa at St Peter Church Bandra .. and blessed with the words of the Priest What God put together let no man put Asunder ,, Ashes to Ashes Dust to Dust ..

Yes I finally shot and captured the Soul of a Bandra Darner at Work as poetically as I could the rhythm of his heartbeats and synchronized it with the soul of my solitude ,,, as a street photographer ..

My Friend The Pony ,, Wishes Me Good Luck

thanks me for taking his picture
in a world where people have one
desire one goal  making big bucks
man has lost his humanity says the
pony to me man disillusioned by
his mortality living in muck man
whose only other aim in life is
to fuck ..from birth to death stuck

creating wars destroying nature
mans life really sucks ,,,

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make in india ham phir
se parlok main banayenge

The Ear Cleaners Of Bandra Talao Face Eviction

They are the humble face of Bandra Talao they sat on the pavement and cleaned ears , removing the wax  for Rs 20 .

Three of them two Muslims Kassim Bhai and Nabi Bhai and a sole Hindu cleaner Raju all three are like brothers .

Their work is precise they clean ears and the waste cotton they keep in a bag that is disposed of in the garbage bin,.

They have been here for 40 long years and are migrants from Gulbarga Karnataka.

They dont know any other profession , only cleaning ears and it is a tough job sitting in the hot sun waiting for clients ,,when they find it tough to get customers than they take rounds of JJ Colony Bandra Bazar Road or Bandra Slaughter House slums ,,

I have been documenting their art for a very long time now , and I am learning to shoot videos using them as my video storyboard.

They are extremely polite , and very low profile they work silently on your ears like musicians , , the right note at the right time.

And they see their pointed instruments covered in cotton bud dont hurt you , they clean your ears too ..with antiseptic.

And I shot a 8 minute video today... I mostly shoot the pictures and video on my mobile Motorola G..