Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Hanky Seller Kurla Public Overbridge





I have been shooting him since the time I got addicted to Kurla East aquarium shops .. and this Chacha as I call him is an indomitable spirit , he refuses to complain about the bad days that came in his life he spent away all his earnings on his wifes sickness , he has a daughter in his hometown and grandchildren he stays on rent in some Kurla slums and sells hankies on the bridge since 60 years ,, and he is humble hospitable and respects me a lot ,, I respect him too for his industrious nature , he tells me he hates to beg or be dependent on others ,, he earns for himself and for his daughter ,, and nobody talks of such Muslims and than I wonder of Muslim kids who are caught every day robbing chain snatching , rape murder ,, and it saddens me that many could who have been saved rehabilitated had they been given vocational guidance ,, this old wizened man inspires me , he has seen very hard times but he is always smiling ,,
There are times he stumps me when he says why do you sit with me ,why do you care for me and honestly it has nothing to do with photography ,,,there is something that connects me with this kindred soul ..my father used to live in the slums of Kurla about 64 years back . the poorest slum on a Hindu crematorium with my mother new from Lucknow 15 years old and me one year old .. those were the hardest days of my fathers life and worst for my mother who hailed from Lucknow her father Daroga Nabban Sab descendant of Poet Mir Anis..
My mother even when she moved into tenanted quarters at Wodehouse Road or later Warden Road and finally Strand Cinema never forgot those days and though I was too small to even remember it never allowed us to forget her past ,, it haunts me even now ,,
So this poor Muslim Man hanky seller takes me back into the world of my mothers tears ,, a child mother who dd not know to cook or stitch.. we are products of her perseverance me my brothers and sisters.

The Gemstone Bawa Of Kurla Bridge



He is a hawker who sells cheap gemstones on the public overbridge that connects Kurla West To Kurla East .. this overbridge is a poor mans shopping mall.

I have known this Bawa since many years he used to sell gemstones rings at the Urus of Makhdhoom Shah Baba ,,and this is what he does sell his stuff during the various Urus in and out of Mumbai.. his favorite place is Ajmer Sharif , he goes to Nagpur and other Dargahs ,,he offers me tea too and this is their genuine hospitality ,,I have never bought any stone from him.. and he does compliment me for what I wear..

These are people I shoot here too I call him Bawa and never by his name ,, he is married his sons have stalls on this bridge .

The Sufi Bawa Kurla Station Road




He is a hawker by profession selling odds and ends earning his honest bread , the moment he sees me he greets me as Malang baba he too is from a different Sufi order ,,and there is something that positively makes me shoot him..sometimes he will ask one of his friends to shoot us both on his mobile phone.
I shoot street pictures , street faces I never asked him his name I simply call him Bawa out of respect,..he talks about me to the other hawkers in my presence and I feel extremely humbled ..he will offer me tea which I politely refuse ,,I am in a hurry to take the bridge to the other side of Kurla East where there are two more people I shoot .. both are humble folks one sells cheap gemstones the other sells hankies since 60 years at the same place on Kurla bridge .

My Humble Tribute To The Memory Of Late Fr Peter Drego..









A kind humanbeing , a humble soul I shot the St AndreW Church when he was the Parish priest and I dod not know he had passed away.. I was informed today by my good friend Walter Murzello..
These are some pictures I shot of him over the years ,..
Then I heard a voice from heaven say, "Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on." "Yes," says the Spirit, "they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them." Revelation 14:13 NIV


FR.PETER DREGO (80) PASSES AWAY

FEB. 3, 2014
We regret to inform you of the death of Fr. Peter Drego aged 80 (Born 28-6-33; Ordained on 21-12-1959). Fr. Drego passed away at the Clergy Home today, February 3, 2014. The funeral will be held at St. Andrews Church, Bandra on February 4, 2014 at 9.30 am followed by burial at St. Andrews cemetery. 

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