The Magic Of GSB And Devo Atithi Bhava

One most important facet of the GSB Seva Mandal that it brings you all together as one without petty differences ..it makes each one of you part of a huge Saraswat Gaud Brahmin Family Tree ,, this is never seen in any other Pandal ..it does happen at Wadala but I realized you guys give equal importance to outsiders not part of the GSB family tree ,, your love touches us Non Hindus as fervently ,,and I must confess without bias without trepidation I shot Wadala GSB only once in my life time never ever went back but came a lot more time to GSB King Circle because of all of you your deep love dedication devotion and I can assure you all if this what you showcase at GSB Seval Mandal is followed by other Mandals there wont be cases of volunteers misbehaving with the devotees , pulling their hair treating them roughly ,, You all each one of you is the beacon of that light missing at other Pandal .. People say your community is very rich and I tell them discover the Gold in their hearts ,,their glimmer their shine their heritage that continues from the grandfather to the unborn grandchild ,..and I am writing this on your post for starters not on mine ,, Devo Atithi Bhava the true spirit of Godliness a Gift of Ganesha,

ps I wrote this as a comment on a GSB friends post and copied it to my picture with my best friend mentor Dr BU Pai of Seven Hill Hospital Andheri.

Muslim Beggars don't celebrate Eid they Beg Beg Beg on tired legs Eid Mubarak to all of you on behalf of the Beggars of Bandra

Bandra Home Of The North Indian Migrant

I came to Bandra from Colaba ,, you can call it relocation , we lived earlier on rent at Ranwar off Veronica Street and than moved to De Monte Street Bandra Bazar Road and this was a long time back .. we shifted from De Monte street to a cusp between Bandra Reclamation and Bandra Bazar Road,,
This area has a lot of North Indian migrants , the earliest ones were the Washer men and their families known as Dhobis ..they had their shanties as this are was all coastal area touching the sea ,, they were given rooms when th shanties most gave place to buildings build by Rizvi Builders .. they still use their rooms as workspace for ironing washing clothes ,,they are very low profile and pre dominantly Hindus ,, they have not yet lost touch with their hometowns .
The next lot of North Indians that came gradually were the cooking class ,Khansamas cooks who worked with the Bohra caterers like Jeff Caterers and than branched out made their own identity starting their own business and later buying property and the influx continued .. and these are predominantly Muslims ,, some of them have done very well for themselves .
Than came more Muslim migrants from UP , these are guys with handcarts selling maize bhuta , sweet potato and moong phali .. they literally live sleep on the carts. Highly enterprising the carts multiplied , they bought in more people from their hometown.. and the picture tells their story.
The third lot and highly populous the ricksha drivers , Bandra Reclamation became a hub of these mostly Muslim drivers from Kannauj and Makanpur ,, they live on rent in the Nargis Dutt Nagar slums Bandra ..those are affluent rent rooms with a dozen guys living together ,,those that are poor live in the riicksha and weave their dreams of making it big one day.
One thing is sure what these guys have done is filled a void that the common Marathi Manoos was not interested in at all.. as this story is of the North Indian migrant I wont delve into why the Marathi Manoos did not take this imitative of entrepreneurship .
There are guys all North Indians that own a lot of riickshas the big bosses and give out the rickshas to these migrant drivers from their hometown.. so there is a cohesive collective ethos binding each ones struggle and survival.
Similarly you will find Biharis mostly Hindus ricksha drivers and their hub at Gazdar Bandh Santa Cruz .

Wake Up Saudi Arabia ,, Year After Year ,,, When Will You Make Pilgrimage Safe For Everyone ,,.,

hajstampede 

The Saudis never ever paid any attention to Safety this is not the first time ,,it saddens me that because they are the custodians of the Holy Cities they get away with Murder ,, negligence is Murder.


Your comments will not be liked by many people...but what you said is surely correct.......people are happy to die there....its a best way to go to Jannah..

my reply

Firoze Mohomed Shakir But Jannah can be from home to ..this is why the Saudis get away first the crane accident no lessons learnt ,,I mean do you understand the pain of the loved ones ,, of the dead ,,think for a second ,,mother weeping for her son , father for his daughter I mean it hurts ,, this is the greatest event in the world they have money everything so why can they be more careful or is it that lives of the pilgrims means nothing to them .. who really cares whether they like or dislike my comment I am telling you the bare facts of life ,, how long will these deaths continue ..for me it is plain pure murder there is absolutely no excuse and this is beyond our diverse sect or faith .. we bow to the One ,, and both his Holy Cities badly governed by the Saudi regime ,,

The Holy Smile

Normally after I have finished playing tennis and walked a few rounds at the MET Grounds Bandra Reclamation I return home not via the Beef Market  but through a tiny access lane near the Sunni Mosque Bandra Reclamation ,. that houses a few Miya caterers and just across their space is her house ,, I have shot her earlier from a distant she would be sulking silently grumbling and she looked very temperamental as I dont know her I thought shooting from far was the best way of shooting her street personality ,,

But yesterday that is when I shot this picture I said hello to her and before she could re act I shot her on my HTC Desire 826 and this took her by surprise she gave me her beatific smile surprising me completely ,,

She is a Kathiawari migrant , settler from Gujrat the oldest settlers here at Bandra Bazar Road when this entire place was part of the sea ,, dhobhi ghat ,,the dhobis the gujratis the koli fisherfolks the East Indians also fisherfolks lived cheek and jowl.. much before we came to Bandra in the 80 s ,,

This part of Bandra the backlanes  arterial touch main Bandra Bazar Road a commune of the erstwhile East Indians original inhabitants of this part of Bandra .. their communes were called gaothan , very specific , culturally dominating the early simple skyline without tall ugly monstrous sky scrapers ..


There are a handful of old Kathiawari families and you will see them come together during Navratri ..playing dandia at Highland Court A and B in front of their old deity Goddess Ma Ambe ,, she is kept in a Kathiwari house made of metal she is a family heirloom never immersed like the other idols.

And so you shoot a picture and prolifically capture the thread of a story a thread that weaves a tapestry of cultures living peacefully side by side ,,with the Konkani Muslim migrants that came settled in Bandra Bazar ..the Karie community , one of them was a cook for the family of Bhuttos living in Old Mumbai ,, and they wanted him and his family to relocate to Pakistan but they loved Bandra far too much.. and the patron of this family died recently ,,I shot both him and his wife for a long time documenting their simplicity and humility and there is an old Chinese family too ,, all woven together in the ethos of Bandra Bazar Road ,, the area we decided to make our home ,,my wife liked this place to its proximity to the Shia Khoja Mosque  , the ladies Shia mehfil  the bazar and my daughters school Apostolic Carmel Convent ,,and for sometime my workspace too.

So one holy smile opens a can full of smiles ,,, lol

You are Born Lucky Said The Astrologer

The parrot picked up three cards and each had a deity as part of my luck, Shiva Parvati and Ganesh..and so I continue as a Muslim  blogger with a thread I call Hope and Hindutva a Message of Peace and Humanity .


You Have Shankar Parvati Ganesh..
3 lucky charms held by the parrots beak
he was all praise ..dreams you wont have
to chase ,,but it might take some time before
you come out of the maze ,,you might have
to change some of your ways ,,he offered a
cup of tea and a packet of Lays ..adding
flowery phrase ,,he had me cornered in
his time and space ...this is India mystical
meaningful beautiful as always ,,,,

The Sage Parrot Read My Cards ..

On the
 streets
 of Latur
once upon
 a time in
the distant past ,,,
a poet in love
battle scarred
the sage parrot
read my future
he pulled out
card after card
one card he
interpreted ,,
as both you
your muse
ill starred
she wont
ever come back
she has fallen
head over heels
with a rich retard
whose libido more
aggressive more hard
she gave her fickle
heart to him
that lucky blackguard
she has
rejected you back
in your poets junkyard
the second card he
interpreted ..from
the other one too
you have been barred
she has fallen for
the dude she met
in the churchyard
the lucky canard
no he is not our
shadowboxer
saint bernard
the final third card
he rumbled on,,
taking me off guard
you will soon receive from
Nigeria Burkina Faso
 a good message
in a post card .. you have
won 86 million dollars
left by a rich widow ..whose
husband dickhead shakir
died in a plane crash all
charred .. you as next
of kin sharing the same
surname is your god
sent reward ..all these
crazy clothes you will
have to discard no
more walking barfeet
he slapped my back
with best regards
than he whispered
just take my mobile
number in case you
need me as your
able bodyguard
the mother fucker
ripped me of rs 500
for reading my fucked
luck and 3 cards

Happy Eid Mubarak To One And All

Words of Peace Hope Harmony
living harmoniously together
words of the Makers humility
in the Muezzins call breaking
all walls created by politicians
to divide us all united we stand
divided we fall live and let others
live as hands outstretched in a
prayer hall his Mercy Benevolence
we his children all. diverse religiosity
different color caste and creed ..Bless
us all..Peace in Palestine Yemen Syria Iraq
Peace in Tibet ..Peace to the Oppressed
all over the wide world most of all ...

Homecoming

You carried him on your shoulders to his home in the sea but a part of him lives within your own heart the Lord's bounty he assures you he will come back Remover of Obstacles Saviour of Humanity beyond caste color or creed he wants you to be free feed the poor the deprived do sincere Charity pay a poor school child s fees love nature plant more trees feel his love as it whispers in the breeze. Be at ease tension free Mumbai Amchi Jai Jai GSB

The Living Dead

a concrete slab
for a pillow under
his drunken head
the fetid smell of
alcoholic snores
to the surroundings
he spreads his useless
life at a deadend the
woman to whom he
was wed with his
bosses son one day
fled leaving him behind
nursing his bottle his
 bloated face swollen
head  his fucked life
nothing but a broken
needle on a slender
thread ..his dying
flesh his somnolent
soul at loggerheads
the clock ticks as
he dreams of his
beloved wife
lonely repentant
on her death bed
seeking forgiveness '
hungry unfed ,,hollow
eyes face blood red