If The Mumbai Police Saw The World Through The Camera They Would See What I See

In Mumbai it is selective policing ,, if the erstwhile Bandra cops came on a photo walk with me they will see the various joints of the proliferating drugaddicts of Bandra ,,on the Bandra skywalk, beneath the skywalk near the Sunni  Station Road Mosque at the exit point near Slaughter House Compound and the main Bandra Juma Masjis near the dismantled escalator ,, did you know that the stupid creators of this public wasted taxpayers money built a escalator that was taken away piece to pierce by the drugaddicts and other scrap scavengers ,,

Why should the Bandra cops see all this they are busy catching innocent kids and beating them up,, but the real dreaded drugaddicts move about freely.

The main adda is behind the garbage bins of the entrance of the dirtiest filthiest ugly slums Shastri Nagar of Bandra ,, you can see them hidden from the public shooting drugs ,, but do the residents locals care ,, they are busy trying to run their homes with rising dal prices ,, standing for hours in a kerosene line ,, life is really really bad for the poor in the slums .

Cops are happy giving protection to those who were elected to protect us from criminals and insensitive bullying cops ,, and perhaps this segment of cops might be a minority but it is bad outsourcing .. measuring their chests height but not their inborn bias , negativity even their hate for Muslims and few other communities ..one CP goes another comes  like a musical chair .. but the attitude of humanity kindness hardly exists in police stations ,, you need a video to go viral to know what the public suffer at cop stations .

And I am not an activist , I have no issue with cops save what I see on the streets of Bandra,,and I dont morph or photo shop my images they are straight from the underbelly of street life that I shoot as a documentarist .. not for money or commercial gain.

I think if cops took up photography I am certain much will change provided they shoot what I shoot and not selfies with film stars and celebrity politicians ,

And finally so many years so many governments and no police reforms , same dingy police quarters ,,same apathy neglect .. I think our representatives should add the police to the Acche Din dreams and Sab Ka Sath Sab Ka Vikas .

Shooting Chehlum In Lucknow ,,2014

This was shot in Lucknow last year in color obviously , blood stands out as protest in color defying both space and time ,, though I have shot Moharam in Lucknow in BW too on Ilford Delta 100 ASA ,, It was my personal favorite but I dont shoot film anymore I prefer shooting color and than tweaking a few pictures BW ,, as my enduring efforts at fine art so to speak.

I dont wont ever use Photo Shop.

And Moharam in BW might look like a man inked for the wrong reasons .. in Mumbai inking is another political pastime ,, but shooting a mans bleeding in BW is inking his resolve his anger his pain that has lived since 1400 years .. along with the throaty chant of Ya Hussain.. it never ends it will never end ,,

Moharam Chehlum is the 40 day of the Martyrdom of Imam Hussain grandson of the Holy Prophet , and in memory of the Battle of Karbala with the Caliph of the Umayad Dynasty accursed Yazid,,

After Chehlum gets over the Shias celebrate Athvi when Moharam officially comes to an end ,,, the next day . or dawn the Shias celebrate the victory of Good over Evil burn effigies of the Killers of Imam Hussain .. and appesae the Mother of Imam Hussain Princess Zehra daughter of the Holy Prophet of Islam.

Th most prolific Athvi celebrations in mourning take place in Lucknow with the Chup Tazia and the burial of the same and a lot bloodletting at Kazmain..

The Anjumans from allover Lucknow come to the Roza of Imam Hussain at Kazmain... people come here do matam and cry, huge tears that I tried to shoot also in BW ,,,

But this year I might not be able to go to Lucknow for Chehlum and hope to be there for Athvi.. cutting my head with Baney Bhais anjuman on the streets ,,,