Beggar Hijras Of Parel... Neither Woman Nor Male

Peersab Fakhru Miya Hujra No 6 Lion Of Ajmer

Hijra Sandal And Qawali ..Ajmer Urus 2016 ,,By The Mumbai Hijras

Dam Madar Malangs at Ajmer 102 Year Old Syead Masoom Ali Baba

World Of Exotic Hijras At Ajmer 2016

Getting Bald Over And Over Again

Diabetic fungal boils on my head
Stress and strain hot and humid
Driving me poetically insane
I am waiting for the fury
Of Mumbai Rains too cool my scalp
My Cosmic Brain ..Nirvana Zen
Zenitude I hope to holistically attain
Them boils have caused me a lot of
Pain ..52 hours journey and the dread
when I Take the Assam train called by Goddess Khamakhya breaking away from my Mumbai chains ...on a shoe string budget Begins my photography adventure neither For profit not commercial gain promotingHope and Hindutva as a Message of Universal Peace ...or all our quest in vain
One we are One we must remain
I have my tickets but no accommodation for my weeks stay and I can't afford budget hotel above a certain amount ..so let's see what happens ..
But my wish was to take Darshan of the Goddess once in my Lifetime .
Through the Third Eye of Shiva
In my Camera ...

The Storyteller s Tale

encapsulated
in a beggars wail
covered in her
hijab..her sweaty
veil..her hands
stretched out
in the rain sinewy
pale ..a muslim
lady with a child
on her lap ..
unfortunate female
still imprisoned to
her mothers womb
an eternal jail..
is this a woman
god forgot failed
dreams doomed
dreams derailed
a picture i shot
in my minds camera
that leaves behind
a sorrowful trail.

searching in the wastelands
of despair remorse the holy grail

dedicated to mr randhir behl

Raju Ear Cleaner BW Bandra Talao

Raju Ear Cleaner BW Bandra Talao

Pitru Paksha 2015 Religious Tonsure Barbers of Banganga

Barbers Of India 1

Hijra Queens... The Rare Hijra Beauties Of India

Keith Kanga My Childhood Friend and Jimmy Dorabjee

We lived at Khatau Bhuvan from 1954 to 1963 ..
Keith owned almost half of B Wing ,,
We were tenants of late Nawab Kashmiris family ..we were staying in a room that connected to the flat of Keiths servants quarters ,,later sad irony when Keiths grandma gave away the entire flat on rent she was living with Keith in the servants quarters ,,of the same flat .
Later the building changed hands several times when the last owner sold it to Mr Mathews and he changed the name of the building to Jony Castle ,,
Keith and I stayed in touch I used to accompany him sometimes to Pune where he played for Three Coins ,,
The earlier name of Keith Kangas band was 100 Ton Chicken .. than his Ganna that we called her baptized the band as Atomic Forest .
Keith was very rich his late father Dosabhai Kanga invested wisely they owned New Era Printing Press Worli several horses ,
After his dads death his Diva mother Gwendolyn could not handle Keith she gave charge to her mother ..who was from Ceylon and Dutch origins .
His grandmother was a racist bigot and a Jehovah Witness..she hated abused every community ,,,but never me and Vimal Harshadhmma ..as his father was a goldsmith ,,, most of her venom she spilled on Naval and Jimmy Baria who stayed on the first floor ..
She liked me groomed me to become a Jheovahs Witness my childhood was more about reading the Bible ,,and more seriously when I came to stay with Keith my dads business crashed and my entire family mom and sisters moved to Lucknow ,,only my Dad and my younger brother Shakil lived on rent at Mereweather Road ,, I had to stay with Keith to complete my SSC ,,despite all the bible , watch tower and fuck knows what I managed 69 percent in SSC ,,
My job was too take care of Fufu their stray mongrel . who was lustily on heat ,,and every night I had to go search the bitch.. and even after taking care of her ..till the time I stayed with Keith she hated me the most for pulling her away from the dogs of Military Quarter Dogs that took turn humping her ,, it was a tough life ,, and the only good thing about Granna ..whatever her hate for Muslims she saw that I was never given pork.. so I do pray for her even now .
She was sad when my time came to leave as I pressed her legs ,, did all the domestic work cleaning the toilets etc,, so when my Prodigal dad came to take me home ,,my father too had had given her house on rent ,,because of the crash.. She looked at him with inner hate ,, she had already tried baptizing me once at Cuffe Parade near Bhadhwar Park but it had rained so she was waiting for a calm before the storm...to take me to her Hereafter Paradise where rivers of milk honey flowed .
Her death I was not aware of we lost touch I juggled a few jobs and than much later in the 70s would meet Keith at Slip Disc when I did late night shifts at Burlingtons Taj Mahal Hotel I called him Baba .. we would sit chat of old times if he was not high..
He loved my parents too...
I came to know of his death at Irani Cafe where I used to booze ,,Bandra Hill Road I read his obituary in an evening paper .
Vimal too died away in Sri Lanka ,,
And now two friends from that inner group remain.. the childhood group .. Rayomand Framroze and me ...
And this is what I could retrieve from 65 year old rusty brain..
The only regret I loved his mother and dont have a single picture of her Gwendolyn Kanga ,, the Queen of Wodehouse road who chain smoked and loved to tipple ,
Keiths mom liked me a lot when Keith left to study at Darjeling she made sure I slept on Keiths bed in her bedroom..
Most of the memories are fading ...but when I see Keiths picture some memories come back..
And Anita was very close to Keith ... in his later life after marriage ,
Thank you Anita
photo courtesy
Anita Bhatia Higgins

Ear Cleaners Tale.. Bandra Talao

Nerjis And The Ear Cleaners of Bandra Talao.

The shooting happened accidentally ..Nerjis actually came with me to feed the pigeons ,, and this gave her a thrill of her life ,,that she called the pigeons Sharukh Salman Amir should not be held against her ,,she is 2 with the brains of a wit .
And the pigeons responded as she was generous with the grain she gave them.. handfuls ,.what got Nerjis goat and no pun intended was the goats that terrorize the pigeons ,, rushing to eat the grains thrown to them.. and these goats belong to Miya butchers ,..who leave them here to fatten them for slaughter ..

Well she became friends with the ear cleaners and Kassim was her favorite ,, Nabi Raju too .. welcomed her to their world ,,

I shot the ear cleaners and so she too tried her hand shooting them..

After the Bandra Talao the other exciting part of this excursion for her was the Bandra Skywalk .. she loved shooting people sleeping away .. and than me carrying her down the steep iron steps ,, coming down at Lucky Hotel Bandra and we cut through Haji Noora Lane into De Monte Street and via Bandra Bazar too our house ,, and if she gets tired I have to carry her ,,

Now she will be 5 on 17 July she shares her birthday with her father ,,
Though she has already had one Islamic calendar birthday 15 Shaban.

Ramzan Mubarak Aya Donation Seekers Santacruz Shastri Nagar

Raju Ear Cleaner And Me A Cosmic Bond

Myth of Ear Cleaners Of Bandra Talao

Haji Ali Dargah Version 2

Haji Ali Dargah 2015 Gate Of Peace Hope And Humanity

Beggar Hijras Of India Also Known As Mangti

Muslim Beggars God Forgot Part 2

Happy Morning From Bandra

I was extremely passionate about photography having held the camera very late in life ..but the love for photography was there when I left for Muscat in 1980 I bought my first Nikon EM 5 I think in 1981 I would go shoot the Muscat streets Corniche Ruwi etc

But when I came down to Mumbai I had lost my second overseas job I was badly broke I was married a wife and a kid I sold my camera kit brand new for Rs 7000 .

Never thought about photography not even after working at Mudra with some of the most iconic photographer s .

Never could I imagine I will shoot pictures I took up photography again to get rid of my alcohol dependance it was the last stage for me and whatever was left of my liver I had chiriosis and had been treated by Dr Banka at Nanavati hospital.

I survived .

I gave up booze cigarettes completely and have never touched it till date over 20 or more years now .

Photography has never been my source of income but a means to my inner peace fragmented creativity .

So to the actual story I did not know how to shoot videos ..Never even made an attempt till last year changing mobiles but I only shot my street videos on mobile phone camera though I had a Canon 60 D and 7D.

I shot videos I did not know to edit so I shot videos as is where is hand held .

After over a 1200 videos I tried to use the You Tube editor but it was slow a pain in the ass and yesterday my son Asif told me to use the Windows movie maker and I found I could bring out my old stills make them into a slide show of unseen memories.

I shoot stills but I find shooting a video suits my mind and I am able to say more .
I don't have to use a sling with words to bludgeon you all ..lol

So when I have time I think I will work on some rare stories I have shot and upload it to You Tube ..
I have crossed over 13 million views in one year without porn or any other shock and awe documentary .

I find my visuals my voice have a larger reach at You Tube though I have disabled comments ..My presumptuous ass gets trolled easily specially on my Shia videos ..

Thought I would share these thoughts with you all ...I am 65 and not financially sound to join some Video learning school

Too late ...but working with some of the greats of Bollywod the sense of Cinema does not leave you .

A lot of regrets I wish I had shot videos of my earlier Kumbh trips Moharam Sufis and the Hijras.

The Snake festival ...bomb blasts ..

Last but not the least my love of Videos my basic training has come from my god son the Giant Killer of Food Bloggers

Assad Dadan

He is my lifeline to Help ..he used to teach animation Photoshop at Frame Box .

Muslim Beggars God Forgot 1

Swach Bandra Mushkil Hi Nahi Na Mumkin Hai

Tennis In The Rains With Coach Surendra Pawar Bandra

Tennis With Coach Surendra Pawar Bandra

Tennis With Coach Surendra Pawar Bandra 2

The World of The Humble Ear Cleaners of Mumbai

A Tribute To The Ear Cleaners Of Bandra By Laurent Salisse

Laurent Salisse is a French photographer I first met accidentally when he came to shoot Ashura in Lucknow Moharam..in 2007 .

We shot the Tazias and the juloos and he shot my scourged back and my head that I had cut with a dagger the night before ,, I took him to my inlaws house at Nakhas ,and he shot the House Imambada and met my mother in law too.

Cut to post the bomb blast in Mumbai we met at Leopold ,, I took him to my mothers house at Strand Cinema and he shot the Colaba Causeway ..2009 .

Than we met again by chance on the banks of the Ganges on the day of the Shahi Snan Basant Panchami Allahabad 2013 ..

But in 2015 he decided to come to visit me in Mumbai ,,and we shot some street scenes together ,,,he shot the Nasik Kumbh too .

Than he called me from France he wanted to shoot the Malangs at Makhanpur 2016  and we again met at Makhanpur ,, it was a brave shoot , Laurent shoots with a backdrop and medium format ,, I collected most of the Malangs and he had a whale of a time shooting their portraits ,, for me it was a learning I shot too.. and shooting with Laurent is a lifetime experience ,, he is cool not demanding and highly respectful of local traditions customs he wore black and a head scarf so everyone thought he is  Malang too..

The Malangs loved him and would go out of their way too see he was comfortable ,,

This  time he called me again he wanted to shoot the Khamakhya Temple festival and I fell for it line hook and sinker I somehow booked my train tickets ..now I am waiting  for Laurent to get his airtickets if not I will go alone ,, I did try to connect with my Naga Guru because I may not be able to afford hotel accommodation I dont have that kind of budget and this is my self sponsored trip..

I dont have any friends in Assam close to the Tenple but I think the Goddess wants me to come ,, and I will go surely ,,

I leave in another week and will return by the end of the month ,,if my Naga Guru was going I would have had no problem of lodging or boarding as I would stay with the Nagas .

But I leave it to God ,,

And this post is also my humble tribute to Laurent and the ear cleaners of Bandra Talao ,,,I am documenting the life and times of the ear cleaners of Mumbai..

My picture with the earcleaner Nabi was shot by Laurent

earcleaner

The Siddis Lost African Tribe Of India 1

The Mystic Nabi Ear Cleaner And The Old Monk

Appu My Friend Who Begs No Hands No Legs

Appu My Friend Who Begs No Hands No Legs

It has been over 4 years now I have not seen Appu ,, every time I pass those places where he used to beg at St Michael Church lane or outside Minara Masjid I crane my neck out from the bus or taxi to see if he is there ,,, but sadly I never saw him again .

The first time I met him begging at Chor Bazar close to Bohri Mohalla on Fridays ,, flea market days ,, but though I stopped going to Chorbazar I did go there to check him out ,,, no luck,

Appu was my close friend and was a migrant from Assam.. I miss him.. he was a good sincere man.. he never complained ,..he took his sufferings in his stride ,,

And tonight I have created a video on You Tube of his images as my humble tribute to his memories ,, it is being processed and it is also a tribute to my first granddaughter Marziya Shakir 23 month old who met him at Mahim.. she shot him with her cosmic eye , like me she too remembers him and tells me that she will shoot him.
Marziya is now 8 year old ..

My Red Indian Muse A Love That Needs No Excuse

She is red I am urban brown
Perhaps standing next to her
I do look like a clumsy clown
But she is on a visit to our town
In her Warrior dress she hates
Wearing western gowns ..she
Gave a glaring look and a frown
As the photographer clicked us
Together man and wife he did
Not pronounce or by my only wife
My three kids as polygamist I would
Have been denounced ..but love is
Love what goes up must come down
Cupids arrow aimed at the Venus of
Her Mound accidentally hit me by
Default on the rebound ...a beggar poet
Besotted like Prometheus bound


Love lost and found ...

The Mystic Art Of Ear Cleaning At Bandra Talao..Experienced By The Old ...

Chandu Hussain The Mystical Ear Cleaner Bandra Talao

The Mystical Ear Cleaners of Bandra Talao

The Mystical Ear Cleaners of Bandra Talao

Ramzan Mubarak... A Month Where Beggars Celebrate Gods Bounty

I shot this image in Ajmer during the recent Urus April 2016.

I have never been to Ajmer during Ramzan Moharam or Bakra Eid ,,only the yearly Urus ...

If I really felt God it was in the sockets or socketless eyes of the Beggars of Ajmer ,, and I shoot beggars because I hate shooting flowers insects and other mundane stuff ,, I shoot the Fall of Man I shoot the perversity of the beggar,, in the eyes of the man who is not a beggar .

When I am in Ajmer during the Urus  for 4 or 5 days and I shoot the Dargah lanes the Malangs the Rafaees the Hijras and the humility of the Chishtiya order as it touches binds everyone ,,for the Hijra Khwajah Garib Nawaz is the Ultimate Provider ,, he gives even when they dont ask..

I have cried while shooting pictures my feet burning on the marble floor of the Dargah ,, a mother was asking the Holy Saint to spare her dying sons life and I was shooting every tear that dropped from her eye ,,

I shot a spiritual crossdresser known as Moosa Suhagins dancing on the same hot marble floor and he has trinkets on his feet and he danced till he fainted and fell at my feet ,,why my feet ,,because he knew I felt his inner pain he knew I knew the poetry of his life ..

In Mumbai there is a lot to shoot during  Ramzan and I have shot Ramzan documented it since 2007 ,, till 2015 ,,, now I will add the 2016 section .. rozas , sehri iftar and I shoot it on the streets I keep away from mosques ,,

Beggars in Ramzan ..this is actually their Holy Month ,, and they come out from every crevice ,, and they fast too and I did break fast with a beggar group at Dongri,, ,,I could not shoot the pictures it would have killed me,,

My grandchildren hone their photographic skills during Ramzan shooting food lanes and beggars ,,,


Ramzan and the Eid Namaz I shoot it every year ...and in a few days I will leave Mumbai to shoot the Khamakhya Fair in Assam ..my French photographer frend is trying to come too .. I always wanted to shoot this fair but could never do it short of funds my stay and the long journey,, even now I dont know how I will manage but I am going ,,to document this Yoni Temple ,,

I spoke to Kapoor Khamkhya in Hardwar he is a powerful tantric also my Tantric Guru  so he might help but he is not sure  if he will make it ,, most of the Naga Sadhus of Juna Akhara dont miss this event ,, it will be my first visit .

Three Legends In One Frame ,,,

time did try
over zealously
but could not
tame ,,3 icons
a trinity of fame
to see a master
craftsmans art
past memories
to reclaim ..
so many came
without her poodle
i spotted a dame
a wine glass in her
 dainty hand was she
an old flame ,,now
please no names
60/60 peripheral
profundity with the
master of the game
pablo bartholomew
humble endearing
still the same ,,

The Inimitable Pablo Picasso of Photography

I met Pablo late 80 s in Mumbai while I was working for Mudra Communications Court House Dhobi Talao ,, and one person who loved him abundantly and respected his craftsmanship was late Mr A G Krishnamurthy ,, and he wanted Pablo to shoot both the summer and winter campaigns of Only Vimal I was coordinating the campaign as fashion stylist and the impeccable debonair Mr Kabir Bedi Sandokan was the model .
But Pablo could not do the campaign as he was called by late Mr Rajiv Gandhi after the immediate assassination of Mrs Indira Gandhi..for some political assignments .. it was indeed Vimals and Mudras loss .

The campaign was shot by Mr Suresh Sheth ,,,at various locales including the Taj Mahal Agra ..

But I was lucky to have been part of a few campaigns he did for Vimals Sweet Memories sarees ..with various models including Sangita Bijlani and Juhi Chawla .

I left Mudra and returned back to my fashion world ,,but I never forgot Pablo and those days I never thought I could ever be a photographer I found photography to be too complicated .. but I would observe Pablo at work and we called him the natural master of Light ,, he shot without too many props ,,but he was a task master and those days are embedded in my mind ... as part of my poetry of life ,,

We again met on Facebook.. and I visited both his exhibitions in Mumbai..

This is my humble tribute to him.. a great beautiful human being ...with no airs unlike the celebrity photographers you meet today..and I did not learn photography from Pablo ,, but he gave me a gift and that is the first step to taking pictures ,,yes it is Humility ...

Thank you Pablo..

The Tragic Tale Of Edwin Fernandes Crossdresser Make Up Artist

This entire series is hidden from public at my Flickr timeline ,, it is called Crossdressing the Soul Of Man...my documentary of the androgynous soul of man cascading celestially in silken robes ,,

I have shot a lot of trans , androgyne , crossdressers and hijras over 25000 images including hermaphrodites ,,,

But I am not willing to share it with the public ,, and mostly full of homophobic hate for others ,,,even the government hates them.. and this community is indeed a minority ,,

But anyway I opened this image to tell Edwins tragic tale ,,he died unsung on 29 December 2015 ,,,I did not know about it ,, till Bipn a very dear friend told me about it ..

Edwin was a very beautiful person his male body was held in captivity as a woman Prometheus bound ,, heavily chained no escape ,, he was going through bad times no work assignments and the bigger blow came when his bank account was hacked all his savings hard earned gone forever ,, he went under depression I am told ,, and he died tragically I am not willing to share the gory details with respect to his family ..his restless soul finally got its freedom .. away fro fire and brimstone of our hellish world.


I was going to shoot the Mumbai Pride at August KrantI Marg in 2007 and I was told Edwin was getting his ladies costume picked up from Bipins studio and he would dress up and leave from here with another friend I requested Bipin if I could come over and shoot Edwin.. he was a great make up artist ,,and I shot a lot of frames I traveled in his cab till Gowalia Tank and shot him in full bliss as he marched with the rest of the Rainbow people ,,

I have all those picture and even all my Pride Walk documentary has been blocked from public view ..

I never forgot Edwin he was human a gem..very humble polite and he was too young to die ,,I offer this as my tribute to his departed soul...I hope wherever he is there is no Damocles sword Article 377 hanging over his head an act that shames humanity and Indian political hypocrisy getting rid of everything Colonial except this evil degrading act a gift of the British Vampire ,, and honestly we are still bound to them by the umbilical cord of depravity ,,yes we are still fucked niggas and natives ..

RIP Edwin..
Sorry that you had to leave tragically .

Kamazani On Sachey Bhais Noha ,, Aye Shere E Nayastane Haidar Abbas

Happy World Environment Day From Chimbai Slumbai Pride of Mumbai

World Environment Day (WED) is observed every year on June 5 to raise global awareness to take positive environmental action to protect nature and the planet Earth. It is run by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

It was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1972[1] on the day that United Nations Conference on the Human Environment began.[2]

Celebrity endorsements[edit]
Media and celebrities have encouraged World Environment Day Celebrations by endorsing and participating in it.[3] United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) goodwill ambassadors including supermodel Gisele Bündchen are sending an SOS to the world to take action for World Environment Day 2014 by joining one of their teams to combat climate change.[4] Their call to action, Message in the Bottle, asks individuals around the world to join one of the celebrities’ teams and make a difference by pledging to take action in support of World Environment Day, which culminates globally on 5 June 2014.[5]

On Occasion of World Environment Day June 5 2015, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi planted a sapling at his official residence at 7, Race Course Road, New Delhi.[6][7]

Media campaigns[edit]
Community Radio Stations (CRS) in all over Nepal Republic launches the Campaign. All the National TV & Radio Breakings are replaced by Environment Slogans and Informations. Nepal Government launches various programs in collaboration with UNESCO. It also sends the Gurkha Army out of barracks on the road to clean the environment and for afforestation programmes where all the media personalities also gathers giving the live coverage.

Zee News launched 'My Earth, My Duty’ campaign. This campaign has entered the Limca Book of Records for a novel effort: for planting more than 7,300,000 trees in one single day across 34 cities and 250,000 villages on 25 August 2010. NDTV launched "Greenathon" Campaign. This campaign was launched in the year 2008 and served as India’s first ever-nationwide campaign to save the environment.


In Nepal Republic all the Students from Grade 1 to A level are compulsory to attend the afforestation programmes on their respective locality with the supervision of SOS Villages and Nepal Government. Many Arts and drawing competitions are held on environmental day and Nepal Government declares the Scholarship for 15 Students from all cities that have major contribution for the environment mainly selected from Madhesi, a backward Community in Nepal. In 2012, Project Earth, an Online Eco Platform teamed up with Rio+20 and Launched ' World Environment Day Global School Contest 2012 ' to promote awareness among today's youth. Every country had a winner. Project GreenOman,The winner from Oman, was an Eco organization founded by Hridith Sudev and is a full-fledged kid's Eco Organization now. Daily sakal is also started awarness about environment at kolhapur district. they made a plan for for make panchganga river pollution free . [8]

Events associated with World Environment Day[edit]
Eco Action Day is celebrated since 2007 in Singapore to inspire individuals to reduce energy use at the workplace.[9]

The 12 Meter Rajasthani Safa With 8 mtr Rajasthani hand wrapped Dhoti

Desh Age Bad Raha Hai...Waqt Kismet Se Lad Raha Hai

In the morning coming back from my tennis
at Chapel Road trying to have a bath with
a bottle of water ,,helpless a mother or a
sister shocked at my moderation i shot her
her pain on the soul of cyberspace not
photo shopped or morphed i caught her
now getting trolled on twitter ...my voice
they cannot smother ,,teaching me ethics
of photography girls old enough to be
my granddaughters ,,see my profile before
you insinuate ,,as i dont shoot porn
it was her fate by the Third Eye of Shiva
that to the humility of my camera bought her

The Humility of My Tennis Coach Surendra Pawar ...Untold Story

Last year since 10 Feb 2015 I began walking rigorously from my house at Bandra Reclamation Lal Mitti till the end of Bandra Reclamation beyond the furthest end .
One day I met another senior walker who suggested instead of taking a risk against speeding cars coming from the Sea LInk why dont I try walking at the MET Grounds as it was called those days .
All the years at Bandra Reclamation where I stayed I never walked I was fat lazy and blood sugar ridden..swollen feet no stamina .. and loads of health problems .
So I began taking rounds with some old friends who would join me after their tennis session..I thought tennis was an expensive sport and I was not into sports I never played football cricket or hockey in school.. I was a bookworm and a drama lover ,..
One day in April Coach Surendra Pawar who had become my friend invited me to try my hand at tennis I thought he was joking but I tried my hand along with another 83 old man..
And thus began my Tennis Yatra ,, in the mean time my loving sister Farzana Suri gave me a tennis racquet and I have a disability on my right hand but I played on,,,
At the end of the month I asked Coach about my fees ,, and he politely refused to take a cent from me ,,I felt bad I told him atleast charge me something a token amount ,, but Coach would not take money from me that was his final reply .
And all he said Firoze Bhai your blood sugar should come down I am in tears as I write this ,, I mean in the eyes of a polarized world he was a Hindu I was a Muslim...but in the eyes of each other we were blood brothers the same sensitivity ,, as humans .
On my birthday 10 December 2015 Coach gifted me a very expensive Head racquet and hugged me like his own brother ,,and his boys all of them treat me like their own family Darshan Bendal Rohan Pawar Vish Sawant Mangesh Dhotre Praful Tambe Sanket Kamble and his son my Guru bhai Sahil Pawar,
So this is my Tennis story I promote my Coach as he gave me a new lease on life ,,my waistline was 41 I am 36 now my blood sugar was between 300 and 350 now 82 ,,,along with the Coachs contribution it has also been Dr Shashank Joshi who has given me good good medical treatment .
I cannot forget my wife who maintains my diet ,...
I also am thankful to all my tennis team mates we are one big happy family 45 minutes 6 days a week that change the way we face life .
Whatever I have down for my Coach is speck compared to all that he has done for me ,, because he does not charge me I stopped taking my granddaughter to the Court ,,, its too heavy a burden on this beggar poets self consciousness ,,,and self righteousness .
And last but not the least my Coach has never forgotten the elders of Khar Gynmkhana who gave him a chance , he started off as a ball picker and has taught tennis to most of the veterans .
He speaks highly of Razdan Sab Premji and Mr Shyam Shroff..
So this was a story I have finally shared with all of you ,,

The Poetry Passion and Pathos of my Bald Head .

Much before I was plagued with 3 diabetic boils that after wrong treatment went out of control I had no choice but to shave off my tresses .

I have grown dreads I have had extensions but my scalp is far too weak to take the weight of the dreads so I chopped them off years back .

In 2011 I was initiated as a Dam Madar Malang ...these guys have huge heads rolled up dreads over 18 to 20 feet long ..I was tempted to grow my dreads again than came the boils and I have been shaving my head every week at Rolex salon Bandra Bazar I get it shaved by Anees Bhai the senior hairdresser as he is careful and takes care of not touching my boils .

I hate my Bald pate .
But there is no option the healing process is very slow ..first they caused me a lot of pain but now there is one boil that gets on my nerves .

And the heat and humidity aggravate the boils giving in to itching and scratching .
But I think I have decided now to grow my hair .
Though it is during Moharam Ashura and Chehlum when I cut my head with two daggers that my scalp becomes unmanageable.

But I won't stop cutting my head .

I have other health problems my gall bladder stones and this is when I am on a sticky wicket in Ramadan I start bleeding and urinary tract gets blocked so I am caught between the deep sea and my comittments .

This year too Marziya will fast she takes after my wife and now Nerjis only 5 insists she too wants to fast .

But I have not seen Marziya Nerjis for over 2 months ...and that is driving me plumb crazy .

In the afternoon I was at Mr KRK s house .
And he is one of my most loyal patron ...he loves to wear suits and they suit him too .
Despite the fact he does not have a 56 inch chest he commands respect ..and he gets it easily .

I was planning to go to Bandra Talao but it's too hot so I came home directly from Lokhandwala MHADA.

Do You Want To Be A Photographer Or A Storyteller

I started of like most of you as an analogue photographer but strictly hobbyist ,,,and never an iota of a thought about making money or having photography as my second source of income ,,

I was happy as a high end tailor or Darzi...

Once the digital era made its advent I had no option but to learn a bit of internet and photoshop , I paid Rs 4000 at that time but typed with one finger .I still type with one finger ,,

I came as a novice to Buzznet in 2005 and thus began my tryst with blogging as Photographer No1 ...I had to write a lot of description on my pictures as the huge audience was predominantly American .. but my grammar was horrid , I used large font and my earlier efforts at blogging were atrocious but in word form but not in the intensity of my images ,,,I shot the unseen India ,

Customs Rituals traditions Hinduism in its humility and glory , Sufi body piercing , Shiasm more of blood and self infliction known as matam..my pictures in retrospection were shock and awe ,,

I began shooting the transgender I began writing slam kind of rhyming poetry ,,,

It was at this time 2006 I cam to know the meaning of racism , racist attacks on me by white poets and hacking of my Shia blogs with nudity and porn images .

I finally moved to Flickr in 2007 I used Flickr as a blog platform only , blogging with pictures as original content .

It was in 2014 that after joining Ello .. I saw a change I met David Seibold I liked the way he added stories to his artistic pictures I got highly influenced by him... I began to start thinking as a storyteller and I began storytelling at Facebook..

I was certainly not happy telling a story in a single frame I had a huge repository of words ...wanting to come out from my system ..so I decided to tell my stories through video...and in one year I shot over 1200 videos ,, till date 12 million views ...simple stories ,,

I just started editing a bit at You Tube ,,,and I started to become disembodied from the soul of my picture ,,, and thanks to David I dont have his gift of narration but I am trying to improve ,, and now to my new story of a crippled dreamer ..2 years of Modijis so called Progress and Development have not touched him yet ,,the second hand wheelchair is a gift from a good samaritan,,

I will shoot his video make him talk to me ,, he is the new Muslim beggar of Bandra Bazar Road.

Incomplete stories too come back to haunt me and a kind God sees that I get another golden chance to tell it to you again.

The blogger in me hung himself from a fan he is still hanging ...by a tale .

The Facebook Friends List

posted this evening at Facebook

Today I sat and pruned my Facebook contacts ,,I normally added a person if we had a mutual friend ,,,I had over 2880 people on my list ,,,most of them added me without reading my profile ,,
And all my posts on Facebook is for Friends only ,,I post Hiduism Shiasm Sufism Christianity Hijras Beggars etc..I dont want to be trolled by Faceless Facebook members ,,,so I post with due moderation ... the same post on my FB timeline is public at Flickr Twitter and Blogspot ..
However I added a lot of people I had no interactions with them I did not even know them so I decided to politely remove them..
I have decided I will only add people I know .. people with photography as a hobby .. I am not going to add people because of the different hues I shoot spiritually ,,
I dont want 5000 friends the few I have I am happy with them .. as I type with one finger I have very few on my feed .. I also request people to mute me on Twitter and remove me from their feeds on Facebook..
But I post less links here ...and my Twitter is connected to Flickr and from Twitter my post reaches here too.
So please forgive me ,,,if you read this on my Flickr timeline ,,it was done as an afterthought and not as part of any evil agenda ,,
I also removed the few ladies on my list I am a 65 year old man a grandfather and my romantically philandering days are over for good..
And I always need a picture to tell my story ,,, and the picture is of my favorite haunt ,,,, Bandra Talao..

Last Journey Mr Vikas Mohan..