My 9 km Walk Today

After my tennis I walked through the Bandra transit camp backlanes cut through Jeff Caterers passed St Andrew Church than Chimbai Joggers Park and reached Carter Road at Carter Road I saw a huge crowd at the Ganesha Temple celebrating Lord Ganeshas birthday I shot a video than I spotted a few American hot shot photographer s shooting some urchins on the beach I spoke to one of them and shot their video ..as they went about shooting Make in India the poverty and the kids ..The father of the kids watched from a distance I told him to take money from them the kids deserved a good meal .

From this end of Kolis beach front I walked till Danda and continued my walk till Khar 14 road from here I walked till Bandra 29 th road moved out towards Waterfield Road ..Hill road Boran Road and finally home to Bandra Reclamation ..

I had completed 9 km in about 2 hours .

Ranwar Bandra

Ash Wedesday Mount Carmel Bandra

My 3 km Walk Today Ash Wednesday

I finished my tennis and walked towards Mount Mary back steps but first I paid my respect to the Lord at Mount Carmel on Ash Wednesday today.

From the steps of Mount Mary I greeted my friends from Marys Clan and met an old friend Tony he once sold plants outside his house close to the steps.

I reached the Mount Mary Basilica shot a video..some stills and walked down to Bandstand via Kane Road ,,I spotted a shooting nearby and was surprised to see my dear Facebook friend Jawad Askari sab he is part of the creative team of this Iranian production and I was told the line producer is Mr Pehalaj Nihalani.. Jawad sab introduced me to the Iranian director and I met some old friiends from Pehlaj jis team.

However I had to cut short my walk and return home as wife needed to go with Marziya and Marziyas mother to the doctors .. Marziya has suspected typhoid,

The Bhaiyya Laundry Man Mount Mary Bandra

I shot his pictures earlier too he has his stall at the back steps of Mount Mary opposite my old friend Tonys house ..Tony used to sell plants and in our younger days both of us and Ashok from Pali Road another florist wanted to become horticulturists we were dreamers and would source plants from Marol those days I lived in a company flat and had a open space where I grew lots of plants .

Well back to the laundry man he was happy to know I knew his neighbor Tony ..The laundry man is a Hindu but is in awe of Mother Mary he was telling me that people come to visit her from far and wide and here each morning when he wakes up he bows to Mother Mary he says she is like his own Mother Durge and this is the simple spirituality of a simple man ..I began shooting his video I liked his views and his bent of mind .

These are stories that touch me and add to my poetry of life and photography is the means to tell stories I need words to complete my story as I have no formal training in writing I video shoot my stories but than this translation is for my foreigner friends on Flickr and nowadays I blog my restless angst at Facebook and than copy paste to Flickr pimp it further on Twitter and Blogspot .

I think if you have a camera even a mobile phone you don't have to hunt for stories ...stories hunt you out like this laundry man.

A little ahead I met the reformed alcoholics reformed drug users now protected by Mother Mary and part of her Clan ..trying to change their life and with their travails changing lives of other people caught in the vortex of drugs and booze .

I met some nuns from the Vatican and shot their video too.
Mount Mary's basilica touches me deeply ever since I made Bandra my home it was Monsigneur Neris Roderiques who encouraged me allowed me to shoot the New Years Mass from the top and than I am reminded of my dear friend Fabian who tells me you are one Muslim that is one with Christ and than I tell him that it was my Christian school my friends and the priests like Father Leslie Ratus Fr Stephan Nazereth ..at Colaba who helped me in my bad days and when I shifted to Bandra it was Fr Lawrie Serrao Fr Jaun my Jesuit Godfather who have been my pillars of support ...

So a laundry man can push you into the past and bring you back into the present on the wings of a blog .