Amchi Mumbai..

The Beauty of India lies in the Beholders eye
The only beautiful place on Earth is Amchi Mumbai....
it gives without holding back everything under the sky ..
for me as a poet it is the only place where I would want to die ..
i told my sweet wife to give my body to Medicine so somebody could have my heart my kidney even my camera eye.
words that as soon as they slipped out of my mouth made my sweet wife cry ..

how can you be cruel she let out a sigh before you I want to die .both of us once born in Lucknow..now an integral part of our children's dreams and Mumbai .

.to touch others less fortunate than us we try..battered wings we heal so they too can fly soar with hope in this glorious city of Mumbai ..

Be Human Bhai
Hindu Muslim Buddhist Sikh Isai .

picture shot by 6 year old Nerjis
a product of Mumbai...

I Want to tell a Story ..a 18 Month Child And An Artist Called Ranjit Dahiya

My granddaughter Nerjis was 18 month old when she shot my dear friend Manuela Nessi against an iconic Bollywood Mural of Madhubala Anarkali at Chapel Road Bandra ..I always wondered about the artist but I had no clue I asked a person living across the wall but he was no help either .

When Nerjis was 3 year old she shot Mr Amitabh Bachchan a wall painting at Waroda Road it was done by the same artist Ranjit Dahiya .

Many years later I met Ranjit first time when he was painting the wall with another Bollywood icon Mr Devanand Taxi Driver we became friends and I told Ranjit I had documented his art at Flickr ..I am not an artist but I love shooting wall art ..I shot the wall art from Dadar till Mori Road ..walking barefeet .

This evening I was sitting idle at home I decided to visit Ranjit at his house at Chapel Road and his 2 dozen cats ..

He was making tea for me while I had taken jalebis and hot bhajiyas for him..

I started asking him what gave birth to the artist in him..he used to draw actors on his gate he was 7 at Sonepat Haryana ..his humble beginnings on his dads farm taking care of buffaloes than an uncle taught him to pain white wash walls ..he was not crazy about studies and spoke Haryanvi..smattering of English.. but he was a natural born artist he painted Saraswati at a school and began to get a lot of work..highways mostly ad related .

However someone told him to take up Fine Arts and he decided he would give it a try ..he was selected to NID Ahmedabad he went through the tough interviews and his father took a personal loan so he could study he spent 4 years in Ahmedabad .

He took up a job in Delhi than later came to Mumbai about a few years back to work as a graphic designer but he was not happy he was restless he wanted freedom to paint and be himself.. he did his first wall painting of Amitabh Bachchan Sab at Waroda Road .. that Nerjis shot when she was 3 year old .

He did Amit Ji s iconic Deewar painting off Bandstand next to that of Mr Rajesh Khanna .

When he was doing the huge wall painting of Dada Phalke on the MTNL building another Swiss wall artist Maya was painting a huge mural near my house a building that housed the office of Advocate Ashish Shelar Bandra Reclamation and both my granddaughters Marziya and Nerjis were shooting Maya her husband Thomas was documenting his wifes Art....on camera.

However nothing remains of that Art as it was erased last month but Mayas wall is alive on my Flickr set called Painted Walls .. I shot most of the graffiti artists that visited Bandra .. to add color to our dead walls .

Cut back to Ranji Dahiya .. Ranjit was doing the mural of Mr Dilip Kumar and Sair Bano ji above the Shiv Sena Bandra Hill Road Shakha I shot him and his assistants at work.

Ranjit and I became close friends .Ranjit has painted all my mystical sticks about a dozen of them in vivid colors and so my persona as a Sufi Malang carries a part of his Art or should I say Heart.

Ranjits Bollywoor poster Art is on display in America and France ..

So both Nerjis now 6 and Rajit are cosmically connected through my camera..

Ranjit is a very soft spoken person but as a child he was boisterous always getting into trouble he has come a very long way and has made Mumbai his home ..

He is still trying grab a fistful of Sky..

Har Koir Chahta Hai Muthi Bar Asman..

And Nerjis has come back from the Shia mosque she distributed 80 cakes to the children her gift to them on Eid E Mubhaila ..

Nerjis Asif Shakir

This child my second granddaughter has had the greatest influence on my life and my photography .

She calls herself Photographer no1 and is a natural born with the camera ..she is an amazing sight to watch when she is shooting she becomes one with her subject and after the shot she will show her picture to the subject on the camera monitor.

Holding the camera since we 18 month old the Canon 60 D has become an extension of her personality.

I took her to Mount Mary and it was after a very long break but she gets tired in the end as people crowd around her she does not get intimidated and goes about with her shot ..she has learnt more from the photographer's that came to my house than from me ..
She has gone to Pune with her sister Marziya to visit her cousin Zinnia with my wife and their mother.

I must mention here better than the Flickr editor is Aviary I use it via my mobile phone it is simple and serves my purpose I am not very crazy about Photoshop .



NerjisStreetPhotographer

We Indians Are Born Dreamers Shot by Nerjis Asif Shakir 2 Year Old

through our votes
dreams we purchase
from dream merchants
long distant happiness
we gladly hope to embrace
we are confident but also
fools on the surface
sometimes taken for a ride
left on the sidewalk. without
trace all in all it is part of our
DNA ..that dreams we chase
acche din anewala hain  ab ki
bar ya agli bar just in case

a picture shot by a two year old
child - man his shortcomings his
fall from grace caught in a frame
within a frame street photography
is not just shooting a picture ..but
reliving a moment in your cosmic
mind before you aim god created
a situation made sure you came
on the soul of humanity to lay
your claim inscribe your name

The Birth of A Street Photographer Nerjis Asif Shakir 2 Year Old

This is  Nerjis Asif Shakir 6 month old
in her tiny hands a camera she holds
the poetry of life under her control
through images her vision unfolds
much before she was born..god
generously added a talent manifold
cyber savvy , you tube nursery rhymes
healing beggars on the threshold
with her smile her touch.. tender bold

Simplicity shot by Nerjis Asif Shakir 2 year old

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”
― Leonardo da Vinci

He is a Hindu who takes care of a grotto housing Jesus near my house , he and his wife are street vegetable sellers  ..outside the grotto at Bandra Bazar Road , the grotto is a Portuguese heritage 16 th century ,,,
Elections come once in five years , but their lives status is unchanged , every rehabilitation scheme for the poor only made the politician builder nexus richer stronger and more corrupt..this is the reality of our times , the poor are remembered by the political party candidate only during elections per se ..after the elections are over it is back to reality for everyone including the neglected son of the soil , the
Marathi Manoos..

As yet the sitting MP or the AAP candidate or the BJP have yet not seen the plight the
filth the neglect in my area.. our democratic process needs to be made citizen friendly not just the poor the slum dwellers or the middle class or even the rich..

After the person  wins he will come one last time with exploding crackers , drums  known as the winning procession rally ,, than they will disappear for another 5 long years .

Those that elected them wont ever be able to reach them in their ivory towers ,only their chamchas will do your work for a price .
This is the sad effect of the ensuing Dance of Democracy, last two elections I shot this political drama on the streets .. all on Flickr .. this year I have turned my back on this political documentation.

I might take Nerjis who has shot this picture tweaked by me to shoot the streets on Voting Day 2 April Tryst With  destiny  and let her see the state of affairs the chaos for missing names on the voting list , dead members coming alive to vote and the Great Comedy Show of All Times Our Elections .

The very rich super class will be at Goa Murud Janjira Khim having a ball and will come grumble when the system  fails .

We are not happy with any of the candidates in our area , their tall prmises we will be generously using the NOTA button..registering our Vote as a protest against the people we hope to vote out this time ..

The Healing Touch..

of a child ..
soft tender mild
in a world where
muslim beggars
are humiliated
racially profiled
demarginalized
reviled ..she
shoots their
pain pathos
street agony
nerjis asif shakir
my grand child
destiny touched
her smiled ..
her story
through my
poetry blogs
humbly
compiled

Sometimes A Guru Needs A Guru Too

nerjis my guru four month old
talented manifold ..with her
cosmic camera eye my destiny
 unfolds..god gave me this
reward in my beggars bowl..
i was a speck a particle now
rounded whole..a single path
a common goal..

Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna ,,, Chalte Chalte

The one person in my family who has not forgotten Mr Rajesh Khanna is Nerjis Asif Shakir my grand daughter , when she met Sir she was a toddler 8 or 9 month old , and on the day I shot this he was very distressed but he had called me , and I bought my grand children , and this was perhaps the last time he met Nerjis .

Now Nerjis is about 2 year old and remembers Sirs name , house and very fond of Bala , we visit Bala from time to time ,,,

Dimplji has met Marziya Shakir but not met Nerjis , though Nerjis shot pictures of Ashirwad a few days before Sirs first anniversary..

What magic did he do on Nerjis I dont know ,, and he was totally fond of Marziya Shakir treating her like his own grand daughter he never had at that time ..

These are memories I shot and respectfully share with all of you.. I tailored his last suit for the Havel Fan ad By Mr Balki,,

And just a few days back I was searching some pattern of a client and my tailor handed me Mr Rajesh Khannas suit pattern that I hope to immerse in the sea off Carter Road ..

Mr Rajesh Khanna always paid me for even a simple alteration , such was his humility and he always told me strictly never to give clothes to his producers without charging them for my tailoring services..

At The Lilavati Hospital he called me before his death , told Mr Akshay Kumar to see that he gave me work and I burst out crying , I was reprimanded by Dimplji for my outburst, his daughter Rinke watched me as Bala led me out of the hospital room , this was the last time I met Sir ,,, Alvida Kakaji

Nerjis Asif Shakir

ap ki bar....
aye bhagwan
hamko de acchi sarkar
aman shanti aur pyar
kalam sab se bada hathyar
jao vote karo.. kal subha
warna phir pachtaoge
aur ek bar,,vote using your
head not influenced by
politicians ishtiyar...
the flesh is willing the soul
tayar..