Why do I shoot pictures ..what does one see when one views my Flickr timeline the source river bed of all my pictures ..I shoot all religions faith that make up my composite collective ethos of India I as a Muslim would never shoot a picture to hurt my Hindu brother or my Christian brother ,and this does not come because I am a photographer but because my parentage my upbringing respected culture ,, my mother would never call another person a kaffir we are are products of that mother ..and this applies to my brothers sisters too .
My sister in law is a Hindu and my mother treated her on par , but with more love as she honored us by accepting our family ,we did not ask her to convert ,,this was the beauty of my mother ..she bequeathed us a love that was unique .
I have been shooting Hinduism since the time I first took the camera in my hands and my Hindu friends invite me to their feasts and Devendra and Velu the high priest of Marriammen Temple Juhu Nehru Nagar never forget me and I shoot their rituals I become a Hindu Tamil like them ,, I get repect because I respect them all.
My Tamil friends Shanmugham Sundar invite me t to Madraswadi Worli every year to shoot their Marriammen feast and they treat me like their own brother this can only happen in Mumbai ,,so Uttar Pradesh the beef lynching scares me I mean how polarized are the Hindus Muslims out there shocks me.. its alien to my thought my ethos completely ,
I have shot Sufism I shoot the Ajmer Urus every year and I promote the peace brotherhood as preached by the Holy Saint Khwajah Garib Nawaz a great lover of Imam Hussain..yes Hussain is Humanity ,,
I shoot Christianity Lent Easter Xmas Adoration , Parsi New Year , Jain Michami Dukhadam, all Hindu feasts in our calendar .. and every year I dont miss Pitru Paksha at Banganga Walkeshwar I shoot all feasts barefeet .
I dont commercialize or sell my pictures I use them as Photo Blogs ..tapestry of India..I shot the Maha Kumbh Nasikh Kumbh twice thanks to my Naga Guru Shree Vijay Giri Maharaj Juna Akhara ..
354000 photo blogs at Flickr ,is my tribute to India ,, I shoot garbage too much before Mr Modi gave his Swach Bharat clarion call,. and garbage in Bandra Bazar is here to stay outlive us all.
Its of late I started shooting videos ,,430 videos on You Tube .
About Pitru Paksha
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitru_Paksha
Pitru Paksha (Sanskrit: पितृ पक्ष), also spelt as Pitr paksha or Pitri paksha, (literally "fortnight of the ancestors") is a 16-lunar day period when Hindus pay homage to their ancestors (Pitrs), especially by food offerings. This death rite is known as Shraddha or tarpan and is considered as an inauspicious ceremony. In southern and western India, it falls in the Hindu lunar month of Bhadrapada (September-October), beginning with the full moon day (Purnima) that occurs immediately after Ganesh festival and ending with the new moon day known as Sarvapitri amavasya or Mahalaya amavasya. In North India and Nepal, this period corresponds to the dark fortnight of the month Ashwin, instead of Bhadrapada.[1]
The period is also known as Sola Shraddha ("sixteen shraddhas"), Kanagat, Jitiya, Mahalaya and Apara paksha.[2][3][4]
According to Hindu mythology, the souls of three preceding generations of one's ancestor reside in Pitru-loka, a realm between heaven and earth - governed by Yama, the god of death - who takes the soul of a dying man from earth to Pitru-loka. When a person of the next generation dies, the first generation shifts to heaven and unites with God and are thus not given Shraddha offerings. Thus, only the three generations in Pitru-loka are given Shraddha rites, in which Yama plays a significant role.[5] According to the sacred Hindu epics (Itihasa), at the beginning of Pitru Paksha, the sun enters the zodiac sign Virgo (Kanya) and at this time, it is the believed that the spirits leave Pitru-loka and reside in their descendants' homes a month until the sun enters the next zodiac Scorpio (Vrichchhika) - the next full moon. Hindus are expected to propitiate the ancestors in the first half - the dark fortnight.[3][6]
When the legendary donor Karna died in the epic Mahabharata war, his soul transcended to heaven where he was offered gold and jewels as food, but Karna needed real food to eat in heaven. He asked the lord of heaven, Indra the reason for serving gold as food. Indra said that Karna had donated gold all his life, and never donated food to his ancestors in Shraddha. Karna replied since he was unaware of his ancestors, he never donated anything in their memory. Karna was allowed to return to earth for a 16-day period, when he performed Shraddha and donated food and water in their memory. This period is now known as Pitru Paksha.[7][8]
[edit] Importance
Shraddha by a son in Pitru Paksha is considered a must for the ancestor soul to attain heaven. In this context, the scripture Garuda Purana says "there is no salvation for a man without a son".[5] The scriptures preach that a householder propitiate ancestors (Pitris) along with the gods (devas), ghosts (bhutas) and guests.[2] The scripture Markandeya Purana says if the ancestors are happy with the shraddhas, they will bestow upon the performer health, wealth, knowledge and longevity and ultimately heaven and salvation (moksha).[3]
Shraddha performed on Sarvapitri amavasya can also compensate for a forgotten or neglected annual shraddha ceremony, to be held on death anniversary of the deceased. According to Sharma, the ceremony is central to the concept of lineages. Shraddha involves oblations to three preceding generations, by reciting their names as well as to the mythical lineage ancestor (gotra), thus a person in his life gets to know the names of six generations in his life: three precding generation, his own and two succeeding generations - his sons and grandsons.[2] Usha Menon presents a similar idea: pitru paksha emphasizes the fact that the ancestors and the current generation and their next unborn generation are connected with blood ties. The current generation repays their debt to the ancestors in pitru paksha. This debt is considered of utmost importance along with a person's debt to his gurus and his parents.[9]
[edit] Rules of shraddha
[edit] When and where
Shraddha is performed on the specific lunar day in Pitru Paksha, when the ancestor (usually parents or paternal grandparents) was deceased. There are exceptions to the lunar day rule, special days are allotted for people who died by a particular death or their status before death:[3][5]
* Chautha Bharani and Bharani Panchami - the fourth and fifth lunar day respectively - is allocated for people deceased in the past year.
* Avidhava navami ("Unwidowed ninth") - the ninth lunar day is for married women, who died before their husband. Widowers invite Brahmin women as guests for their wife's shraddha.
* The twelfth lunar day for children and ascetics, who had renounced the worldly pleasures
* Ghata chaturdashi or Ghayala chaturdashi - the fourteenth for people killed by arms, in a war or suffered a violet death
* Sarvapitri amavasya - ("all father's new moon day") is meant for all ancestors, irrespective the lunar day they died. It is the most important day of the Pitru Paksha and those who forgotten to perform shraddha, can do so on this day. The shraddha done on this day is considered as fruitful as one done in the holy city of Gaya.[3]
* Matamaha ("Mother's father") or Dauhitra ("Daughter's son"): It is the first day of the month of Ashwin and beginning of the bright fortnight. It is assigned for shraddha of the maternal grandfather by the grandson.
The ritual is also held on the death anniversary of the ancestor. The shraddha is performed only at noon, usually on bank of a river or lake or at one's own house.[5] Families may also journey pilgrimage places like Varanasi and Gaya to perform Shraddha. Gaya considered sacred to perform shraddhas, holds a fair in Pitru Paksha.[10][3][4]
[edit] Who and for whom
Shraddha has to performed by the son (usually the eldest son) or male relative for paternal section family, limited to preceding three generations, however on Sarvapitri amavasya or matamaha, the daughter's son can offer Shraddha for his maternal side of the family if a male heir is absent in his mother's family.[5][3] Some castes only perform the shraddha for one generation.[3] The male who would perform the rite, should have undergone the sacred thread ceremony. Since the ceremony is considered inauspicious, in the royal family of Kutch, the king or heirs of the throne are prohibited to conduct Shraddha.[5]
[edit] Food
The food offering to the ancestors is usually cooked in silver or copper vessels. It is usaully on a banana leaf or cups made of dried leaves. The food must include rice Kheer - a sweet made of rice and milk, lapsi - a sweet porridge made of wheat grains, rice, dal - lentils and the vegetable of spring bean (guar) and yellow gourd (pumpkin).[5]
[edit] Rites of shraddha
The male who performs the shraddha, should be purified by a bath and is excepted to wear a dhoti. He wears a ring of darbha grass, in which the ancestors are invoked to reside. The shraddha usually is performed bare chested, as the position of the sacred thread worn as the person has to be changed a number of times in the ceremony. The shraddha involves pinda-daan - offering of pindas (cooked rice and barley flour balls mixed with ghee and black sesame seeds) with the release of water from the hand - to the ancestors. It is followed by the worship of gods Vishnu in form of the darbha grass, a gold image or Shaligram stone and Yama. This is followed by offering the food, specially cooked for the ceremony, on the roof. The offering is considered as accepted if a crow arrives and eats the food. The crow is considered a messenger of Yama or the spirit of the ancestors.[3] A cow and a dog is also fed. Brahmin priests are offered food and then after the ancestors (crow) and the Brahmins have eaten, the family members have lunch.[5]
[edit] Mahalaya
Mahalaya marks the formal beginning of the Durga Puja festival
Mahalaya (Bengali: মহালয়া), is the last day of the previous fortnight Pitri Pokkho (Bengali: পিতৃ পক্ষ, ‘Fortnight of the Forefathers’, the day is marked by recitation of Devi Mahatmyam (Chandi Path), and signifies the beginning of Durga Puja festivities. Bengalis traditionally wake up at 4 in the morning on Mahalaya day to listen to Mahisasura Mardini in the enchanting voice of the late Birendra Krishna Bhadra and the late Pankaj Kumar Mullick on All India Radio as they recite hymns from the scriptures from the Devi Mahatmyam or Chandi. [8][11]
[edit] Other practices
Some families also conduct ritual recitals of scriptures like the Bhagavat Purana and the Bhagavad Gita.[5][12] Some families also perform charity in name of the deceased, give gifts to Brahmin priests or pay Brahmins to recite prayers for the ancestor's well-being.[12]
