I Dont Shoot Beggars - Beggars Shoot Me

with their cosmic
eye attached to their
unending eternal
cosmic pain they
mute me silencing
me forever they
loot me of my
feelings my
emotions they
refute me
thunderously
out of the blue
unknowingly
cosmically
shoot me

The Wheel Chair Beggar Of Bandra

I talk less when I shoot more , I have a bad memory and I just cant remember names ..I have shot this person on the wheel chair but never talked to him till date ,, as photographer I simply dont have the killer instincts and I grapple with words when I write prose ..

I never would ask him why he is begging , what forced him to beg, what was that mighty calamity that threw him out on the streets ..who gave him the wheel chair .

Perhaps all this happens  as I shoot hurriedly , I do have beggar friends I have more beggar friends than I have friends ..

I connect with beggars because they know I care for them ,I give I dont scrounge,, so some of the beggars of Bandra Bazar are like family .. Khwajah Baba the senior most beggar in Bandra , was mighty pleased a few days back when Nerjis walked over to him gave him a tenner he kept on blessing her .

And I hardly take her out , ever since this dengue scare happened in Bandra .

So this beggar on the wheel chair near Anjuman Girls school at JJ Colony Bandra is an enigma .. with his bucket he watches the world pass him by .. and why I shot him I dont know I dont stalk beggars .. yesterday  being Friday there were a lot of burkha ladies begging in my lane I did not have my mobile phone or I would have shot them..


And you can be sure I wont ever publish a Coffee Table Beggars Book.. wouldn't want you to spill your coffee all over your shirt front,,for the same reason I will never publish a Hijra Coffee Table book.. I am the only one who shoots the anomalous soul of the Hijra along with his paper thin flesh.

And I began to write as a photographer I see an image and words flow out ,, seeking an outlet a path to your own soul and search..

I Am Often Told By The Sanctimonious Why Dont I Shoot Good Things About India

I do shoot good things too but than you should have good eyes to see them. I dont have that kind of money to visit the tourist spots of India ad I will die without seeing India .

I have yet to see India and I am 61 year old .. there are almost 90 % of the Indian states I have not seen I will go away without seeing them might be my only regret , my income is not from photography .. this is merely a social service and putting my camera to good use. Photography should have a purpose or it is meaningless .

I shoot religious diversity of India mostly in my backyard I shoot rituals culture and I do it to enlighten the world of our unity our oneness .I shoot all religions and sadly beggars are the only ethnic segment connected to all religion..  beggars dont seek God they get money they find God.

All the religious fairs Urus reuire beggars to complete the act of charity , re awaken compassion , and let us be human .. without beggars life of any  religious section wont be the same .

Beggars are irreplaceable ..beggary is big time business too, it has a demand and the supply comes easily as we are a poor nation , farmers who have survived suicide attempts in Maharashtra come down and beg in our great Mumbai city , and those Ministers that became big because of Mumbai fill the coffers of their hilly billy hometowns without caring for Mumbai , they build infrastructure big roads big schools big hospitals only for the rich folks ,, and mostly it is the poor that give to the poor the rich are not bothered by all this .. and Flipkart is not going to give anything to the poor ,, do rich industrialists have time to build free hospitals free schools  sorry they cater to their own rich community .

Beggars are human , beggary has robbed the soul of their self respect..I have seen educated people begging on the streets , there  are school kids who beg at Bandra Reclamation to supplement their familys income .

And this is the story of a beggar ,, it has a beginning but no end ... politicians become beggars during elections only ,, beg beg beg and than kick the bums of those who voted them to power ,, till the next time ,,? and honestly the voter is the biggest chutiya in this political drama ,, that comes on the big screen every 5 years ..Democracy needs to be revisited and revised made new ..cleaning Democracy is a greater nee to save India and a Swach Bharat ..Acche Diin ,,,

In India Begging Begins In The Womb,,,

There is no age restriction for a beggar or a beggars child ,, these are born to beg beggars and I am showcasing the beggars of Mumbai , mostly migrants who come with dreams in their eyes and begging requires no skill .. but as one begs it becomes a skill.

The beggar kids of Mahim Church are very glib , they can talk you out of their money , there are kids who are  good at touch begging I dont need to elaborate these are young pre pubescent girls  and I have shot them too.

Mumbai has a lot of beggars because Mumbai surely has a heart to give for whatever reason.

And Mumbai is an enigma if you are dying on the road nobody will come to your Help,, and we have a callous insensitive Police that considers even the person who Helps a person in a road accident as the main culprit ..you must have knocked him they say .So mostly the Mumbaikar keeps away from all these situations .

Here in Mumbai I have lived since the age of 1 it is a Catch 22 situation ,,you give a lift to a girl she will cry out Rape till you pay her off ,, danger lurks on the streets .

Most of the beggars are police informers too, and most of the beggar kids work as informers for the carjacking Mafia .. that is why you have cars disappearing from the  roads off St Michael Church Mahim.

I have met almost all kinds of beggars as a photographer I have documented them see them closely ,, they are humans living in total degradation ,, the new born baby in this beggar tribe is the main source of income .

The child is hired out , and there is good money , as children get more alms than the adults , the adults in the tribe  gamble drink do drugs and fornicate , there maybe child prostitution too ..as the girls become pregnant and are hidden from public.. once the child is born it is merely a commodity ,,

I documented all this once at the Turner Road Traffic Signal Bandra , this beggar nomadic tribe lived close to my house on a mound near Rang Sharda.

Than they split some girls pose as Hijras clapping their hands and beg at Linking Road , the moment they see me they run , these are kids I know since they were toddlers .

There is love stories among these beggars too , young couple  falling in love at the traffic signal, the parents dont mind provided  there is a child in this arrangement the new born child is the money spinner .. he keeps money coming in.

This lady with her child is from one such beggar tribe I shot her near the infamous Shastri Nagar slums of Bandra abutting the railway tracks .

Eid is a day for beggars to work hard and catch the prospective generous soul and let the money keep coming in .. mostly they get coins as these Muslims are mostly poor too workers and laborers .

So the child that begs early learnt the tricks of the trade in his mothers battered womb.. and he comes out with his hands stretched and the eponymous beggars bowl.

Most Of The Muslim Women Are Forced To Beg By Their Good For Nothing Husbands

I dont think for the Muslim woman begging is a profession of her choice , but I have over the years seen once they start begging than getting them out of the begging syndrome is very difficult ..

I have seen the Muslim woman begging with her children and the cunning husband keeping an eye on her from far and I shot his wife and his children..and because the girl child girl woman is a liability to the overburdened parents they get her married to get rid of her , and she may end up either with an old divorcee or  end up  as a wife of a petty thief , gambler robber , whatever and it could be worse than mere begging..

There are guys who get married and dump the wife in a brothel selling her for a good amount and these are not just  stories but the truth and Muslim society can do nothing about it has too problems of its own the clergy in most cases is busy trying to get hands on properties of the Wakf Board ,, I mean its total chaos and there is no platform for these women to approach , and the greatest curse is the Triple Talaq among the Sunni sect ,,

So shooting beggars is shooting their pain and trying to tell it through a single frame ,,I am not a social activist , photography is a hobby and not my source of income ,, I have begged in Ajmer with the beggars , given what I earned to them and I know the degradation , eating left overs with them , it is sad and demeaning .

Neither am I a story teller but it kills me when a beggar family tells me to find a groom for their comely child , half woman half child giggling at me with her siblings ,, and I am barefeet , a strange beggar in beggar land .

And after the Namaz gets over there is a mad rush to grab the men , women children holding him to get their Eid baksheesh ,, and this lady veiled crying out to Allah to ask his followers to empty their stingy pockets ,, yes most Muslims are stingy but give reluctantly to save their souls during Eid ,,

As A Photographer I Steal The Cosmic Soul Of The Beggars I Shoot

snatching her soul
from the folds of
her veil  her face
deathly pale .her
wretched body frail
her inner screams
her inhuman wails
her god sees her
from afar watches
her in her worldly
jail when the namaz
gets over she will
beg from this bastion
male ..who will rush
home the qurbani to
be done friends to
be regaled - through
the words of my poem
a moment set sails

Nobody is bothered about the fallen Muslim woman a common sight ever Eid after Namaz .. a wall she must scale
the story of a Muslim woman her hope derailed .. to her fate
hung  crucified nailed .

Being a minority unlike the Parsi or the Jain the Muslim woman betrayed slaughter like the goat on a large scale

For The Eminent Photo Journalists Of Mumbai Eid Is A Hug

editorial constrains
says the editor this
is what the public
wants hearts it must
tug.. cute children
hugging each other
on the prayer rug
good strong bear
hug..be sure to get
wild open smiles
on their mugs ,

media photography is half empty half full jug
the poor photo journalist shoots with a shrug
stealing the same old emotion year after year
like an incorrigible thug.. mind minus spark plug
bandra poster boys amused by these shutterbugs
holding each other from drowning smug and snug

When Bandra Station Becomes A Zone Of Peace

as the soul of those
bowed in prayers
from the misery of
worldly woes
seeks release
only god only god
to please faces
touched by breeze
the flesh was willing
the spirit at ease
hope rises along
with those on bent
knees .the road
becomes the house
of god only brotherhood
only love only peace

a billion prayers ..on his dahleez

Shooting Eid Ul Adha Namaz At Bandra Station Road

I showered got dressed and left barefeet to shoot the Bakra Eid Namaz at Bandra Station at  7 am .Last time I shot the Eid Ul Zuha namaz from down below as over the years I had been shooting from the Bandra skywalk..
This time  I thought of using my 55 -250 lens from above the skywalk.

When I reached the skywalk there was just one photographer , he said Hello to me and  he was from Girish Mistrys Shari Academy .. His name was Amit , I told him that I had made Girish Mistrys wedding wardrobe and we shared a great relationship.. I told Amit if the cops hassled him to tell them he was with me as all the Bandra cops know me and I always carry my Press Card.It was Amit who took this shot of the iconoclastic Beggar Poet Of Bandra .

As soon as the Namaz was to end we both came down below , my good friend Satish Malavade was there too..After shooting the namaz the beggars I cut through the Bandra Slaughter House slums and took shots of the Eid Namaz in the slum lane.

Normally I shoot the slaughter of goats bulls etc but this time I have decided to cut own on my blood shots ..I shall make up for it shooting Moharam Ashura in Hyderabad .

This is my new set at Flickr.

About Eid Ul Adha
From Wikipedia
Eid al-Adha (Arabic: عيد الأضحى‎ ʿīd al-aḍḥā [ʕiːd ælˈʔɑdˤħæ] meaning "Festival of the sacrifice"), also called the Feast of the Sacrifice (Turkish: Kurban Bayramı; Bosnian: Kurban Bajram; Persian: عید قربان‎, Eid-e qorban), the "Major Festival",[1] the "Greater Eid", Baqr'Eid (Urdu: بقر عید‎), or Tabaski (West Africa), is the second of two religious holidays celebrated by Muslims worldwide each year. It honors the willingness of Abraham (Ibrahim) to sacrifice his promised son. Ishmael (Ismail)a as an act of submission to God's command, before God then intervened to provide Abraham with a lamb to sacrifice instead.[2] The meat from the sacrificed animal is preferred to be divided into three parts. The family retains one third of the share; another third is given to relatives, friends and neighbors; and the remaining third is given to the poor and needy.

In the lunar-based Islamic calendar, Eid al-Adha falls on the 10th day of Dhu al-Hijjah and lasts for three days.[3] In the international Gregorian calendar, the dates vary from year to year, drifting approximately 11 days earlier each year.

Eid al-Adha is the latter of the two Eid holidays, the former being Eid al-Fitr. The basis for the observance comes from the 196th ayah (verse) of Al-Baqara, the second sura of the Quran.[4] The word "Eid" appears once in Al-Ma'ida, the fifth sura of the Quran, with the meaning "solemn festival".[5]

Like Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha begins with a Sunnah prayer of two rakats followed by a sermon (khutbah). Eid al-Adha celebrations start after the descent of the Hujjaj from Mount Arafat, a hill east of Mecca. Eid sacrifice may take place until sunset on the 13th day of Dhu al-Hijjah.[6] The days of Eid have been singled out in the Hadith as "days of remembrance". The takbir (days) of Tashriq are from the Fajr prayer of the 9th of Dhul Hijjah up to the Asr prayer of the 13th of Dhul Hijjah (5 days and 4 nights). This equals 23 prayers: 5 on the 9th–12th, which equals 20, and 3 on the 13th.[7]

The Arabic term "festival of the sacrifice]", ʿīd al-aḍḥā/ʿīd ul-aḍḥā is borrowed into Indo-Aryan languages such as Hindi, Bengali, and Gujarati, Urdu and Austronesian languages, such as Malay and Indonesian (the last often spelling it as Aidiladha or Iduladha).[citation needed] Another Arabic word for "sacrifice" is Qurbani (Arabic: قربان‎), which is borrowed into Dari Persian and Standard Persian as عید قربان (Eyd-e Ghorbân), or in Urdu as قربانی کی عید (Qorbani ki Eid) Tajik Persian as Иди Қурбон (Idi Qurbon), Kazakh as Құрбан айт (Qurban ayt), Uyghur as Qurban Heyit, and also into various Indo-Aryan languages such as Bengali as কোরবানির ঈদ (Korbanir Eid). Other languages combined the Arabic word qurbān with local terms for "festival", as in Kurdish (Cejna Qurbanê),[8] Pashto (د قربانۍ اختر da Qurbānəi Axtar), Turkish (Kurban Bayramı), Turkmen (Gurban Baýramy), Azeri (Qurban Bayramı), Tatar (Qorban Bäyräme), Albanian (Kurban Bajrami), Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian and Macedonian (Kurban bajram, Курбан бајрам), Russian (Курбан-байрам), Bulgarian (Курбан Байрам), Mandarin Chinese (古尔邦节 Gúěrbāng Jié), and Malaysian and Indonesian (Hari Raya Korban, Qurbani).[citation needed]

Eid al-Kabir, an Arabic term meaning "the Greater Eid" (the "Lesser Eid" being Eid al-Fitr),[9] is used in Yemen, Syria, and North Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt). The term was borrowed directly into French as Aïd el-Kebir. Translations of "Big Eid" or "Greater Eid" are used in Pashto (لوی اختر Loy Axtar), Kashmiri (Baed Eid),Pakistani(Baṛī Īd), Hindustani (Baṛī Īd), Tamil (Peru Nāl, "Great Day") and Malayalam (Bali Perunnal, "Great Day of Sacrifice"). Albanian, on the other hand, uses Bajram(i) i vogël or "the Lesser Eid" (as opposed to Bajram i Madh, the "Greater Eid", for Eid al-Fitr) as an alternative reference to Eid al-Adha.[citation needed] Some names refer to the fact that the holiday occurs after the culmination of the annual Hajj. Such names are used in Malaysian and Indonesian (Hari Raya Haji "Hajj celebration day", Lebaran Haji, Lebaran Kaji), and Tamil (Hajji Peru Nāl).[citation needed] In Urdu- and Hindi-speaking areas, the festival is also called Bakr Īd,[10] stemming from the Hindustani word bakrī, "goat", because of the tradition of sacrificing a goat in South Asia. This term is also borrowed into other languages, such as Tamil Bakr Īd Peru Nāl.[citation needed]

Other local names include Mandarin Chinese 宰牲节 Zǎishēng Jié ("Slaughter-livestock Festival") as well as Tfaska Tamoqqart in the Berber language of Djerba, Tabaski or Tobaski in Wolof,[11][12] Babbar Sallah in Nigerian languages, Pagdiriwang ng Sakripisyo in Filipino and ciida gawraca in Somali.[citation needed] Eid al-Adha has had other names outside the Muslim world. The name is often simply translated into the local language, such as English Feast of the Sacrifice, German Opferfest, Dutch Offerfeest, Romanian Sărbătoarea Sacrificiului, and Hungarian Áldozati ünnep. In Spanish it is known as Fiesta del Cordero ("festival of the lamb").[citation

According to Islamic tradition, approximately four thousand years ago, the valley of Mecca (in present-day Saudi Arabia) was a dry, rocky and uninhabited place. God instructed Abraham to bring Hagar (Hājar), his Arabian (Adnan) wife, and Ishmael, his only child at the time, to Arabia from the land of Canaan.[citation needed]

As Abraham was preparing for his return journey back to Canaan, Hagar asked him, "Did God order you to leave us here? Or are you leaving us here to die." Abraham didn't even look back. He just nodded, afraid that he would be too sad and that he would disobey God. Hagar said, "Then God will not waste us; you can go". Though Abraham had left a large quantity of food and water with Hagar and Ishmael, the supplies quickly ran out, and within a few days the two began to feel the pangs of hunger and dehydration.

Hagar ran up and down between two hills called Al-Safa and Al-Marwah seven times, in her desperate quest for water. Exhausted, she finally collapsed beside her baby Ishmael and prayed to God for deliverance. Miraculously, a spring of water gushed forth from the earth at the feet of baby Ishmael. Other accounts have the angel Gabriel (Jibrail) striking the earth and causing the spring to flow in abundance. With this secure water supply, known as the Zamzam Well, they were not only able to provide for their own needs, but were also able to trade water with passing nomads for food and supplies.

Years later, Abraham was instructed by God to return from Canaan to build a place of worship adjacent to Hagar's well (the Zamzam Well). Abraham and Ishmael constructed a stone and mortar structure – known as the Kaaba – which was to be the gathering place for all who wished to strengthen their faith in God. As the years passed, Ishmael was blessed with prophethood (Nubuwwah) and gave the nomads of the desert his message of submission to God. After many centuries, Mecca became a thriving desert city and a major center for trade, thanks to its reliable water source, the well of Zamzam.

One of the main trials of Abraham's life was to face the command of God to sacrifice his dearest possession, his only son. Upon hearing this command, he prepared to submit to God's will. During this preparation, Satan (Shaitan) tempted Abraham and his family by trying to dissuade them from carrying out God's commandment, and Ibrahim drove Satan away by throwing pebbles at him. In commemoration of their rejection of Satan, stones are thrown at symbolic pillars signifying Satan during the Hajj rites.

When Ishmael was about 13 (Abraham being 99), God decided to test their faith in public. Abraham had a recurring dream, in which God was commanding him to offer up for sacrifice – an unimaginable act – his son, whom God had granted him after many years of deep prayer. Abraham knew that the dreams of the prophets were divinely inspired, and one of the ways in which God communicated with his prophets. When the intent of the dreams became clear to him, Abraham decided to fulfill God's command and offer Ishmael for sacrifice.

Although Abraham was ready to sacrifice his dearest for God's sake, he could not just bring his son to the place of sacrifice without his consent. Ishmael had to be consulted as to whether he was willing to give up his life in fulfillment of God's command. This consultation would be a major test of Ishmael's maturity in faith; love and commitment for God; willingness to obey his father; and readiness to sacrifice his own life for the sake of God.

Abraham presented the matter to his son and asked for his opinion about the dreams of slaughtering him. Ishmael did not show any hesitation or reservation even for a moment. He said, "Father, do what you have been commanded. You will find me, Insha'Allah (God willing), to be very patient." His mature response, his deep insight into the nature of his father’s dreams, his commitment to God, and ultimately his willingness to sacrifice his own life for the sake of God were all unprecedented.

When Abraham attempted to cut Ishmael's throat, he was astonished to see that Ishmael was unharmed and instead, he found a dead ram which was slaughtered. Abraham had passed the test by his willingness to carry out God's command.[1][13]

This is mentioned in the Quran as follows:

100 "O my Lord! Grant me a righteous (son)!"
101 So We gave him the good news of a boy ready to suffer and forbear.
102 Then, when (the son) reached (the age of) (serious) work with him, he said: "O my son! I see in vision that I offer thee in sacrifice: Now see what is thy view!" (The son) said: "O my father! Do as thou art commanded: thou will find me, if Allah so wills one practising Patience and Constancy!"
103 So when they had both submitted their wills (to Allah), and he had laid him prostrate on his forehead (for sacrifice),
104 We called out to him "O Abraham!
105 "Thou hast already fulfilled the vision!" – thus indeed do We reward those who do right.
106 For this was obviously a trial–
107 And We ransomed him with a momentous sacrifice:
108 And We left (this blessing) for him among generations (to come) in later times:
109 "Peace and salutation to Abraham!"
110 Thus indeed do We reward those who do right.
111 For he was one of our believing Servants.
112 And We gave him the good news of Isaac – a prophet – one of the Righteous.

—Quran, sura 37 (As-Saaffat), ayat 100–112[14]
Abraham had shown that his love for God superseded all others: that he would lay down his own life or the lives of those dearest to him in submission to God's command. Muslims commemorate this ultimate act of sacrifice every year during Eid al-Adha.

While Eid al-Adha is always on the same day of the Islamic calendar, the date on the Gregorian calendar varies from year to year since the Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar and the Gregorian calendar is a solar calendar. The lunar calendar is approximately eleven days shorter than the solar calendar. Each year, Eid al-Adha (like other Islamic holidays) falls on one of about 2–4 different Gregorian dates in different parts of the world, because the boundary of crescent visibility is different from the International Date Line.

The following list shows the official dates of Eid al-Adha for Saudi Arabia as announced by the Supreme Judicial Council. Future dates are estimated according to the Umm al-Qura calendar of Saudi Arabia.[22] However, it should be noted that the Umm al-Qura is just a guide for planning purposes and not the absolute determinant or fixer of dates. Confirmations of actual dates by moon sighting are applied to announce the specific dates for both Hajj rituals and the subsequent Eid festival. The three days after the listed date are also part of the festival. The time before the listed date the pilgrims visit the Mount Arafat and descend from it after sunrise of the listed day.

Future dates of Eid al-Adha might face correction 10 days before the festivity, in case of deviant lunar sighting in Saudi Arabia for the start of the month Dhul Hijja. In many countries, the start of any lunar Hijri month varies based on the observation of new moon by local religious authorities, so the exact day of celebration varies by locality.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eid_al-Adha

Happy Eid Mubarak to all my Muslim Friends ..Let there be Peace in the World and Tolerance too.