Street Photography Is Not What You Shoot It Is What You See .. Cosmically

Its been 3 months since I accidentally came to Tapovan Nasikh Kumbh.. from Trimbakeshwar where I was staying with my Naga Guru Shree Vijay Giri Triveni Juna Akhara ,, I was  about 6 km away from the main Trimbakeshwar town and was sick and tired shooting people sadhus where I lived ,, so early morning before the  29 August Shahi Snan I took permission from my Naga Guru and left for Nasikh Ramkund and than Tapovan.. barefeet ,,

I could have gone on shooting Tapovan but I had to return to Trimbakeshwar before the roads are blocked .. and could not imagine walking miles back to my Gurus tent .

I tried very hard to get back to Nasikh Kumbh but it never materialized , my business was down , and lots of work problems ,,, but now in retrospection I think I have yet to get over the Allahabad Maha Kumbh 2013.. I miss it till day ,,

Nasikh can never be Allahabad ,, just not possible ,, and the Ganga Jamuna Saraswati.. Sangam.. Secto4  of the Naga Sadhus Juna Akhara ,, I lived at Sector 5 .

I have restricted the Maha Kumbh set from public view only Flickr members can see it because of the Naga Sadhu frontal nudity ,,

Even in terms of street photography there was an untapped landscape of people to shoot at the Maha Kumbh.


I have never been to the Ujjain Kumbh so I dont know much about it ,,

Video Street Photography

I did not know how to shoot a video..and in the early years I would request close friends to shoot Marziyas videos ,, she was a great kid ..I wanted to document her growth as an intuitive child and as a young street photographer but I could manage just one video of her toddler days , and it hurts terribly she is 7 now ,,hardly any videos of Nerjis .. save the one stitched together by Assad Dadan of all three Marziya Nerjis an Zinnia my 3 granddaughters .

After coming back from Hyderabad I began shooting videos earnestly on Motorola G , I than shot videos on my next phone Xiaomi but the videos became temporary files I was given a defective Xiaomi by Flipkart , I blasted them with my tweets they replaced it with a new Xiaomi , their technician checked the phone it was defective too they refunded the amount , my son gave me a Lenovo ,, and finally a Windows phone Lumia another bad phone from Flipkart , my son bought it for 10 K and sold it to a friend for 4 K..

Finally after exchanging 2 old Motorola G s first generation and son added 15 K I got the HTC Desire 826 , so most of my videos are shot on the HTC...

I still dont know how to edit stitch videos , so I shoot raw stock footage as is where is ..so far I have shot 525 videos ,, only 4 or 5 videos were not shot by me ,my oldest ones Moharam related .

The rest 510 are shot by me , in about 3 or 4 months ..

I hardly take my camera out unless I am specifically shooting a feast or an event ,, otherwise both my cameras are locked up in a lit up cupboard ..I shoot with my mobile phone ,, impulsively ,, if I am near Bandra Talao I shoot the ear cleaners passionately I become the model and the videographer using Selfie mode..

I have just come home shooting a few videos of Nabi Bhai Ear Doctor Wax remover ,,but I am evolving funny thing to say at 63 ,, I shot the streets with my mobile phone now I video shoot my street subjects , some I talk interview very casually without any script ,, and I am enjoying it I use my mind imagination.. for the first time I gave a commentary on the ear cleaner while I shot him cleaning the ears I put my views my thoughts and though I have disabled comments on my You Tube videos I have left one open. I dont want to be trolled with sick peoples views . I did not shoot for them I did not borrow their camera , I used my camera and my fucked vision.. period ,,

You dont like it too bad move on.. you are not my target audience I dont pimp my videos pictures by tagging you I dont post my shit on your commode of a timeline ,,

I use moderation before I upload before I Shoot .. my pictures are uploaded at Flickr videos at You Tube , sometimes I blog directly at Facebook like this one it will be copied to Flickr Blogspot and a Tweet ,, I dont use Ello anymore ,, I got over the initial euphoria basically Ello is for Facebook rejects , and GIF obsessed nerds ,, I am out ,, it was good for sometime ,,

Well back to my street video shooting I shoot videos on my Canon 60 D I have not yet shot videos on my Canon 7 D ,,,

And I am learning by trial error I dont watch videos on how to shoot videos I simply shoot ,, everyday to hone my skill I shoot garbage I have shot over 75 garbage videos ,, I shoot playlists ,, of diverse subjects ,,

I shoot impulsively ,, for fuck sake ,, there is no method to my madness ,, I shoot with my eye and I spot a video to be shot much before I shoot it , and my channel is growing .. but I am yet to earn any money and I have vowed by sweet Jesus and Jheovah if I do make money I will pay the school fees of the girls staying in the slums ,,,studying in Municipal schools NO I will not give a penny to a Madrsa ,, I think Madrsas are only meant to create Mullahs ,, and nothing else , yes I am biased opinionated and I am happy I think differently and convent school s if a poor child can afford it is million times better than a regressive Madrsa or the regressive Municipal school..

So what I shot today as video has also changed me I now see things objects situations cinematically more clearly and more cosmically ,and though I am an intgral part of Bollywood I dont watch films Indi Hindi English at all I film the streets I dont see TV at all ,,this is my penance and I took it at the Pushkar Mandir ,, along with walking barefeet as much as I can...in 2005 ,, I think .and only Lord Brahma is aware of it ,, I meet him once a year..during my visit to the Great Sultan of Sufism Khwajah Garib Nawaz of Ajmer Sharif.

I only saw the clip of the film I acted in but not the entire film.. so I am what I am but not a fucked positive Spam...Phata Poster Nikla Zero.. Feroz

Sadhus Are Cosmically Connected To The Poetry Of My Soul

This was shot at Bandra Hill Road and we kept meeting at the Bazar Road close to my house , he begged  but always had a smile on his face ,,unlike a few who curse and grumble if you dont pay them ,, this Sadhu was pleasant and cordial, he touched my head blessing me when I gave him money ,,and mostly I am in a hurry so I hardly ever chatted with him , but he guessed we both lived in a mystical world away from buses rickshahs the urban chaos the high decibel honking,, at this corner near Globus .

And I never compose my pictures I just shoot mostly with my mobile phone , and I stopped carrying my camera on the streets unless it is a specific religious feast or event ,

There used to be a malang from Bandra , I was very close to him , he recited Sanskrit sholkas when he entered a Hindu shop for alms and Arabic sura when he  entered  a Muslim shop , I always shot him on Eid ,, and than he disappeared last I shot him in 2011 I think..we are travelers we met at this cosmic tavern and than move on.. to the next tavern..

Now the Nasik Kumbh is over but I did not experience the spiritual bliss that I felt at the Maha Kumbh in Allahabad ,, this is my personal feeling I guess I missed the North India winter chill .. the ambiance ethos of Hope And Hindutva that touched me intensely ,,

There Is No Doubt In My Mind That You Shoot Better Pictures Than Me

you see through the eye
of your camera all things
filled with joy beauty your
visions pride neighbors envy
i shoot open gutters over
flowing garbage remorse
pain disparity somebody
has to shoot lepers beggars
you see they are part of a
lesser god doing their duty
i shoot abandoned moments
abandoned memories i freeze
while you only talk about stray
dogs swach bharat and trees
on the soul of my camera
consciousness aided by shivas
third eye ,,,my feelings for the
downtrodden marginalized
wont ever cease ..as a hobbyist
a beggar poet through stories
within pictures i get my release

You Should Be Able To See A Picture Before You Shoot It

The Blind Flute Beggar Begs To Keep The Music Of His Soul Alive

I had to shoot him , he would play a tune walk with the help of his stick and hope someone blessed him with alms , his world pitch black  his hopes dark his dreams might be light in the tunnel of grim and despondency ,, I again wanted to hold him back after giving him money make him sit with me talk to him video shoot him..I dont see films I shoot life as film.. first it was stills now moving pictures and pictures or stories are meaningless if they dont move you.. you need to be a poet from within to be a good photographer either you shoot pictures to massage your ego or your seek nirvana from the people you shoot ,,

I taught my grandchildren photography with a blindfold ,, made them shot darkness and they lit the darkness with color of their surroundings ,, the most important part of photography is how you hold your camera and I dont mean physically I mean how the camera holds you .. I sometimes gave my camera to a beggar and when he held my camera there was excitement on his face and I told him to press the trigger there by capturing eternity in a single frame ,..

I shot three frames of this blind beggar without being intimidated by the Miya public around me ,, most of the folks know me ,, thanks to the cameo I did in a film as a photographer ,, and now I carry the role more effectively in real life than I did in reel life ,,

This lot of pictures I had left in abeyance I shot them before I left for the Kumbh and uploaded them after I completed my Kumbh documentary at Flickr ,,,

International Womans Day 2015 Shot By Nerjis Asif Shakir 3 Year Old

This was shot by Nerjis late in the afternoon and this beggar lady was lying alone outside a closed shop.. and will her life ever change ,people will give her a few coins move on.. what is her story we will never know ..and while a 3 year old girl shoots her as her contribution to the nameless woman on International Womans Day.

The Pied Piper Of Kolkatta ..

I had been to Kolkatta as a young teenager on my way to Darjeeling many years back and this was the second time in  I had come to shoot Moharam Ashura .

I really did not know much about street photography it was my dear friend Late Fred Miller who instilled thoughts about this powerful genre in photography and made me use this tag on my street pictures .. now over 55726 perhaps more as my culture ritual sets are street photography too..

And why I shot this I dont know I just shot pictures impulsively on film.

And now revisiting my old pictures experimenting with them through Aviary I draw a new inference of thought and dimension,,

Advocate Ashish Shelar Promises To Heal Bandra ..

I told Advocate  Ashish Shelar that if he wins and if his party comes to power he must give some attention to Bandra Bazar Road , the slums , stop more from proliferating and more open spaces a good community affordable swimming pool for the Bandra youth , a vocational guidance center for the poor and backward classes ..

And I made my way to cast my Vote I decided it was wasting my Vote by using NOTA .. I decided to use my heart my soul and Vote wisely..

The Maharshtrian Manoos Begs For A Living ,, No Political Party Has Done Anything For Them

The Lazy Confused Am Admi Of Bandra ,, Is Dreaming Of Acche Din

who to vote
congress
bjp or
independent
candidate
he confusedly
wonders as
his sterile
mind revolves
away from his
garrulous nagging
wifes rolling pin
she got fucked
tired threw him
out  locked the
doors she wont let
him in ..twice before
in his drunkenness
he had broken her
nagging nose her
crooked chin .
while he was
asleep she poked
his balls with a
safety pin
deflating his
languishing libido
his parts made of tin
he was a sad case
he could neither
get it up or let it
go in ,,i am talking
about his dreamy
 desires accelerate
but the engine
would just not start
cursing cussing
where to begin
the pain pathos
of our man Flynn

After The Eid Namaz Ends ..

she stands in a corner
covering her pain in a
hijab eid mubarak from
the beggars of bandra
to the ummah a message
she sends sepia toned
her back all bent her
frail body living in a tent
my poetic praise on
muslim beggars on
the soul of your miya
integrity should not
cause a dent with
malice to none
no evil intent
begging away
eid after eid
ladies and gent
moments of
morbidity
ah how my
life was spent
shooting pain on
a very happy day
my only lament

This Was Shot On The First Day Of Ramzan 2011

I was bringing Marziya Shakir my grand daughter from her playschool , and these were tutorials , exposing her to street pain , she had inculcated the love of dogs , cats , goats as a 9 month old , but this was a serious level..the very poor downtrodden Muslim souls on the streets , faces covered with the hijab thereby saving the ignominy of being recognized as a beggar .

Most of these Muslim mother child came from far flung suburbs like Mumbra and strange even those days I never talked to them just  documented their life , gave them money or rather made Marziya hand over my money to them.

Marziya used to feed beggars on her birthday before this so she was aware of their life style..and these are all part of my Ramzan blogs from 2007 till 2014.

Now Marziya and I hardly go out , but I am sure she will remember all this and all this has given her a tender heart , she is sensitive to pain and feels it now.


So street photography in many ways became her text book at an early age , a camera is not a bag of heavy books on the already bent back of a child ,,I always felt if you taught a child photography even with a point and shoot camera  took her for an excursion she would learn much faster.

When Will Good Days Come ..

for the poor
the homeless
the hopeless
children in
your kingdom
children of a
lesser god
the future
withdrawn
but a smile
on their face
aache din
kab ayenge
they hum
badhai ho
badhai ho
they clap
their hands
mouths
without
chewing
gum
back to
begging
after i
took this
 shot
poeticizing
a pain
that made
my vision
numb..
in the beginning
before we opened
our eyes we were
all born dumb
intelligence ruined
 us forever look
what we have
become .
empty noise
from a drum
a distant
dream
seems
unwholesome
from the fire
into a frying pan
burnt out
before good
 times come

#WakeUpAkhilesh

courtesy

Sir Ravindra Jadeja ‏@SirJadeja  Jun 2

Every country makes mistake
Pakistan Made LeT.
Afghanistan made Taliban.
And we made the Samajwadi Party.Time to correct it.#WakeUpAkhilesh

The Children of The Street

vulnerable
fragile
a face
that has
yet not
learnt to
smile
born
to be
defiled
the birth
of a girl
a curse
looked down
upon reviled

a moment lost
in agony i
shot on my
mobile..

her eyes haunting
my soul captivating
my imagination
as i politicized
this beggar childs
profile ..i almost
saved her from
the jaws of a
human crocodile

she was being lured by a drunkard
i took his picture and he fled from her ..
he was offering her rs 10.. and asking her
change ..
i fired him ..but this is  mumbai where her
own parents living on the road near the jari mari temple bandra force her

Waiting For Hope On The Sidewalk

she sits silently
gestures with
her eyes
her eyes talk.
.people see
her walk..hearts
made of rock..
a few give her
some coins ,,,
her doomed
destiny all
doors locked

this is the fate of a
neglected muslim mother
you should not at all
be shocked ..she begs
round the clock

Her Husband Used To Drop Her At Bandra Hill Road To Beg..

This is what I was told by the caretaker of the Parsi Temple , and it was a very sad sight .And some time Muslim women  uneducated illiterate are married of early without their parents checking on the grooms antecedents and the next thing you know she has been married off to a lout..or an older man  as second wife ..

There are are so many cases and society just watches from afar ,,spreading Islam ins more important than removing the impediments that are bane of society..


And so I shoot the plight of Muslim beggars to bring their existence on the streets to the fore..

we are all just prisoners here, of our own device’

We are programmed to receive.
You can checkout any time you like,
But you can never leave!

What is the Future Of A Muslim Beggar Kid

I shot a picture , I did not squat focus I just shot the expanse and the beggar mother and her child I gave them money but I took several shots , because I saw something very powerful in the kids eyes, and though I ask myself what is the future of the Muslim beggar child ..I am certain this kid will rise one day go places see his body language he is protecting his mother from my camera evil eye ,, the eye that  steals souls ..

This is the eponymous Bandra Bazar Road , it extends beyond till JJ Colony though it touches the Jain Mandir ahead and becomes Jain Mandir Road when it exits out towards Bandra Hill Road , and if you move towards the back of my camera it passes Ram Mandir and the Shia Mehfil and reaches Pahelvi Hotel one arm goes towards the Bandra Bazar Market and one arm touches St Peter Road Waroda Road Chapel Road.. from Pahelvi one bylane goes to Boran Road touches Bandra Hill Road.

From Pahelvi if you take a right you enter De Monte Street a further ahead Chinchpokli Street and touching Jain Mandir Road beyond this Haji Nura Lane Lucky Hotel and out to Bandra SV Road and you cross it you reach Bandra Station , you can take the haunted skywalk too.

Why have I described these lanes , these are the lanes that are the hunting grounds of the various beggars that come to Bandra to beg..

And this area is home to East Indians the original inhabitants now a dwindling number overtaken by the Muslims, Bohras Maharashtrians, Marwaris,  Gujratis and other communities some Sikh some Parsis ..the people are humble generous and kind towards the beggars and that is why beggars come to Bandra Bazar Road , alms are guaranteed.

And today 75,936 peoplehave visited my Flickrblogs till now ,,I am a blogger but I shoot pictures that become photoblogs ,, stories depressing tale of life defeat and fall of a certain segment of humanity .

There are beggars among Hindus too but I have showcased the pain pathos of the Muslim Beggar neglected both by the Muslim community and society at large.

I shoot beggars per se ..but the veiled lady covering her mortal wounds is the subject of my choice ,I can write a poem too but than every pictures does not fit in as poetry though I call this path I have chosen to document as the poetry of Life .

I use Aviary for robbing the details of my original color pictures ,I use harsh contrast I add lots of black for that is the color of their doomed lives .

I dont use selective focusing I shoot wide. will camera clubs ever invite a person like me to talk on Beggar Photography , it would be an insult humiliation of their Fine Art status , camera club denizens only shoot with their camera they shoot what others shot , they shoot what others will shoot .. as a blogger I can smash my camera and still shoot pictures by uploading a black image and fitting texts to match..

This is the lane I walk and its been a few years after I shot this image but I never saw this mother and her child instead a Muslim beggar sits there silently with a skull cap on his head and nicely dressed .he does not talk at all.

So this is the beggar child his eyes inspired me to add text and highlight his future .. wherever he is I pray and wish him well.. he is far braver than me and you .. he protects his mother ... I failed my mother in more ways than one .. but I remember her ,no denying , I was in Muscat I used to send Rs 1000 to my mother every month and Rs 200 to my wife in the early 80s simply because my mother cared for seven of us including my
wife and a kid at that time.