The Bar Dancer Hijra On The Run

The Bar Dancer Hijra On The Run, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

100,721 items / 625,551 views

to safeguard the city
from terrorists
the bar dancers
were booted out
never to ever return
the bar dancer hijra on the run
her curse the ministers
life did upturn
26/11
while the city burnt
a lesson hardly learnt
he deserved what he earned
the hijra dancer spurned
a macabre conspiracy
of hate by those
who govern
sodomizing their lives
turn by turn
a deaf and mute society
unconcerned
case is adjourned


REKHA, 23, used to dance at Thane's Valentina Bar before the authorities closed down dance bars and put her out of business.

But a new Bollywood film has raised hopes for her and others from Mumbai's famous dance bars, of a possible career in cinema for which several have been cast.

In August, authorities of Maharashtra state, of which Mumbai is the capital, closed down the dance bars, saying they corrupt young men and breed crime and prostitution in India's financial and entertainment hub.

PROSTITUTION

After the ban, many dancers went away to other states to find work while many more reportedly became prostitutes and thousands of others were left jobless.

'The state's decision has hit us hard,' Rekha told the Indian Express. 'Even those of us who were not into prostitution earlier have got into it - we just don't have a choice.'

Rekha's take-home pay is now a mere 200 rupees ($7.40) a day - a far cry form the 2,000 to 5,000 rupees she used to earn as a bar dancer.

But as a first step into the magic world of cinema, she doesn't feel she's done too badly.

Dozens like her have found work in the film Deepa Ki Tarannum, or Deepa's Music, that tells the story of a bar dancer's brush with crime, money and misery.

'We decided to take in some 30 bar dancers because we thought they could best portray their lives,' said Mr Ranjeet Sharma, the film's producer.

The lead role in the film, scheduled for a May release, is being played by Preeti Jain, a Bollywood newcomer who hit the headlines last year for allegedly hiring a hitman to kill a filmmaker.

'I'm excited (about the role) and I find it challenging,' Preeti said. The male lead is played by Hyder Khan, the younger brother of Bollywood heartthrob Aamir Khan.

Bar dancers said they think the film could open a new employment avenue for them.

'Since the ban, bar dancers have looked at Bollywood for work as junior artists. Looks like that option is opening up,' said Ms Varsha Kale, spokesman of the Bar Girls' Association.

'More filmmakers are also hiring bar dancers for roles in their films. This is because bar dancers are ready performers.'

Mr Sharma, from 3's Company, told the Indian Express he's planning another film with former bar dancers getting parts to play.

'I just approached these girls who were in distress and thought it would be better to take them into my story rather than do any research,' he said.

'They'll be able to reflect their life better on celluloid than any actress.'

- (Reuters)


www.despardes.com/lifestyle/2006/20060112-bar-dancers.htm

dedicated to akbar simonese
monsoon lover aka sudip da

The Shia Pandit and Gopal The Naga Sadhu

The Shia Pandit and Gopal The Naga Sadhu, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

to
peace in a pod
yogic ling kriya
using a rod
gopal naga sadhu
at home with
shiva his lord

the shia pandit
cuts open his head
with a sword
a protest
against
a spiritual terrorism
on the sands of karbala
the ensuing yazidi fraud
he gave his head
but not his hand
as the eunuchs
led by shmr
watched
open jawed

i want to go to
hindustan
said the shah
where hope
humanity
hospitality
is not outlawed
where mankind
is equivalent
to children of god
ridding evil
ignorance
injustice
the only
rightful jihad

Monalicious

Monalicious, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

monalicious
strikingly cruel
very vicious
an uncooked dish
very delicious
its in the deep
end of life's river
she fishes
for a good
husband
love peace hope harmony
to an unspeakable god
she wishes
sometimes a man
sometimes a woman
her dual identity she switches
in a competitive world of the hijra
her worldly assets she pitches
when he holds her
tenderly in her hands
its worth all the riches
but cruel fate
he picks up another
in the gutter her favors
he ditches
a hijra frailty
among hijra bitches.
a garden of doom
a cauldron of witches

Happy Birthday Maheshwariji

Happy Birthday Maheshwariji, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

100,720 items / 622,124 views

Beneath your Lotus Feet
Lies this photographers
poetic destiny..
what was hidden
you made him see
footprints
on the sands of time
as pictures
for posterity
unlocking a world
without a key
a holistic science
that touches and heals
we call it photography

Will The Hijra Ever Be Free ?

Will The Hijra Ever Be Free ?, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

100,719 items / 621,953 views

gagged forever
bound to a
hate filled
discriminating
gender biased
society
will the hijra
ever be free ?
stigmatized
cursed
forever
by her
androgynous
ancestry
to be or not to be
a man with a soul
of a woman
a woman he cannot be
neither this nor that
his karmic destiny
an optical illusion of fate
he is not what you see
a mystical apparition
human and ghostly
enslaved
manacled
broken winged creature
from the burning fame
he cannot flee
a dance of doomed death
choreographing pain
involuntarily

An Ode To Jumbo Rani

An Ode To Jumbo Rani, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

100,718 items / 621,343 views

I met Jumbo Rani a very famous Hijra at Haji Malang Urus , many years back, my first trip to Haji Malang and this trip had nothing to do with hijras at all, those days I was into Rafaees body piercing sect of Sufi mendicants known as Chancawalli Rafaees..
I had climbed the Haji Malang mountains to connect with late Sikandar Wali Baba the than head of the Chancwalli Rafaees..

I met Jumbo Rani and we became good friends it was here that I met Laxmi Narayan Tripathi , we were reconnecting after a short sojourn in Bollywood..I knew Laxmi when she wore trousers and shirts and here she was transformed into a Diva..we hugged each other and the Rafaees who thought I was a celibate and a mendicant almost dropped their jaws..

Haji Malang soon became a part of my annual spiritual quest, I tried not to miss it , it soon began to grow on me..and Jumbo Rani and I grew close , I understanding her pain her androgynous despair and solicitude ..and so many years I never exchanged her number or her address .. we meet at Haji Malang..year after year..and she guards me protects me from those hijras who hate photographers dressed like me, they think I am a tantric and will capture their souls in my camera..

Jumbo Rani
is unique
some consider
her a freak
calling
her Jay Lolita
tongue and cheek
love the language
she speaks
a peaceful alcove
near the
Holy Shrine
of Haji Malang
she seeks
her religion
humanity
eloquence
at its peak
blessed are the hijras
meekest of the meek
the spirit was willing
the flesh was weak
hopes choked
on a river creek

The Hijra With The Pouted Lips

The Hijra With The Pouted Lips, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

100,716 items / 620,561 views

poignant pathos
a heart beat skips
pendulous movements
of her hips
the hijra with the
pouted lips
her inner pain
in a micro chip
her elusive hopes
as they rise and dip
feminine fragility
held to a hair clip
layer after layer
her clothes
they will strip
a libidinous lechery
they will unzip
a record in motion
they will flip
holding her
in a snake like grip
passionate lashings
of a whip
the hijra
her life of sexual hardship
embedded in the soul
of a filmstrip
man to man
a dichotomous courtship
an androgynous amorphous
strange kinship
round and round
a one way trip
the hijra playing to
the gallery
without a script