The Leopold Cafe is a large and popular restaurant and bar[1] on Colaba Causeway, in the Fort area of Mumbai, India, located across from the Colaba Police station.[2][3]
It was one of the first sites attacked during the November 2008 Mumbai attacks.[4] The cafe was mentioned extensively in the novel Shantaram.[5]
Founded in 1871 by Iranis, it first started out as a wholesale oil store, and over the years has variously been a restaurant and store, and restaurant and pharmacy.[1][6] Today it is a multi-cuisine restaurant with a bar on the first level, and serves cuisines like, Indian, Western, Chinese, South American, etc., and beer and alcohol.[7]
[edit] November 2008 terror attacks
The cafe was an early site of gunfire and grenade explosions during the 2008 Mumbai attacks by terrorists. The restaurant was extensively damaged during the attacks. Gunmen sprayed the restaurant with bullets and there were blood stains on the floor and shoes left by fleeing customers.[8] Sourav Mishra, a Reuters reporter and one of the first witnesses of the attack to the world suffered severe bullet injuries. .[9] The cafe reopened four days after the attack,[10] but was reclosed by the police as a safety measure after 2 hours because of the unexpected size of crowds gathering there.[11] Regular business resumed the next day.
from wikipeda
Friday, April 23, 2010
Cafe Leopold Colaba
Yes She Is a Figment of My Mind
a figure
a form
ethereal
kind
yes
she
is
a figment
of my mind
she is there
in a frame
far behind
history
running
through
her veins
she
loves
mankind
our paths
crossed
that the lord
divined
two rivers
of life
crisscross
combined
when i close
my eyes
in the corridor
of my consciousness
her silhouette
i find
as reflected
remorse
a pain
outlined
Laurent Salesse And Me At Cafe Leopold
This is my new set at Flickr , it is a day spent in the company of my dear photo journalist friend from France Laurent Salesse.
We had met in 2007 during Ashura in Lucknow , I had scourged my back the night before so the wounds being deep had only worn a scarf , and Salesse shot my back and my mother in laws house Imambada too.
I was fasting and Laurent too walked with me from Nakhas up to Talkatore ki Karbala , than he disappeared in the crowds , we never met after that till he arrived in Mumbai on Sunday and invited me to Cafe Leopold .
From Cafe Leopold I walked with him through Colaba Causeway to my mothers house at Strand Cinema , Laurent and I chatted for a long time.. but would not eat anything at all.
later my brother Firdaus dropped him at his hotel and I took a train back from Churchgate to Bandra.
Laurent has shot Pakistan extensively, Amarnath Yatra, and Kailash Mansrovar..He wanted me too accompany him to Koovagam , but I politely refused , though he spoke to my transgender friend Kalki Subramaniam.
She Is A Figment of My Mind
an arrow
hit my chest
my soul
it did pierce
blood splattered
over my
consciousness
no end
to my tears
she is a figment
of my mind
my fate
interlinked
to sorrow
i fear
from
a torturous path
of her thoughts
accidentally
i endeared
an arrow
that now
appears
like a bleeding
spear
says my
poetic instinct
from the unknown zone
of her speechlessness
cosmic poet stay clear
sounds like ripples
acoustically accusing
her ears
she is deaf
mute but
not dumb
her hypnotic
heartbeats
she overhears
These Are Sharp Shooters Of The Press
each one
shooting fame
grandeur glory
seconds of sweet
success
yes also
being shot
by a photo blogger
in a crazy dress
who shoots
beggars
hijras
slum life
street life
dreamless
in distress
raw emotions
in a mess
through
poetry
as pictures
their pain
he tries
to express
at flickr
Facebook
Twitter
Blogspot
Google buzz
Word press
life's barrenness
nothing else
to impress
just
bitterness
more or less
life is a game
of chess
knocking
at her door
she gave me
a wrong address
she is a figment
of my mind
nevertheless
a cybernetic chimera
i can neither
touch or caress
Shooting Fame and Fortune
time
is money
opportune
to life
on the streets
to beggars
to pain
they are
immune
totally
out of tune
so god
created
a photo blogger
out of a cocoon
let the media shoot
fame and fortune
stings as extra
additional boon
media power
more powerful
than that of a goon
making a mountains
from a sand dune
the dark side
of the moon
extortion and lampoon
hero no 1
of a cricket
now a mocking cartoon
The Mumbai Media Never Tires
walking
head over heels
on live wires
this is media barons
money making
power generating
empire
blood sucking
sting biting
vampire
turns truth
into lies
lies into truth
where there
is no smoke
media lights
a bonfire
many a film
they inspire
put the heat on
any one
they desire
raise anyone
to the top
they admire
breaking news
like non stop
gunfire
shooting them
from the back
a blogger
in a crazy
attire
watching
them
shooting
aditya raj kappor
jackie shroff
flash bulbs
going
haywire
between
media
blogosphere
a no mans land
barbed wire
the mumbai media never tires
a shelf life that never expires
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Shah-e-Mardan Sher-e-Yazdan Quwat-e-Parwardigar Lafata Ila Ali La Saif Ila Zulfiqar , originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1 ....
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Dargah of Hazrat Syed Ali Mira Datar Unava Gujrat , a photo by firoze shakir photographerno1 on Flickr. HAZRAT SYED ALI MIRA DATAR'S G...
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Phir Saal bhar ke baad Gam-e- Shah Ayega, Zinda jo Rahega wohi ye Gam Manayega , originally uploaded by firoze shakir pho...
