Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Prologue to Ajmer Urus 2010

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These are pictures I shot before I left for Ajmer and am posting them now , I have always been fascinated with the spirituality of the hijab..its holistic harmony with its surroundings..

And I talk about the hijab indigenous to Muslim society, in India the hijab does not have any such opposition as one finds in Europe .

Hijab stories will never end but Hijab in India is a garment of grace modesty and harmonious dignity.. sartorial serendipity.

As I come from a modern liberal Shia family , the modern liberal applies to me , we have no issue with the hijab..its a option you take to wear it or dont wear it.

My wife my daughter in laws wear it so does my 2 and a half year old grand daughter Marziya.

While coming back from a tiring trip from Ajmer , a bus drive from Ajmer ro Surat followed by another bus trip from Surat to Vasai..I encountered a Hindu girl with the end of her Rajasthani saree used as a veil or Ghungat .

She sat by the window and light filtered in revealing the silhouette of her femininity..I shot several frames ..the boys traveling with her did not know I was shooting her ..

I also shot a Muslim girl at Taragadh a mountain top near Ajmer writing an Arzi a request for a healthy child .., and women of all faith come here as the fruit of the Gondi tree is famous for barren women as the history of this place signifies.

I shot 22 GB all in a few days, the Urus , the Rafaees the Malangs the Kaif which I participated and beggars and the inimitable Hijra queens from all over India.

Babita Naina and Khushi from Mumbai , Kareena , but the most exotic and a very new nubile hijra called Raveena .

I must have shot over 100 pictures of Raveena hijra of Aligarh..now part of Gopal Haji and Babitas hijda gharana.


Madhurima Ma the head of the HIjras of Park Site saw that I was fed and took great care , I call her Ma and she treats me like her own son.. she and her chela Baby..

Kamini was there with a novice nubile hijra called Muskan ..


And it is not a boast but I shoot hijras differently, the hijra beauties I shot are very rare species you will never see in your entire life time.

I shot my two favorite eunuch children Mona and Nandini.


I was given hospitality love kindness by my host Peersab Fakhru Miya Hijra No 6...his children Farid Miya and Qambar Miya.


I met Noubat Ali Baba the head of the rafaees, Damadar Rafaees and Malangs, but I spent a lot of time with the Hijra bawas and I was barefeet through out my stay at Ajmer and Taragadh.. I climbed Taragah barefeet 5 km..a path that is a virtual beggar paradise , open sores wounds and strange deformities of body and spirit.

I was caught in a stampede at the doors of the dargah , I fell down people walked all over me till I was eventually saved by the Khadim and the crowds.
I hurt my hands and legs but my camera was intact.

And reaching Ajmer is nothing short of a miracle..I will show all this like a story board from Dadar railway station to Ajmer .

I shot a lot of stuff from the upper tier of my bus .. sleeping coach from Ajmer to Surat and another bus from Surat to Mumbai for my return journey.

One person who would have liked the spiritual ambiance of this place is Dr Glenn Losack MD.

Marc De Clercq had walked from Delhi to Ajmer with Malangs and Damadar Rafaees.
We spent some time together along with another French photographer Yasser.

I missed my Hijra Guru Laxmi Narayan Tripathi she was caring for her sick father I was told..and everyone missed Laxmi such is the power of her androgynous persona.

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Thursday, June 17, 2010

Bajre Ki Roti

She wrapped it in a newspaper and gave it to me , I had it for lunch with ghee applied and achar..

This is a complete soul satisfying Indian meal, the farmers love it after a hard work on the fields.

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Preparing Bajre Ki Roti the Indian Village Way

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Most of us are foodies and this is a Indian thing that comes with the ancestry of our multifaceted cuisine.


At our house it is food with the Lucknowi touch, though one of my daughter in law being Mumbai born makes exotic cuisine too.

The other being Lucknowi like my wife it is traditional simple food that melts in the mouth much before it is digested .

Our gravy is called salan, though my family prefers Jau ki roti a flat bread that was the staple diet of Imam Ali with soya sag.

We eat a lot of pilav and most of the time biryani ..

We dont eat beef at all.

Fish is my poison .

Our dals are the best , with home made chapatis ..

Vegetables form the most important aspect of our breakfast.

Dinner is very light , the rawa sweet dish, kheer is also made at home though wife and I are diabetic we have it too.

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Barish Ki Bauchar Aur Bajre Ki Roti

The rains and the delightful fun of having millet flour flat bread.

Colloquially called bajre ki roti..and this was being prepared on the safe corner away from the rains on the streets.

When I began taking the pictures the lady who was drenched and making this asked to take the roti and have it at home.

I bought it home applied pure ghee and had it with achar, pickle it is a very tasty mango pickle home made bought by mother in law from Lucknow.


This stove is a make shit one made with bricks and useless wood is used for the fire.

Most of the food is cooked on this though the family has a gas stove too in the house.


And I dedicate this to my good Facebook friend Sudershan Pandey.. who always inundates me with comments and appreciates all of Marziya s pictures.

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Wild Orchids in Bloom

a few feet
away from doom
fruit of the loom
wild orchids
in bloom
from the cradle
to the tomb
passing cars
deathly fume
passion pathos
pedestrian gloom
varoom

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A Thought Rings a Bell

Benn Bell

At Turner Road
I did see
Such terrible poverty
To break my heart
And sadden my soul...
From Turner Road
I did Flee.

till i saw from
the corner of my eye
a tear on a beggars cheek
reflecting remorse
as eternity
caught in a
spiders web
from the womb
sold into slavery
they were adults
children
they will never be
on their fate
with a few coins
the rich man pees
what remains
their karma tease
they came begged
blown away by the breeze

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Jab We Met


Jab We Met, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

God gives pictures even where no pictures exist .God loves photographers but is more overtly fascinated with photo bloggers , because the photoblogger shoots the soul of a moment lost in space , while the photographer shoots the top layer and moves away...

The photoblogger will go on shooting till his camera pleads to him to please Stop.

The photographer shoot pictures through the viewfinder the photo blogger sees the picture before it becomes a picture to be shot.

I say all this in humility without arrogance and yes a blogger is self obsessed why should he not be he does not need to take the six inches of the photo editor every time he wants to have his picture published.

A blogger publishes his pictures on the soul of humanity..

Yes Jab We Met the blogger is as much a beggar with his camera akin to a beggar bowl searching for alms in the name of pictures.

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