Kashmiri Beggar

He approached me at Waroda road  Bandra, asking me to help him , he was in bad shape , and he told me he was a migrant from Kashmir had lost everything in the floods.

I gave him some money, but I felt sad for him and others like him I have been shooting beggars from Kashmir , I shot them with their families begging from home to home , standing outside the Shia mosque ..begging at the bazar .. appealing for ration food , clothes ..most of these migrants I am told take shelter in makeshift tents near the Bandra pipeline .

They are dressed neat , and they do the rounds of the city ..during the Urus of Holy Saint Makhdhoom Shah Baba Mahim you will find their women begging in large numbers at Dargah lane .

Last year I saw a lot of them begging at Talkatora Karbala Lucknow  invoking the Martyrs of Karbala pleading wailing for alms as they said they had lost everything in the floods in Kashmir.

I have met them begging in Hyderabad too..thousands of miles away from the Valley ..in midst of urban chaos ..they hardly get jobs as the public does not trust them.. a few were employed as security at the Shia cemetery in Mumbai Mazgaon  but I never saw them again.

Most of the Kashmiri migrants come to beg in large numbers in Mumbai during Ramzan and Eid Ul Adha ..

Has the Kashmiri governments tried to find out what ails the poorest of poor Kashmiri.. I  mean its a problem they should solve ,,why is help not reaching these people or are these people lazy dont want to work just beg.. I have never talked to them..but I feel sorry as these guys are physically fit and force their young wives daughters and little kids to beg with them too..what is the real truth I dont know .

My set here at Flickr is called Kashmiri beggars ..

Motormouth actors on Twitter should Be Banned

Dindi Procession Ashadhi Ekadashi Bandra Reclamation

Ashadhi Ekadashi is more of a religious procession festival and is celebrated during the months of June- July (Aashaadh Shukla paksha). People consider the two eleventh days, "Ekadashi", of every month to be of special importance. But the eleventh day (bright) of Ashadh is known as the great Ekadashi or Mahaekadashi. This Mahaekadashi is also known as Shayani Ekadashi, because on this day Vishnu falls asleep to wake up four months later on Prabodhini Ekadashi in the Kartik month. This period is known as Chaturmas and coincides with the rainy season.
Ashadhi Ekadashi is the day of fast and on this day people go walking in huge processions to Pandharpur singing the Abhangas (chanting hymns) of Saint Tukaram and Saint Dnyaneshwar to see their God Vitthal. The yatra starts in Allandi and ends on Guru Poornima day at Pandharpur.
The Feast
The feast of Ashadhi Ekadashi is celebrated with great solemnity at Pandharpur. Hundreds of thousands go in procession from different parts of Maharashtra, some carrying palanquins with the images of the great saints of Maharashtra. Dnaneshwar's image is carried from Alandi, Tukaram's from Dehu, Eknath's from Paithan, Nivruttinath's from Trimbakeshwar, Muktabai's from Edlabad, and Sopan's from Sasvad.

I Go To Meet My Naga Guru Before He Leaves For The Nasik Kumbh

posted at facebook

Went to meet my Naga Sadhu Guru Shree Vijay Giri Maharaj of Juna Akhada at his Ashram near Film city ,,we were meeting after the Maha Kumbh ,,I presented him about 50 ( 10 by 12 ) prints of our first meeting at Nasik Kumbh 2002 of his ling kriya and he and his two disciples pulling a car with their ling at Trimbakeshwar,.one of his disciples Shankar Giri died recently ,,

I was there with him for some time before he leaves to set us his tent at Sevagram..Trimbakeshwar ,
All his disciples know that I am a Muslim but they touch my feet out of respect and my cosmic proximity to their Guru.

Because of Shri Vijay Giri I met the main Maha Mandleshwars at Maha Kumbh Allahabad ,,of course they dont know me as Firoze but Ashok Bhartiya the name my guru has given me to save my ass from bigots ..everyone is not like my Guru.. thanks to him I shot 3500 images and had one of the most enlightening experience ,for me the Maha Kumbh was about culture and part of my 65000 Hindu Blogs at Flickr titled Hope and Hindutva a Message of Universal Peace ..

This was an image shot at the Maha Kumbh before meeting the main Maha Mandleshwar of the Naga Sadhus Juna Akhada at Sector 4 Allahabad.

My Maha Kumbh set is restricted and by me and can be viewed only by Flickr members ..because of frontal nudity ,, I even shot hijras taking a dip in the Sangam.. these pictures are disabled from public view .

“Woman is the light of God.” ― Rumi

“This place is a dream. Only a sleeper considers it real. Then death comes like dawn, and you wake up laughing at what you thought was your grief.” ― Rumi

Me And Flickr

I joined Flickr after my other sites were hacked ..my son Asif Shakir gave a Gift of Pro in 2007 June ,.

After that my friends kept extending my Pro membership till last year Flickr srapped the Gift of Pro.. I have been a Pro member at Flickr since 8 years ..

I add people who add me at Flickr but first I check their profile and favorites if they have porn semi porn stuff I block them.. I am blocking over 1470 people at Flickr.

I dont go adding people at all , I cannot manage checking their stream as I type with one finger I only comment on peoples pictures who I know very well and who are connected to me since a very long time ..my comment box is only for friends , my pictures are marked safe by Flickr staff but I have used Moderate ..as the bleeding heads the Shia rituals may be too graphic for those who dont know about it .My Maha Kumbh pictures mostly nude Naga Sadhus are marked restricted only for Flickr members .
My Hijra set of 20000 Images , My Gay Pride set I have disabled from public view completely.

I use Flickr as a Blog Platform original source of all my images

From Flickr I pimp my blogs to Twitter Tumblr .. I crossblog my stuff to Blogspot Facebook and Ello ..I prefer Ello ..I dont blog at Wordpress .

I have a separate site at Blogspot for my Shia Blogs , My Hindu Blogs ,, My Poetry and 3 blogs of all my 3 grandchildren..
Flickr is my Archive per se .

I cannot blog without a picture .

Don't be satisfied with stories, how things have gone with others. Unfold your own myth.”
― Rumi,