Bahurani.. The Dance Performer Hijra Of Mumbai

I met her lighting a cigarette at the pan shop in the Bandra slums I walked up to her and it turned out that she had met me a very long time back at Santa Cruz,,I asked her if I could take a few shots of her , she consented I shot 4 frames to add to my documentary of 20500 images of the Hijras of India shot exclusively for myself and disabled from public view ,,

She was going to a Muslim wedding Nikah with her troupe to dance but she was grumbling business was bad ,, and told me in chaste Hindi .. yeh mua acche din ne barbad kar diya hamko... translated she said that the promise of the elusive good days has destroyed her dreams and her aspirations ,,she went on nowadays even people have become stingy misers and dont empty out their pockets that thy did during the Congress times , than she elaborated she said there were more crooks scamsters scoundrels who were rich loaded now they have all disappeared .

I thanked her and after I had moved away I realized as an after thought I should have shot her video,, but I was in a hurry and had no time ,

Swach Bharat .. The Ethos Of India From Within Needs To Be Cleaned

our suited booted topmost brass
is busy selling India like no one has
 his deafening overwhelming silence
has its own quintessential class this too
will pass an incident in Dardi beef lynching
a man was murdered inhumanly grossly crass
you dont throw stones at houses when your
own is made of glass ..this cant be progress
development alas ..my vote made me a jackass
the soul of the minority community maligned hurt
harassed they needed his healing touch his holistic
hands on their heads ..not this fathomless chasm
tears on the soul of mohomed akhlaqs body lying
neglected forgotten an indian first on a bed of grass

My Tryst With My Cosmic Fate As A Beggar

posted at FB

I meet a lot of people in real life simple souls ,and I shoot their pictures because I feel the camera brings them out of their shyness inhibitions ,,people get to see them and not just beggars ,or others that I prolifically shoot ,,ordinary people grandfathers holding their kids ..I meet so many people and I honor them through my camera .. for me this is India collectively living in peace and one stray incident of hate should not tarnish our relations with our neigbors our friends we should be thinking of joining hearts ,, healing souls ,,Ministers are mostly motormouths and media needs such incidents and motormouths to bring in the bucks ,,

I begged with a physically challenged person at Ajmer to help him out because people enjoyed seeing a colorful man more like a bawa with a camera and outstretched hands they gave me generously I gave it all to him.. for many years I made it a point to sit with him for an hour ,

And than one day he adds me on Whats Up I hardly use Whats Up and the next day on Facebook than I read his update which maligns abuses his wife for eloping with someone and leaving him with his two kids ,, I unfollowed him.. I was not even sure it is him or someone impersonating him.. so its crazy even kids I shoot .. tell me Uncle when will you post our pictures on Facebook.. and nobody has heard of Flickr ,, and one guy a vendor on the street asked me are you posting it on Twitter and all my Tweets are Flickr photo related .

All my Facebook updates are marked for Friends I decided not to appease the thirst of faceless Facebook folks ,, but I post all my stuff publicly at Twitter Flickr and Blogspot ,, the same stuff that I post here ,

I dont add people to groups as I dont belong to any group I dont send them fucked candy crush requests I dont poke people I dont send spam messages and I add people using my discretion.. I dont steal peoples pictures because Facebook legitimizes stealing through Share ,,,I dont get personal and above all I will never never never LIKE a post it is habit forming I simply comment ,,if I like it ,,

And these are early morning stray thoughts waking up to chaos and delusions on the Internet ,,

I Promise You Sir I Will Believe In Digital India

i will believe in digital india
when  the life of a man is as
precious as a cow on the street
i will believe in digital india
when sectarian divide political
engineered riots are removed
from the soul of mother india
the beggar child does not have
to beg to eat when farmers dont
commit suicide cops stop their
brutalities on their beat ,,
before we think of digital so
many enemies within our own
borders  talibans on both sides
of the fence we must defeat
get rid of rabid religious madmen
murderers arsonists and cheats
more than swach bharat is swach
thinking a swach parliament ..
the most indomitable feat .
make in india  better india
than with other countries '
we can successfully compete

The 896 Urus Of Zinda Shah Madar Makanpur 2013

I have documented Sufism at many places in India ,,Delhi Ajmer Sharif Unjha Bara Banki but one place that stands out as a pictorial storyboard is Makanpur ,, the 896 Urus of Zinda Shah Madar ,,head of the Sufi Order of Madarriya .

On my own I could have never gone to shoot it ,,but because I had been initiated as a Malang in 2011 and was invited by the Head of The Aqasan Malangs Syed Masoomi Ali Baba and  Syed Rafiq Ali Baba I went and shot the rituals the Malng community , and their culture .

It was perhaps my best spiritual outing and though I tried to go back it just did not happen and I am connected by phone to Syed Rafiq Baba.. so next year come what may I have decided to go there with  a friend ..a photographer too.

The Dhamal body piercing rituals are out of this world at Makanpur ,, as the Qalandaris to take active part in it along with the Rifais ,,

Mr Raghu Rai And The Malang of Mumbai

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 ,,