King of Kerba ,, Amber Khalid Bhai Pydhonie ..

I have known Khalid bhai since a very long time as I wear Amber too known as kerba ,, the Parsis wore kerba and in the olden days kerbas were used as prayer beads ,,kerba some say adds to your personality but it can generate undue anger too.
I was first introduced to kerba by the gemstone dealers of Bhendi Bazar and I have a ring with a fossilized fly in kerba ,,
Original kerba costs Rs 5000 a gram.. but there are artificial kerbas known as jerba or rod ,,
Khalid bhai deals in kerba and Parsi borders called gara ,, and in antiques too..he buys sells old zari.
If I come to Pydhonie I make it a point to visit him,...he is an amazing guy...
and in his shop and office you will see some very rare kerbas and zari borders ,, he collects chunky prayer beads too.

The Hungry Madman of Bandra Reclamation..

Posted at facebook

I spotted him while taking my walk at the Bandra Reclamation Promenade .
He was walking on the side of a the road long strides without looking either way ..I shoot madmen so I called him out pointing to the Rs 20 in my hand ..he looked at me there was a huge barricade between us but I managed to climb up handed the money and he turned his face the moment I tried to capture his restless angst on my mobile phone and he disappeared.
I forgot about him and crossed the road at the end that connects the promenade to the flyover and walked towards the opening that leads to Nargis Dutt Nagar Slums Bandra reclamation and I saw him coming out with some food wrapped in a newspaper that he had bought from a foodstall and I wondered mystically that even hunger calls out to strangers when in need .
You don't need a DSLR just a mobile phone camera will capture fleeing moments as street stories provided you tell them simply truly and this was my cosmic encounter with the madman of Bandra reclamation .
Will I meet him again yes I will even Hunger reaches out to humanity thankfully .
And I have shot madpeople in Mumbai taken my chances men women and yes a mad child too.
Madness is perhaps the highest form of God's gratification in man..
But now these madpeople are memories within my photo blogs .
Some moved away disappeared died and I still try to seek them out in other madpeople as my own madness endears me to them.
There are a lot of madpeople in Mumbai kids stone them hit them with sticks and they watch ranting yelling out with blood shot painful eyes ..
I know the mad lady of Bandra Bazar she moves about talking to herself with a boulder in hand and won't hesitate to hit you but she spares me knowing that I am her kind a madman with a mad camera .
And than there is the power of the third eye of Shiva in my camera that has so far saved me from being killed by a crazy mad man of Hyderabad who was strangling me till my friends came and saved me .
He had me in a vice it took over five people to unlock his grip on my neck.
And he smiled crazily when they took him away from me .
And this has not stopped me from shooting the madpeople of India as is where is .

Haq Waris Ya Waris ,,, Waris Malangs of Dewa Sharif

A New Journey Into Myself,, Bandra Reclamation Promenade

This morning I left my house at 7.45 am and reached the Bandra Reclamation  Promenade ,..I have never walked here before ,,I switched on my  Running App and walked from one end of the Promenade to the other end ,, shooting pictures on my mobile phone ,, I completed 3.91 km in 1 hour 25 minutes on my return home via Nargis Dutt Nagar slums an insult to the noble memory of late Ms Nargis Dutt ,,15 years of Congress rule and her daughter Ms Priya Dutt at the helm they could not make it a decent slum , a role model slum.. this was a vote bank and it still is now being appeased by the BJP newbies ,

I shot a video and the saddest one was of a day old child born in a shanty ..and the prettiest girl child among 3 more sisters and a brother ,,they live on the pavement in a makeshift dwelling at Lal Mitti Bandra Reclamtion dreading the sounds of the bulldozer..

I have given up tennis and walking round and round and round at the MET Grounds Bandra Reclamation.

Happy Morning ,,,

ps there is no toilet on Bandra Promenade or Bandra Reclamation from the Nargis Dutt  slum end till Lilavati so every one uses the promenade sea front ..the largest open air toilet you need to wear a mask on this stretch where they shit with plastic bottle in hands ..

The Ugliest Filthiest Bandra Bazar Fish Market

The Heritage of Bandra Bazar Market Gone To Seed

Bandra Bazar Road ,,, is not Modijis Swach Bharat