The Hallori Mumbai Shia is a unique force , a single one man army, army in the context of Matam and not insidious militantcy of a Jehadi.
The Mumbai Shia is a very peaceloving Shia, he goes about with his mourning, for him Moharam is two months of piety , restrain, peace and quiteude.
He is sombre in his thoughts and actions, but there are skirmishes year after year between the Shias and the Wahabbis, at Babula Cross road , this is what gives a bad name to the Shia Mumbaikar and also the Wahabbi counterpart.
Mumbai is a city which is a cauldron of hope for all of us, basically of a migrant ancestry, I think personally leaders of both communities must show restrain and grow up too..We should not make Mumbai another Lucknow.
Sectarian violence sectarian hatred destroys the cosmopolitan fabric of the society and the nation too..
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Athvi at Govandi/The Halloris
Normally I celebrated Athvi the last segment of Moharam in Lucknow for two consecutive years, but as my eldest son Asif Shakir was getting married in Lucknow April 28 2006, I decided to skip the Lucknow Athvi , as it would have entailed two trips to the city of my birth.
I stayed back in Mumbai and my friend Cassim Hallori told me about the Athvi event in Govandi a suburb in Mumbai.The Halloris organize this awesome event , touted as the most famous one by ay standard.The Halloris hail from Hallor a very beautiful looking race, fair , blue eyes, although they look alike as this is a race that married within the families of two brothers who had their ancestral roots in Iran.
The Halloris are gifted to the extent that they are interior decorators, carpenters like Cassim , who is now doing goat farming as an alternate profession, than there are lyricists, poets , nohakars like Naiyab, Khushtar to name a few..
The Hand Matam of the Halloris is choreography of pain, they beat their chests , opening up wounds without using blades.. such is the power of their devotion to Ahle Bait.If it was not for Cassim this important segment would have remained unphotographed by me.
I am a loner, I dread congregations, groups, I shoot alone.
Having Cassim as a friend makes it easier that there is somebody to take care of my camera bag while I take a breather to participate in the Matams.It was because of Cassim that I pounced on the chance of doing the extremely difficult Iranian sword Matam.The swords are crafted in Iran, the hilt is heavy unlike the Japanese Samurai swords..So this is as far as I go, I shoot close to home, because of my recent wound on my hand , and the treatment meted out by Shia hardliners in Lucknow I had decided to completely stop shooting Moharam.I have .This is my swan song pictorially speaking.
I have spent a fortune on shooting pictures sometimes 40 rolls of one event, yes I am as crazy as sane as DF Duck..we are passionate about sharing our worlds..
Each batch of pictures just developing would cost me about Rs 5000/ before the advent of digital.I have so much stock of negs ,, slides but no scanner..
Earlier I gave copies of pictures I took free, I dont make money through this picture hobby of mine..I used to shoot a lot of Majlis , but I stopped that too.
I realised that the Mullah is a selfish man too, with his feet also made of clay.
I keep away from Shia Mosques and Shia dos..but I am a Shia nonethesless.
My house Majlis takes place at the Shia Khoja Bandra Mosque but I dont attend , in fact I have not entered this Mosque since last two years.
The only Mosque that beckons my restless soul is Moghul Masjid..for me this Gods website on earth, I am hyperlined to this page on my soul.
That is why I tell people I am not a very good Shia example..
The Shias of Lucknow the hardliner s had the chek to say I promote Hinduism because they the Hindus pay me money, I wish they did I would buy a high end Canon Digital SLR..My Shia soul is saffronised is something I can say very proudly..
I would rather live a Hindu than die the misguided death of a Jehadi.
You will find me sitting at St Peters Church, once in a while after Mass gets over , pondering over the mortality of human hating spirtuality.
So this series is about the Govandi Athvi...a very long series...ignore my rny rant just see the pictures ...I am trying to ulearn photo blogging at Flickrs.
.Another think it will take several rebirths for Ipernity to really become a Flickr..reflecting a flickr of a candle does not make you a candle at all...
Think Flickr Think
You wont ever sink
with pictures geo tagged that link
very female armour also has a chink
some love them but some go pink
with this toast to Flickr I drink
eyes focussed that blink
floating bare feet
on an Ice rink .
I stayed back in Mumbai and my friend Cassim Hallori told me about the Athvi event in Govandi a suburb in Mumbai.The Halloris organize this awesome event , touted as the most famous one by ay standard.The Halloris hail from Hallor a very beautiful looking race, fair , blue eyes, although they look alike as this is a race that married within the families of two brothers who had their ancestral roots in Iran.
The Halloris are gifted to the extent that they are interior decorators, carpenters like Cassim , who is now doing goat farming as an alternate profession, than there are lyricists, poets , nohakars like Naiyab, Khushtar to name a few..
The Hand Matam of the Halloris is choreography of pain, they beat their chests , opening up wounds without using blades.. such is the power of their devotion to Ahle Bait.If it was not for Cassim this important segment would have remained unphotographed by me.
I am a loner, I dread congregations, groups, I shoot alone.
Having Cassim as a friend makes it easier that there is somebody to take care of my camera bag while I take a breather to participate in the Matams.It was because of Cassim that I pounced on the chance of doing the extremely difficult Iranian sword Matam.The swords are crafted in Iran, the hilt is heavy unlike the Japanese Samurai swords..So this is as far as I go, I shoot close to home, because of my recent wound on my hand , and the treatment meted out by Shia hardliners in Lucknow I had decided to completely stop shooting Moharam.I have .This is my swan song pictorially speaking.
I have spent a fortune on shooting pictures sometimes 40 rolls of one event, yes I am as crazy as sane as DF Duck..we are passionate about sharing our worlds..
Each batch of pictures just developing would cost me about Rs 5000/ before the advent of digital.I have so much stock of negs ,, slides but no scanner..
Earlier I gave copies of pictures I took free, I dont make money through this picture hobby of mine..I used to shoot a lot of Majlis , but I stopped that too.
I realised that the Mullah is a selfish man too, with his feet also made of clay.
I keep away from Shia Mosques and Shia dos..but I am a Shia nonethesless.
My house Majlis takes place at the Shia Khoja Bandra Mosque but I dont attend , in fact I have not entered this Mosque since last two years.
The only Mosque that beckons my restless soul is Moghul Masjid..for me this Gods website on earth, I am hyperlined to this page on my soul.
That is why I tell people I am not a very good Shia example..
The Shias of Lucknow the hardliner s had the chek to say I promote Hinduism because they the Hindus pay me money, I wish they did I would buy a high end Canon Digital SLR..My Shia soul is saffronised is something I can say very proudly..
I would rather live a Hindu than die the misguided death of a Jehadi.
You will find me sitting at St Peters Church, once in a while after Mass gets over , pondering over the mortality of human hating spirtuality.
So this series is about the Govandi Athvi...a very long series...ignore my rny rant just see the pictures ...I am trying to ulearn photo blogging at Flickrs.
.Another think it will take several rebirths for Ipernity to really become a Flickr..reflecting a flickr of a candle does not make you a candle at all...
Think Flickr Think
You wont ever sink
with pictures geo tagged that link
very female armour also has a chink
some love them but some go pink
with this toast to Flickr I drink
eyes focussed that blink
floating bare feet
on an Ice rink .
Kaiser Bagh Shia Childs Spiritual Cybercafe
Kaiser Bagh is the Khoja Shia Gadh..
It lies at Dongri next to the Hazrat Abbas Dargah Lane.During the three days before Ashura , all the Shia kids cluster here to rigorously take part in the Zazir and Kama matam .
This is the beginning of ever Shia adult when he was a kid, the moment the Maulana completed his Majlis, the Alams and Taboots started taking the rounds of the hall, he instantly removed his shirt and began scourging his back.Or if he was more daring he grabbed the Kama dagger from Munna Bhais hand slashing his head no pain just remorse for his Imam.
Kaiser Bagh is a must see for those three days, all roads lead to Dongri.
Even the local Bohra kids move with their Alams and scourge their backs.
There is no Media presence , this is a private Shia do, just a few stray photographers or videographers recording the event.
I normally shot from the stage , later jumped down to participate in slashing my head or doing my Tandav..with my camera bag, my turban and my shawl within my eyes views.
At Shia events there are a lot of crooks who wear balck clothes pretending to be Shias and rob the belongings, or mobile phones..This happens at the Kumbhs too...Where there is smoke there is lot of fire...
I am posting all this from Cds , so I have to again work on them and resize them for web.
I could copy and paste from myMoharam pictures from my Homesite
www.photographerno1.com
But I am taking a longer route in the bargain finding pictures I have never posted before..So the best of me will lie at Flickr..
I have one regret because of various constrains I did not visit Ajmer Sharif this time.. I was very keen to go come what may, but it was not my call...
I missed Peersaab Hujra No 6 Fakhru Miya his family..
I missed Syed Salma Chishti the cyber khadim
I missed Char Yar
I missed the Malangs of Ajmer the dread head Bawas
I missed Zanjirwale Bawa
The Hijda Bawas
Moti Katra and all my Hijda friends Basanti ,Sohel Zeenath, Kajal..Mona, Gopal Hajji Babita, Laxmi Narayan Tripathi,
I missed Kapil Aggarwal..
Last but mostly the Kingdom of Peace and Humility, of Love the presence of Khwaja Garib Nawaz...his all pervading fragrance of Brotherhood of Mankind.
It lies at Dongri next to the Hazrat Abbas Dargah Lane.During the three days before Ashura , all the Shia kids cluster here to rigorously take part in the Zazir and Kama matam .
This is the beginning of ever Shia adult when he was a kid, the moment the Maulana completed his Majlis, the Alams and Taboots started taking the rounds of the hall, he instantly removed his shirt and began scourging his back.Or if he was more daring he grabbed the Kama dagger from Munna Bhais hand slashing his head no pain just remorse for his Imam.
Kaiser Bagh is a must see for those three days, all roads lead to Dongri.
Even the local Bohra kids move with their Alams and scourge their backs.
There is no Media presence , this is a private Shia do, just a few stray photographers or videographers recording the event.
I normally shot from the stage , later jumped down to participate in slashing my head or doing my Tandav..with my camera bag, my turban and my shawl within my eyes views.
At Shia events there are a lot of crooks who wear balck clothes pretending to be Shias and rob the belongings, or mobile phones..This happens at the Kumbhs too...Where there is smoke there is lot of fire...
I am posting all this from Cds , so I have to again work on them and resize them for web.
I could copy and paste from myMoharam pictures from my Homesite
www.photographerno1.com
But I am taking a longer route in the bargain finding pictures I have never posted before..So the best of me will lie at Flickr..
I have one regret because of various constrains I did not visit Ajmer Sharif this time.. I was very keen to go come what may, but it was not my call...
I missed Peersaab Hujra No 6 Fakhru Miya his family..
I missed Syed Salma Chishti the cyber khadim
I missed Char Yar
I missed the Malangs of Ajmer the dread head Bawas
I missed Zanjirwale Bawa
The Hijda Bawas
Moti Katra and all my Hijda friends Basanti ,Sohel Zeenath, Kajal..Mona, Gopal Hajji Babita, Laxmi Narayan Tripathi,
I missed Kapil Aggarwal..
Last but mostly the Kingdom of Peace and Humility, of Love the presence of Khwaja Garib Nawaz...his all pervading fragrance of Brotherhood of Mankind.
Samandar Ki Pyas Ko Abbas Kahte Hain
mashke sakina ke sat rahte hain
sar tarai par be haath rahte hain
moulah akka ke ghulam ko abbas kahte hain
dil ko tatolo tumhare sat rahte hain
furat main thamkar
hamare ankhon se bahte hain
samandar ke pani ki pyas bujhaye
use abbas kahte hain
sitam par sitam shikwa nahi
aisi wafadari ko bhi ham abbas
kahte hain..
sar tarai par be haath rahte hain
moulah akka ke ghulam ko abbas kahte hain
dil ko tatolo tumhare sat rahte hain
furat main thamkar
hamare ankhon se bahte hain
samandar ke pani ki pyas bujhaye
use abbas kahte hain
sitam par sitam shikwa nahi
aisi wafadari ko bhi ham abbas
kahte hain..
Monday, July 23, 2007
Shia Right Back
the shia back cries cuts that seem like tiny eyes
a picture crop resize
the shia back save to web 300 dpi
so you see what beneath a shia's blood lies
a metaphor of hussainiyat
karbala ashura.. uncloaked
a red bleeding humanity
that the puritans tthe radicals despise
imam hussain who saved Islam
in the nick of time took them by surprise
a band of 72 did rise..
decimated crushed by yazidi forces might
hussain lives iin our hearts
karbala never dies
shia right back
plays spiritual football
no self goals shot that
gets him an applause
from his ancestors
in the skies ...
our blood sweat and tears
gets on their goat
our asymmetrical attack of a device
call us heretics we are the lovers
of Ahle Bait
oos fuck Taqqaiya we
dont need to surmise
muslims killing muslims
sunni shias
like in the mad comics
black spy v/s white spy
sparring each other
in disguise
in the bargain
it is our collective community
that gets the back eye
a picture crop resize
the shia back save to web 300 dpi
so you see what beneath a shia's blood lies
a metaphor of hussainiyat
karbala ashura.. uncloaked
a red bleeding humanity
that the puritans tthe radicals despise
imam hussain who saved Islam
in the nick of time took them by surprise
a band of 72 did rise..
decimated crushed by yazidi forces might
hussain lives iin our hearts
karbala never dies
shia right back
plays spiritual football
no self goals shot that
gets him an applause
from his ancestors
in the skies ...
our blood sweat and tears
gets on their goat
our asymmetrical attack of a device
call us heretics we are the lovers
of Ahle Bait
oos fuck Taqqaiya we
dont need to surmise
muslims killing muslims
sunni shias
like in the mad comics
black spy v/s white spy
sparring each other
in disguise
in the bargain
it is our collective community
that gets the back eye
The Mother of Hussain
photo courtesy
hometown.aol.com/masumeen/images/baqi.jpg
Some poems are like drops of tears of a pain
what more can I tell you of the mother of hussain
the Holy Prophets daughter ..a heart bleeding
but she never complained ..
one son poisoned the other on the sands of Karbala slain
her children her grandchildren…a legacy robbed
in a yazidi reign
the holy prophets inheritance the robbed chaddars,
the cries of ali asghar the cries of sakina
every particle of a sand did contain …
on human consciousness irremovable bloodstain
cutting of the water supply of a child’s jugular vein
yes our tears our blood our sweat at her feet will remain
call us heretics but human we remain
Arabic barbarism could it ever be humane
Today Radicalism, Puritanism..
Muslims killing Muslims
So called followers of misguided terrorism
With their actions explain
The rest of the Islamic world Silence maintain
hometown.aol.com/masumeen/images/baqi.jpg
Some poems are like drops of tears of a pain
what more can I tell you of the mother of hussain
the Holy Prophets daughter ..a heart bleeding
but she never complained ..
one son poisoned the other on the sands of Karbala slain
her children her grandchildren…a legacy robbed
in a yazidi reign
the holy prophets inheritance the robbed chaddars,
the cries of ali asghar the cries of sakina
every particle of a sand did contain …
on human consciousness irremovable bloodstain
cutting of the water supply of a child’s jugular vein
yes our tears our blood our sweat at her feet will remain
call us heretics but human we remain
Arabic barbarism could it ever be humane
Today Radicalism, Puritanism..
Muslims killing Muslims
So called followers of misguided terrorism
With their actions explain
The rest of the Islamic world Silence maintain
Shia Left Back
razor sharp blades
whack
after whack
blood freely flows
from a shia back
crack after crack
of butcher sharp blades
faith flows freely
from the shia left back
a head cut but did not bow
nor changed track
facing the fury
of a dishonourable attack
reads like a poem
this shia hard back
this shia bare back
yazid the house of hussain
did try to ransack
but the indomitable
strength of Zainab
with her kutbas
did talk back
ya hussain
ya hussain
some sound track
karbala ashura
the right flash back
whack
after whack
blood freely flows
from a shia back
crack after crack
of butcher sharp blades
faith flows freely
from the shia left back
a head cut but did not bow
nor changed track
facing the fury
of a dishonourable attack
reads like a poem
this shia hard back
this shia bare back
yazid the house of hussain
did try to ransack
but the indomitable
strength of Zainab
with her kutbas
did talk back
ya hussain
ya hussain
some sound track
karbala ashura
the right flash back
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