falling in love
a divine flu
caused by a viral bug
deep into the soul it dug
like a wound caused by a slug
prevention is better than cure
he says it with a hug,,
flowing waters of faith
replenishing a broken jug
a bleeding head
of a shia samurai
needs no drug
at buzznet
she once called him
the shia thug
to akbar
from a pedestrian poet of mumbai
Monday, July 20, 2009
A Divine Flu Called Love - To Akbar Simonese
BLACK AND WHITE
one a beige black
the other pinkish white
both masters of spectral light
one shoots hijras
the other shoots beggars
pain as a delirium
in instant flight
the camera
an instrument of peace
color or black and white
photography
a holistic science
that heals
makes all things right
as you watch
the disfranchised
the marginalized
hopes dreams
battered shattered
unrealized
flying in the air
a threadless kite
pictures text
pedestrian poem
you read as
I blindly write
a world
within a world
a panoramic sight
google searching
for peace
on the internet
to reunite
no photo blog awards
for a racially profiled
hijdaeunchblogsite
this is not a popularity contest
she said the bitch was right
Three Blind Men
photo courtesy
www.thecolor.com/images/Three-Blind-Mice.gif
there were three blind men
firoze fred and glenn
two born of a camera
one born of a pen
all seeking refuge
in one common den
flickr facebook
again and again
3 wise minds
equivalent to ten
not gay
i need to mention
god keep them bonded
big benn
from philly
said amen
furious physician
from manhattan
three bloggers
selling virtual space
these crazy tradesmen
at facebook
fighting all bad men
ably assisted
by linda
teresa
anthony posey
bernie
leffterides
randell
eric parker
nauman
now public
but not newsmen
a golden gang
creative craftsmen
I Have Put My Bandra Blog Set To Sleep
All my stuff is in sets, and as a default set Bandra Blog served me well it had over 3800 pictures or more , it was my default set, and the genre was quintessentially street photography, shot through cab windows, and mostly in and around Bandra.
Last evening I put the set to sleep , not before transferring it to another set Firoze Shakir Street Photography.
All my Bandra Bazar pictures , the fish market are now held in two different sets respectively.
Set management is a pain in the butt , I have too many set to scroll, my miscellaneous stuff , obituaries, screen shots etc, I have created a new set Screen Shots Friends and Blogs, I have no time to fine tune my sets ..and all this forms a part of the bulk of my collections.
Even my religious event pictures , processions all are part of the street photography genre including the hijras , I shoot hijras mostly on the streets..
I shot a hijra friend at her home, she wanted me to shoot her nude , I refused , its not my cup of tea , I have the greatest respect for artistic nudes but I prefer to shoot in ambient light, I cant manage the claustrophobic restricted studio space..
I had invitations to shoot nudes , one of my gurus is master in this form, but never liked his choice of model that were mostly commercial workers posing to make a quick buck.
Due to the heavy rains I have not shot much and I cant lift my ass to shoot the Milan subway or the Worli Seaface..waves now a greater tourist attraction with the elitist Bandra Worli Sea Link.
Shooting the Ghats, Konkan Ratnagiri is a great choice, but I have no time or the inclination..I dont shoot flowers insects or birds.,..
I have added three extra sets from existing pictures :
The Leper Lady of Bandra Hill Road , she sat at Boran Road that is a narrow alley leading to Bandra Bazar Road, she is the furious physician Dr Glenns Mumbai muse..she hardly talks I have till date never spoken to her , she has educated her children, she has no husband ..they keep asking me about Glenn..
The leper mother now sits outside the Globus showroom on Bandra Hill Road in the evenings.
The other set is the Blind Beggar boy of Bandra, he had undergone an eye operation, the local mosque had sponsored the operation , but he continued begging , he and his caretaker both have disappeared..they begged at Boran road and also close to my house.
Appu My Friend the beggar lad without limbs too has disappeared from St Michaels Church Mahim . he sat there on Wednesdays.
My last new set is the Muslim Beggars of Mumbai..this now holds some existing beggar women pictures..I intend to showcase the lives of the disfranchised neglected Muslim, who is what the entire community should be trying to rehabilitate , they deserve a better deal , in the unification of Muslim pride..under God ..but we give so much importance by our silence towards jehaddis who have hijacked our religion for all times.
The Muslim beggar seeks salvation..and he has found none sitting outside the Mosque each Friday from one generation to the next.
The sad case of the Kashmiri migrants who beg with their beautiful rosy cheeked children during the Mahim Urus , even their women beg..
This beggar set was inspired by the furious physician.
From the Desk of Mr Ali Abrahim
FROM THE DESK OF MR ALI ABRAHIM.
DIRECTOR AUDITING AND ACCOUNTING UNIT,
BANK OF AFRICA (BOA).
OUAGADOUGOU-BURKINA FASO.
Attention Please,
(Compliments of the day)
This message might meet you in utmost surprise, however,it's just my urgent need for foreign partner that made me to contact you for this transaction. I am a banker by profession from Burkina faso in west Africa and currently holding the post of Director Auditing and Accounting unit of the bank. I have the opportunity of transfering the left over funds ($11.953000,00. ELEVEN MILLION NINE
HUNDRED AND FIFTY THREE THOUSAND UNITED STATES DOLLARS)of one of my bank clients who died along with his entire family on 31 july 2000 in a plane crash.
You can confirm the genuiness of the deceased death by clicking on this web site
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/859479.stm
Hence,i am inviting you for a business deal where this money can be shared
between us in the ratio of 60/40,If you agree to my business proposal.further details of the transfer will be forwarded to you as soon as i receive your feedback mail,have a great day.
Yours Faithfully,
Mr ALI ABRAHIM.
NB, MAKE SURE YOU KEEP THIS TRANSACTION AS YOUR TOP SECRECT AND MAKE IT CONFIDENTIAL TILL WE RECEIVES THE FUND INTO THE ACCOUNT THAT YOU WILL PROVIDE TO THE BANK. DONT DISCLOSE IT TO ANY BODY "PLEASE", BECAUSE THE SECRECY OF THIS TRANSACTION IS AS WELL AS THE SUCCESS OF IT.
dear mr firoze shakir
salutations best wishes
from the desk of mr ali abrahim
I want to make you a multi millionire
together this banks money
we will skim
hopes in abundance
a fool proof system
coffers filled to the brim
god is great follow
my instructions
put your trust in him
11 million nine hundred
and fifty three thousand
american dollars
60/40 our share
this we shall win
charter a jet
all over the world go for a spin
making money
living happily ever after
cannot be considered a sin
jai burkina faso
jai hind
Sunday, July 19, 2009
To Be Or Not To Be
a dubious dichotomy
a female angel
broken wings of fancy
locked in a boys body
thorough his eyes
her pains you see
a lady boy
sadly
wondering
to be or not to be
feminine and sissy
waling on embers of fire
unknown
uncharted
enemy
territory
The Ladyboys of Mumbai
The ladyboys of Mumbai are a nocturnal race , they are birds of the night..they are a rare exotic breed of young teenagers , who have come to terms with their sexuality, an effeminate one which their parents may not be aware of..they dont have the freedom and acceptance as the kathoeys of Thailand.
Most of the ones I met are in fashion, cosmetics, and hairstyling and make up..
Because of the draconian law Article 377 and a police and society influenced homophobic hate most of these denizens have sad and bitter stories to tell of their gay survival..
The ladyboys of Mumbai , some whom I know are not willing to become Hijras , they dont have the mental infrastructure or the hardiness of the hijra , above all the stigma of becoming a hijra.
I am writing this without any aid or prompting , I am writing this as a photographer who captured them on the soul of a digital memory card .
I have a very close friend a Muslim ladyboy, , he was raped by his uncle when very young, later his sufferings continued , he was not spared at school too.. only because he was fair, cute and looked walked talked like a girl.
Today he is an established name as a dancer , does private shows , has several boy friends , his family is conservative and have finally realized he has given them the comforts of a much better life, the new flat in up market Lokhandwalla was bought by him,he had his brothers married, he has another flat given on rent in the distant suburbs and a shop too.
His uncle lives in penury..and what happened does not matter does it?
We keep in touch, I always inquire about him, he is a devotee of Khwajah Gharib Nawaz the Holy Saint of Ajmer ..now if you call his malady a disease than the first person to infect him with the poison was his uncle who gagged him and sodomized him when his family was away..he has not forgotten that and weeps each time he talks of this persecution ..this assault on his body and soul.
But all this has made him far too bitter , he betrays his lovers, he cheats on them, he mocks them, and is playing a vicious game that will hurt him one day..but he will not desist he wants to get even with his guilt and his nightmare of a past.
So this one of a case, the ladyboys have their own network, their own slang, their own code of silence, their own patrons and clientele.
There are touts, pimps who get them business ..and these same tours also snare young kids to keep up the supply for a demand that is skyrocketing I am told.
I have met ladyboys from affluent homes in the lobby of 5 star hotels , who have pleaded with me not to take pictures and I have respected their privacy..
I am not invited to their parties simply because I am a photographer , and they know I post my pictures on the internet..my best friend who invited such a coterie on his birthday has stopped inviting me too.. there is too much at stake and the shock of being publicly known as a gay person.
Most of the guys who attribute to the taste in ladyboys are very happily married men with children and nobody knows it, money pays for silence.
A lot of the ladyboys have been blackmailed by rogue cops, by gigolos , by toy boys..and are very wary and scared of encounters with strangers , but than a fling with a stranger adds to the variety where all this is illegal in the eyes of the law.
Most of the ladyboys held trance parties at private cottages in Madh Island , invitation by request.at a hefty price.
The ladyboys are well groomed , they have gone for cosmetic surgery , to enhance their beauty..the sex change requires loads of money , hence the ladyboys save up..most of the rich ones go abroad .
The ladyboys prefer Haji Malang Dargah as it is close to Mumbai..here they walk the streets without fear or shame.
What hit the ladyboys great dancers was the blanket ban on Ladies Bar in Maharashtra.. the ladies bar put them in the limelight and bought in rich patronage.
Some ladyboys are professional masseurs connected to the best of hotels and clubs..
I met a few of them in Bangalore too..but they too were not willing to talk or be photographed.
More than the ladyboys it is the young studs who hound them , guys absolute hulks , who stalk them , pursue them as the ladyboy is more tame than the hijra, the hijra is over possessive dangerous about whom she loves ..Hell hath no fury than a spurned Hijra..?
And the guy who was begging on the street with acid thrown on his face would not tell me more about his disastrous love affair?
So this is a bit about the ladyboy..of Mumbai...
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Shah-e-Mardan Sher-e-Yazdan Quwat-e-Parwardigar Lafata Ila Ali La Saif Ila Zulfiqar , originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1 ....
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If you travel second class and if you are a photographer like me who documents beggars than you will find a lot of beggars on the train... -
Dargah of Hazrat Syed Ali Mira Datar Unava Gujrat , a photo by firoze shakir photographerno1 on Flickr. HAZRAT SYED ALI MIRA DATAR'S G...
