Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Mumbai The City of Peace Hope and Humanity

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Ali Reza Shirazis Juloos Mount Mary 2010

This is my new set at Flickr and I shot this a day before before I shot the English majlis of Maulana Sayyid Ali Naqvi on 24 Jan 2010, but I kept it on hold to post the majlis pictures.


Ali Reza Shirazi stays at Mount Mary bang opposite the Shiv Sena office , and last year his juloos began from his house and ended at the Supari Talao Grounds on the day of the Ag Ka Matam .

Ali Reza Shirazi is a humble Shia devout and his spiritual strength comes from his Mother Parveen Shirazi, and his father a man of few words and sheer simplicity, and because I consider his mother almost like my own , I try not to give this short juloos a miss.
Ali Reza Shirazi is short of man power but in spite of all this he with the help of his trusted friends his brother Ali Aman and well wishers tries to make this message of peace and tolerance a great success.

And everyone his neighbors predominantly Catholic support him and the cause of mutual coexistence..but there was a show of dissent by a Catholic gentleman a bearded person , suited booted who educated was totally crude to the bone, he wanted to bring his taxi in the building and the majlis was going on , I spoke to him politely and told him if he could walk the distance with his wife but he brushed me off as a fly on hs tea xc cup, and I was amazed and shocked , in Mumbai where each community stands for the other all bearing the inconvenience of the Mount Mary Fair traffic snarls , the honking and this man could not bear a few minutes discourse, he approached the cops , grumbling loudly and finally was escorted by them to his building next to where Ali Reza Shirazi lives..I shot his picture with the cops so I am not making up, I used the word tolerance when I talked to him , but how would he understand it if the parish priest has not talked to him about it..

I mean we talk about Aussies bashing Indians but than sometimes we are as bad as them in the way we treat our own.

I had no time to tell him and I would never have that I shoot all communities , I shoot all religiosity simply because I shoot India I shoot Indians and above all I shoot Mumbai the city that s the pride of all our lives..I shoot the Mount Mary Fair too year after year so that the guy away from home who once lived at Bandra can experience the universal love of the Madonna and her Child. I shoot Lal Bagh Cha Raja barefeet from his journey at Lalbagh till Nagpada to show you how the Muslims felicitate the Raja as an icon of our cultural ethos..and I follow him till the end the next morning before he is immersed.

So it hit me in my guts when a man behaves like this he was not on a wheel chair an invalid , and all Catholics fortunately are not like him..and I am a product of a Catholic school never did the padres ever brain wash me in to their fold , I give Jesus respect and also walk with Jesus from morning till evening feeling the pain of the community on Good Friday and participating in the 14 Stations of the Cross..

Though I did advice Shirazi to send letters to all the building people in his complex about the juloos much in advance so they are prepared and not taken by surprise and to leave a path for them to freely walk to their homes wen the matam begins ..And he will adhere to all this because Shiasm stands for Humanity the oppressed and the suppressed.

I only hope more Shias com and help him in making this a landmark juloos of peace , that showcases the tragedy of Karbala the slaughter murder genocide of innocent family people including the grandson of the Holy Prophet of Islam.

Yes verily Hussain is Humanity..

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The Muslim Beggar Lady..Will Her Life Ever Change

outside the bandra
shia khoja mosque
she stands with
begging hands
her fate veiled
a few coins
no other demands
from the fire
into a cooking pan
she lands
her life
that her misery
has panned
from the
threshold
of gods house
sinking in quick sand
her life unplanned
only sorrow
at her back and command

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Marziya Celebrates 60th Republic Day of India

This was shot close to the Indraji Nagar slums , this is the path I take to reach my work place so Marziya knows at a glance life on the other side of the fence, the path she takes is dark, unlit narrow with pipes running across the soul of the slum..that pays tribute to late Indira Gandhiji..Indias own Iron lady with an indomitable strength of steel in time of exigency and adversity..she lives and so does her heritage ..

While we take this path there is a tiny room where a young Muslim girl teaches the slum kids, tutors them and Marziya needs no invitation she goes and sits on the teachers lap imbibing the values of street survival..

And while we reached the spot where Marziya is sitting with a kid , the music blared reminding us of the sacrifice of the father of the nation.. and other freedom fighters of our mother land..and here as a nationalist Indian I think more important than making people recite and parrot Vande Matram , I have no issue with its recital, is to make them to carry the act of loving the mother land in deeds and actions too, a person whatever his religiosity should be willing to die for his country .. and this is what the child must be taught a child that did not witness the freedom struggle..and this is my personal opinion.,.nationalism is greater than anything and requires surrender of mans life in the time of the country's need..

I copy and paste the lyrics on your soul of the song from Jagriti Awakening that was playing in the background..

Hum Laye Hain Tufaan Se Kishti Nikal Ke
Iss Desh Ko Rakhna Mere Bachon Samhal Ke
Tum Hi Bhavishhya Ho Mere Bharat Vishal Ke
Iss Desh Ko Rakhna Mere Bachon Samhal Ke

Dekho Kaheen Barbaad Na Hove Ye Bagichaa
Isko Hriday Ke Khuun Se ‘Baapu Ne Hain Sincha
Rakha Hain Ye Chiraag Shaheedo Ne Bal Ke
Iss Desh Ko Rakhna Mere Bachon Samhal Ke

Duneeya Ke Daw Pench Se Rakhna Na Wastaa
Manzeel Tumharee Duur Hain Lamba Hain Rasta
Bhatka Na De Koyee Tumhe Dhoke Mein Dal Ke
Iss Desh Ko Rakhna Mere Bachon Samhal Ke

Atom Bamon Ke Zor Pe Aithhi Hai Ye Duneeya
Baarud Ke Ek Dher Pe Baithhi Hai Ye Duneeya
Tum Harr Qadam Uthaana Zara Dekh Bhal Ke
Iss Desh Ko Rakhna Mere Bachon Samhal Ke

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Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Majlis in English Maulana Sayyid Aliraza Naqvi at Bandra Shia Khoja Mosque

113,876 items / 739,601 views

I start a new set shot last night at 8.15 pm , an English mjlis recital by Maulana Sayyid Aliraza Naqvi lecturer and ex Principal of Hauza Birmingham UK at Bandra Shia Khoja Mosque.

I was invited by Facebook friend Asad Virani who requested me to come and to shoot the majlis thereby spreading the gospel by peace , peace that is equally wanted by everyone including the haves and the havenots..

Peace is the message of Imam Hussain..

If I had an army of 72 soldiers of Hussain,I would have achieved freedom for India in 24 hours...Mahatma Gandhi Father of the Nation..

So peace is the core essence of mans quest on Earth..irespective of cultural differences , color caste or creed ..Hussain is Humanity a single Voice against tyranny barbarism and oppression.. Man was born free and needs to be free of the despots of the world..

Maulana Sayyid Naqvi is a brilliant orator but what touched me and the audience was his sense of humility, he wants to learn more than he wants to preach..he rekindled hope where hope lay buried in conceit and arrogance in mans mind..and though I dont take notes and only shoot pictures I give you the gist of his lecture the first one , and this will continue for 10 days at the Bandra Shia Mosque dont miss it..

And this post is dedicated to him and his humility of soul mind and spirit.

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Happy Republic Day From Marziya Shakir

My jewelery collection and Marziya..

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This Ends The Guru Nanak Park Juloos 2010 Series

With this picture I complete the Guru Nanak Park juloos series of 405 pictures at my Flickr photo stream.. it was really a tiring and painful process completing this because of my uploading problems with my service provider You Telecom.

I have two new sets after this Ali Reza Shirazis Mount Mary Juloos shot on 24 Jan 2010 and the English majlis recited by Maulana Sayyid Ali Naqvi lecturer and ex Principal of Hauza at Birmingham UK.. shot last night..

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Lying On The Floor to Shoot Pain

as every drop
of blood that falls on
the parched ground
gives testimony
to hussain
a photo blogger
lying on the floor
to shoot pain
a bit crazy
a bit insane
bejeweled
humane
cosmic
creativity
embedded
in a fragmented
pea brain
one legged photography
the stance of a human crane
somethings you are born with
from the cradle to the tomb
with you it will remain
binding you to divinity
through humanity
with a silken chain

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