Happy Parsi New Year To All Of You

Happy Parsi New Year To All Of You, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

138,258 items / 1,071,058 views

Today the Parsis celebrate Parsi New Year and the one person missing in the scenario is the person sitting on the chair late Mr Vazifdar head priest of Tata Agiary he died recently..the person standing next to me is Freddy the new Parsi fire temple head priest.... at the Tata Agiary
Hill road Bandra.

I wish all my Parsi friends a very Happy Parsi New Year , may God give is Peace and my we live together as brothers bound beyond our respective religiosity though a banyan tree called Humanity.

I had to re post this picture which had no text to include the Greetings to the departed Soul of Mr Vazifdar too.

And I just called up my childhood friend Rayomand Framroze and my patron Mr Diniyar Jamshedjee of Noble Paints to wish them both blissful greetings on this special day..

I wish all my Facebook friends too..

Malpua Chacha and Me Shot By My Wife

Malpua Chacha and Me Shot By My Wife, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

138,224 items / 1,070,875 views

My wife is a simple lady a housemaker though of late she has started dealing in Lucknowi chicken kurta sets , sets from Kokatta Jaipur and operates from home including bridal wear as my work shows no sign of improvement.


Earlier my wife was very confident and shoot my picture with guests mostly Flickr photographers who came to partake our hospitably but of late she is reticent and feels shy and avoids taking my camera in hand .

All this is due to the fact that Marziya has given all the amateur photographers in my house a very big complex , so now Marziya is the yardstick at home for good photography , and even I find my own prowess with the camera lacking and misplaced in front of Marziyas love for photography.

Yesterday I had taken her to the Ganesha workshops she painted a few idols and took pictures of the artisans sitting and working on the floor I lost count the number of pictures she shot..

The Chacha is the guy who makes Malpuas and he is the one who told me my pictures on the Internet have made him famous in his village.,

Malpuas at Sulaiman Usman Minara Masjid

Malpuas at Sulaiman Usman Minara Masjid, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

They are the best and I have been shooting them since several years but this time I was deeply touched as the old man who makes the malpuas saw me and when wife and I were leaving gave us a packet of sweets and malpuas to break our fast..

All he said was you put my pictures on the internet and made me famous in my village I had tears in my eyes .


I am guilty of selling my picture this one time in exchange of tears.

Photography Is Strictly Restricted From Here

Photography Is Strictly Restricted From Here, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

The Over Zealousness of the Mumbai Police

The Over Zealousness of the Mumbai Police, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

138,187 items / 1,070,787 views

I have great respect for the Mumbai Police and yet they baffle me at times , our Police is the best but yet they startle me if they cannot recognize a photographer with a Press card from a criminal or a terrorist.By reading a persons body language the cops know the veracity or untruth of a person such is the astounding perception of the Mumbai Police .

And of 1 lac 37000 pictures posted on the Internet of Indian cultures feasts festivals I have always included the Police as part of the reality and the safety of our lives and when I am told not to shoot the food lane from JJ Bridge by the cops after showing them my Pres card it hits me in the guts as a person who is showcasing Ramzan and above all Hindu Muslim amity by shooting Hindu feasts as passionately as my own Muslim feasts.

I mean I am not even dressed like I normally do, yet I am treated like a leper by the Mumbai Police I have in most of my photo blogs of Lal Bagh Cha Raja that I shoot barefeet and my Ramzan fast shoot the cops and their task they do with exemplary skill and humanness..

And so requesting to shoot two or three frames of the food lane next to Minara Masjid and told rudely to move away gets on my goat as a law abiding citizen and blogger.


I understand security risk,but they can frisk me before allowing me to take a shot and they could talk to their Senior Police officer on their mobile but no such luck because I am a blogger not a photojournalist from Times of India DNA or Hindustan Times.


Most of the times the grassroot cop would be confused if I told him I was a Blogger .

Luckily at Bandra thanks to my visibility shooting the events here social political religious the cops all know me including Senior Inspector Mr Prakash George..

And I do all this without money without any sponsor I show you India that I have visited and shot or Mumbai its ethos its effervescence through street pictures .

I think photography too should be a compulsory subject to be taught to the police to make them feel what hardships we undergo to shoot pictures post it on the net.

I even offered my services free of charge to the BKC cyber cell if they ever needed my help regarding the Nigerian Scam I have written intensively with a collection of Scam letters all at my Flickr photo steam.


i think if the top cop reads this he should tell his juniors to give us some respect as we give them too on the roads.

And I have yet to meet a Mumbai Police officer who is a blogger as prolific as I am....

But this will happen when the cop is told there is a lot of difference between a blogger and a criminal..

So I shot this picture through my cab to register my protest as a citizen of India and as a Mumbaikar.

And I dont sell my pictures nor am I monetizing my Flickr stream through Google Ad Sense

And one day after another 50 years websites instead of charging us for blogging will pay us too including Google Search who survives on our content and images unfortunately i wont be alive at that time.

So I have made my two year old grand daughter Marziya Shakir the favorite of Bandra Police a photo blogger with her own Press Card ..

And I hope they dont stop her when she raises the lens to shoot her favorite Uncle Mr Prakash George Senior Inspector Bandra Police Station Hill Road.

And I shoot for people who have now migrated and yet miss Mumbai I post my pictures and let them revive their memories of this beloved city Mumbai the heart beat of India..
I share a message I received from a Facebook friend..


K H August 18 at 4:32pm

Salaam Alaikum Firoze Bhai,
Can you post some pictures of Ramadan, specially from Minara Masjid, Bhindi Bazaar and other part of Mumbai...
I am missing it...
Thank you

Some More Tears On The Soul Of Islam

Some More Tears On The Soul Of Islam, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

138,186 items / 1,070,779 views

Ramzan

a month of piety
forgiveness
a month
of spiritual calm
in the name
of hate a few
tarnish
the soul of Islam
tears on the soul
of a bleeding Ramzan
Muslims love killing Muslims
60 soldiers dead in Iraq
a single human bomb
a eunuch silence prevails
as we helplessly
watch this sitcom
this was not the Message
of the Holy Prophet
Ahle Bayt or the Imams
misguided jehad
misplaced martyrdom
a new message on
the soul of terrorism
embalmed
our fate line shudders
on the mound
of our palm

Shias of Mumbai 21 Ramzan

Shias of Mumbai 21 Ramzan, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

Capturing the angst blood sweat and tears on the soul of Man..pertaining to my faith as an Indian Shia Muslim

Documenting the Soul of Shia Faith and Humanity barefeet in Mumbai..

The Shia community knows about Ghame Hussain , their expression of grief my Maksade Hussain is to show through pictures the pain , our symboli...sm embedded in blood and without hurting any one my target audience has always been the non Shia, my foreigner and Hindu friends..I dont proselytize my faith I simply as a blogger show you the indomitable spirit of a peaceful community that has used Moharam as an instrument of peace against oppression and terrorism of mankind..

Strangely the Wahabbis the Ahle Hadees get upset seeing our blood shedding but condone the killings of innocent people in the name of misplaced Jehhad..

I am shocked at the eunuch silence , the Darool Uloom now states that suicide bombings and killings are anti terrorism..
Was the killing of Imam Ali and Imam Hussain not anti Islam..

I am not a Mullah I respect humanity I respect Faith but will not kiss ass the views and the justification of people who trarget our religiosity..

We are the only community that has fought against terrorism of Man for over 1400 years..

Now if you get upset at this album , dont view it , if you thing its in bad taste remove me from your friends list I cannot change my parentage or my ancestry or my Indianness to suit your morphed views and rancid opinion..

Thanks