Saqlain The Shia Braveheart

Saqlain The Shia Braveheart, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

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I have been shooting Saqlain since he began scourging his back as a little toddler I would shoot him in Bandra and at the major Moharam juloos in Mumbai Ashura Chehlum.

And actually he wanted Marziya to shoot his back but she handed the camera to me so I took this shot and the next ones too.

I want to reiterate I dont glorify bloody acts but this is a part of Azadari and has been going on for many years , when I shoot kids getting their head cuts I shoot it as a photographer I dont promote or proselytize any rituals for that matter,its the Shia parents prerogative they get their children marked with the dagger more prolifically in Hyderabad than in any other city I have covered shooting Moharam.

In Madras parents even Hindu parents would line up to get their childs head cut , but I was far too tired and exhausted I would go and perch myself for long hours on Mesaqs van and shoot from the top .Madras is quite tame as compared to Mumbai or Hyderabad .

And whatever edict or fatwa against Kamazni or Zanjir Zani issued from other countries I think the Indian or the Pakistani Shia is hardly ever give up his fundamental right to bleed for Hussain.

I cut my head twice an year during Ashura and Chehlum to show you that I am human too.. I bleed it would hurt me earlier perhaps but now my head is immune to poetic pain or otherwise.

In Madras it was the first time I cut my head with my own camera round my neck otherwise as in Mumbai my friends would shoot my act on my camera... my so called Tandav on the Soul of Shimr.

My grand mother used to tell me in Lucknow she had seen Khana Badosh women in a village doing the zanjir matam too .

Girls are not encouraged to cut their heads but in Hyderabad it is a common sight and I shot girls getting their head cut in Madras.

In Mumbai Kurla my friend Papu Bhais daughter cuts her head herself and that is something between her and her father .. he is compatible to the fact that she likes to cut her head.

Marziya will never cut her head or have her back scourged , but she is not afraid...she has got over fear and as a photographer she shoots the events as coolly as I do.

Marziya Shakir Street Photographer

Marziya Shakir Street Photographer, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

Ya Hussain A Chant Of Peace

Ya Hussain A Chant Of Peace, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

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yazid shimr and his gang
are alive all around
on the soul of humanity
as enemies of hussain
abound hidden
in the crevices of
tainted minarets
can be found
desensitized
demoralized
the soul of humanity
with suicide bombs
they pound only a single
chant of ya hussain
hits them
like speed of sound
man kunto maulah
on the plains
of ghadeer he had
crowned

Marziya Shakir 3 Year Old Shoots The Bandra Mehfil Juloos 2010

Marziya Shakir 3 Year Old Shoots The Bandra Mehfil Juloos 2010, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

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Dressed in black a Press Card round her neck this picture was shot by my grand daughter Marziya Shakir 3 year old on the Nikon D 80.

I was not in a great frame of mind so I had planned not to cover this juloos because of my sever cold and flu but when Marziya returned home from a majlis I took her with me both of us shot a few frames.

The Mehfil juloos begins from the Bandra Mehfil and ends at the Bandra Shia Mosque Bandra Bazar Road.

This year the message of Hussain and Humanity was driven home with powerful banners placed on the Sabils.

My good friend Ashiq Ali and the boys of Anjuman e Yadgare Mehdi had really done a great job with a passion driven by their love of Hussain and their collective cause of promoting peace as the only message among all communities beyond caste color and creed.

Because of this helpful attitude of these Shia boys Furkan Mohsin Ejaaz Irfan and others even the neighboring boys non Shias come around and help in the cause of Hussainiyat.

Marziya first shot the Zanjir matam last year when she was barely two years old at the Almeida Park Moharam juloos.

Indian Woman Was Born With a Crown of Thorns

Indian Woman Was Born With a Crown of Thorns, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

Beauty Shot From a Bus

Beauty Shot From a Bus, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.

PhotoBloggers Are Positive Spam... Ha Ha Ha

PhotoBloggers Are Positive Spam... Ha Ha Ha, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.