I Come To Worli Seaface For Work..But Dont Shoot Rainy Day Pictures

I come here very often to meet a client I come by cab via the sea link and again take a cab back home ,, I shoot a few shots from the cab window and the cab driver was telling me this place is jam packed on weekends .

The poor of Worli gaon , Worli slums live cheek and jowl with the super rich ,,as far as sharing the promenade goes ,, and the poor are happy getting wet playing cricket off the saaface ..while the rich walk ,, to lose weight some jog , there are guys showing of their curves on the parallel bars ,,unlike Carter Road and Bandra Bandstand you dont see many Miyas here ,, I maybe wrong I come on weekdays only..

Worli Seaface is nostalgic as I shoot the Marriammen Feast here every year,, once I used to come to Mr Dilip Vengsarkars house but that was a few years back for his trousers and shirts .he was very hospitable  and extremely courteous ..I used to make Mr Sunil Gavaskars suits too a very long time back..

And beyond the  Worli Seaface is Worli Gaon . fishing village I shot the eve of Holi among the Kolis ,, with my friend from Reunion.. The Kolis loved him and were hell bent on treating him to their home made Jambul liuor but my friend politely refused .. The booze that some Kolis brew is impeccable and at Danda a lot of Bollywood stars came in the night to taste and savor it including bombils fried ravas and promfret ,, Koli cuisine is out of this world I know it as I lived at Danpada .

The East Indian Kolis of Vasai Killa Bunder are great hosts and their food is spicy and lip smacking .. I know a family Rudolf my fisherman friend ,

The beauty of a blog unlike a picture of an analogue photographer is not limited to what he shot , the blog raves of stories tidbits anecdotes coherently beyond the picture ,,the blog takes you to unexplored territories and you need to write simply.. to get the message across the other end.

I would be a fish out of water if I tried blogging without a picture the essence of my blog is the content that I shot impulsively maybe accidentally too..I hardly know about SEO shit I dont care a bit about it ,, as long as I am emotionally involved with the train of my thought ,,

So a street shot of the Worli promenade on a rainy day ,, can act as catharsis for the loneliness within the inner angst ,, and strangely when I come to Worli Seaface for work I am formally dressed no sartorial shocks .. no turban no beads no rings and certainly no mystical attitude ,,

After my Canon 60 D got wet in the rains and conked off I am scared to take it out without my umbrella ,, taking out in the raincoat was miscalculated disaster ..but miraculously it recovered and is now in the best of health.


I

Please Do Not Disturb,, We Are On Hunger Strike For Yulin Dog Festival China

Yulin (Chinese: 玉林; pinyin: Yùlín; literally: "Jade Forest") is one of the fourteen prefecture-level cities of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China.

Geography and climate[edit]
Yulin is located in southeastern Guangxi province along the border with Guangdong. It is a hilly basin with a total area of 12,838 km2 (4,957 sq mi).

Yulin's climate is subtropical and monsoonal. Average annual temperatures is 21 °C. Yearly precipitation is 1,650 mm. Annual sunlight hours are more than 1,795.

History[edit]
Artifacts suggest that the area was settled before the Qin Dynasty but a commandery by the name of Yulin was not established until early Han Dynasty. The urban centre of Yulin became a zhou in 996. Since ancient times, Yulin has been important for trade and communications between central China and the south, especially the coast of the Tonkin Gulf.

Administration[edit]
Yulin has 1 city, 2 districts, 4 counties, and 119 towns and townships.

City:

Beiliu
Districts:

Yuzhou
Fumian
Counties:

Rongxian
Luchuan
Bobai
Xingye
Demographics:

Yulin has a population of approximately 6.7 million. The majority of Yulin's population is Han but there are Zhuang, Miao, and other ethnic minorities totaling more than 100,000 people.
Language and culture[edit]
Some Chinese linguists have suggested that the Yue dialect of Yulin is the best surviving example of what ancient spoken Chinese would have sounded like based on rhyme patterns in Tang dynasty poetry.[citation needed]

Economy[edit]
Yulin is rich in natural resources. Important mineral resources include granite, limestone, iron, and gemstones. It is also Guangxi's biggest source of porcelain clay. Major agricultural products are rice, bananas, tomatoes, mandarin oranges, mangoes, longan, anise, tea, sugarcane, and livestock such as cattle, pigs, geese, and chickens. Industrial goods include machinery, construction materials, processed food, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, cigarettes, and ceramics.

Tourism[edit]
It is famous for its many mineral hot springs and one of China's oldest and most famous towers, Shiyi Tower (石嶷文塔).

Dog meat festival[edit]
Main article: Yulin Lychee and Dog Meat Festival
Yulin is also known for its annual dog meat festival which takes place on 21 June. Over 10,000 dogs are killed at this festival for human consumption. Reports of inhumane treatment, including torture, caused celebrities and others to protest against the Festival.[1] A woman named Yang Xiaoyun went as far as to pay 150,000 yuan to save 360 dogs and dozens of cats from the festival in 2014 and 7,000 yuan to save 100 dogs in 2015.[2][3] Some Chinese celebrities such as Chen Kun and Yao Ming, as well as international celebrities like Ricky Gervais, Ian Somerhalder, Leona Lewis, Lori Alan, and Tom Kenny have also publicly expressed a distaste for the festival.[2][4][5]

Education[edit]
Yulin is home to Yulin Normal University, where there are 13 departments with 38 four-year undergraduate specialties, 14 three-year specialties, more than 17,200 students including 12,000 full-time students and 5,200 higher education students.

My Christian Blogs At Flickr

9044 images till date
part of my destiny
my cosmic fate
a shia muslim
spreading love
hope humanity
through people
photography
devoid of hate
different paths
but a single gate
to reach our
only ultimate
 destination we
anxiously wait
our soul will be
free as our flesh
locked up in a
coffin a polished
wooden crate
we can miss
all appointments
but not the final
date ,,leaving
behind all our
wealth belongings
even our blessed
soulmate ,, on a
chess board of
life final checkmate

The Jesuit Who Changed My Life ,, Fr Jaun St Peter Churc

Once many years back I saw Fr Jaun he had come to Kamla Bai sadan where we stayed he had come to bless the House of Trevor Feuz.. I had met the good father through my dear long lost friend Darryl Luke Loyola so Father was surprised to see me ..he had finished his spiritual work and was on his way out at De Monte Street .

I asked Fr Jaun whether he blessed only Christian homes and not Muslim homes , Father gave me a smile came to my humble abode blessed it with his presence and had a nice hot cup of tea made by my wife ,,

And thus we have been cosmically connected this fluent Marathi speaking Spanish priest ,once two backpackers from Croatia happened to be in Mumbai homeless I called him he gave them shelter in the Church.

He loves both my granddaughters Marziya and Nerjis and every Easter Sunday one of them comes with me to greet him..foreign photographers who come to meet me I bring them to St Peter Church and introduce them to this kind priest ..

I have shot Fr Jaun on his birthdays I have been treated to lunch by him at his room in the Church.. and he never forgets to wish me on Eid ,,If Darryl ever gave me a present it was this friendship of Fr Jaun..

And when he was going to Spain after many years I tailored a Nehru suit ,, he looked stunning ,, almost like a filmstar ,, 

All he said Firoze you are spoiling me ,,such is his humility and humanity.

In my life I had the love of some of the best Catholic priests and they influenced me in the most positive manner , I was crazy hotheaded Miya but Fr Jaun taught me to control my temper and I owe a lot to him and all my Christian blogs are a tribute to all my Christian friends and these lovable Christian priests ,,

And in Ramzan I am making sure the spirit of Jesus Christ prevails ,,and we live in harmony and love for everyone ,,

Yes Fr Jaun and even Darryl love my wifes chicken biryani.. lol on Eid

Jesus Ploughing The Earth With His Feet

not just loaves and fish
they have vegetables
 fresh fruits to eat
rice lentils wheat
with his tears he
adds nourishing
peat .from the fields
to heal the sick
cure the leper
he is back on
the unpaved
streets ..

jesus the healer
barefeet ..drenched
in the rains ,,you will
meet ..in silence with
a gratifying smile he
will greet ,,touching
your inner being
holistically i repeat

Maria ,, Christian Leper Lady Hates The Mumbai Rains

Once she sat at Bandra Broan Road , begging for alms , with her socketless eyes , her begging tin tied to the stump of her leg as drug addicts would snatch it and run away ,,within the tin is another tin to hide the notes from people who pretend to put in a few coins and deftly remove the notes ,,, even beggars are not safe from Bandra crooks .

I have been documenting Maria a Catholic convert , for many years now .she had left for her hometown last rains .. but she returned for Easter Christmas sitting outside the wall of St Peter Church than she left again before the onset of the Rains .

The rains cause her a lot of grief her leprous body part start falling ,,thats what her daughter Mary told me now Mary sits at Boran Road wear a headscarf and tries to appease the Muslims of Bandra , she sits outside the wall of a Madrsa ,, and I always felt that the Church of Bandra hd let them down terribly ,, I never once saw Sister Cristobal ever enter this lane , I never saw a priest or even a nun try to counsel them they were untouchables and as a photographer I have shot a lot of poor.. the poorest of poor among Christians most of them are converts to Christianity living on the streets of Bandra ,, I shot their video too,.

So it is not only the Muslim beggars I documented , Muslim beggars are in a larger denomination in Bandra and predominantly migrants ..but other communities ,, and imagine begging in the rains ,,with a broken umbrella ,,broken hope its really crazy.. but beg they must to survive and in these isolated cases it is not the Beggar Mafia using but sheer necessity of living.

Mary has two kids they are in boarding , the daughter will become a nun , unless Mary decides to change her religion to Islam and if she does it will only be to move from one faith to the next .. but might still remain a beggar for all you know,, as I am only a photographer I have no reason to think or politicize her pain.because of neglected misplaced religiosity.

I know hardcore evangelist Muslims more from the Wahabi Salafi Tabliki sect that make the Muslim beggar , wear a skull cap , and tell him about the Faith but he still remains a beggar , they can change his way of thinking but will not rehabilitate him , fuck will they take his daughter and get her married to their son.. now that is something that would sound seriously a misplaced thought.. I hate conversions ...you can hate me for thinking like that ,, and this blog is about the beggars of Bandra living in penury,,,

And I miss Maria as I spoke to her gave her money and though she is blind she would recognize me from my footsteps ,, Mary did not like me in the beginning as she thought I made money selling her mothers pictures ,but than she met my wife my granddaughters and realized I was not what she thought .

I meet her even now ,,I never asked about her husband or what made her beg.. and that was with respect to her privacy but I have video shot Muslim beggar couples in Bandra and Ghatkopar .. all my beggar interviews are on You Tube .

Ramzan is the only gracious pious month for Beggars God sees they do not go hungry at all.. after Ramzan I am sorry to say with a million pardons apologies the graciousness and the piety goes away in hibernation till next Ramzan.

Being a Muslim I know how the Muslim cycle of life works ,, and as a street photographer I shoot the cycle of life of Muslim Beggars and a few like Mary and Maria.

My grandchildren Marziya and Nerjis have shot Maria .. and this picture was shot in April 2012 ,, I just added text to a blank post...and copy pasted it on the soul of my inner angst.

Death of the East Indian Ethos

by lanes of bandra bazar road 
through my camera lens i spy
young relatives eagerly waiting for 
old relatives to die 
grab the property sell 
it to the builder 
who will make a tower 
kissing the feet of god 
in the sky 
this is the case 
of gaothan 
fishing villages 
from bandra bazar
to chimbai 
a lost heritage 
of the east indians 
a stray tear in the eye 
politicians builders 
municipality 
favors money 
can buy 
packing 
their suitcases 
moving to uttan nalla sopara 
the last east Indian 
to bandra bids good bye 
miyas marwaris bohras 
gujratis punjabis 
south indians 
will take their place 
big bucks so imply 
on the other hand 
the roman catholic 
church of Jesus
to the east indian ethos 
has forever 
shut its eye

Render to Caesar what belong to Caesar and to Christ what belongs to Christ 
is their biblical diplomatic apolitical reply ...Silence searching for another fall guy ..