100,720 items / 622,124 views
Beneath your Lotus Feet
Lies this photographers
poetic destiny..
what was hidden
you made him see
footprints
on the sands of time
as pictures
for posterity
unlocking a world
without a key
a holistic science
that touches and heals
we call it photography
100,713 items / 616,120 views
in days of old
nationalism
the spirit of freedom
was a torch
held high
service sacrifice
for the country
was the only cry
every man
for the nation
willing to die
things have changed
as time went by
now selling off the nation
is the politicians reply
mega bucks in kick backs
telgi scam every kind of con
by the next guy
towers reaching
god in the sky
the poor man
living in a pigsty
divide and rule
as they their trade
of hate bigotry ply
religion in the hands
of brokers who
hateful means apply
brother against brother
no outcry
while the nation bleeds
the defeated soul
lets out a sigh
100,713 items / 616,718 views
This was shot last evening from a moving rickshah that was taking me to Juhu to shoot the Chhat Puja 2009..I saw this as fast as fast can be,, and call it rapid reflex, I had her in my camera power ,entrapped forever.. a fleeting moment frozen as street photography.
I shoot as is were is basis, I will get a picture , a picture too has its own destiny..if I was destined to shoot it..
About Chhat Puja , I dont know if I was really in a mood of mind to shoot it , I was under terrible stress , I am relocating my shop , and nothing was falling in place, everything was against me , and my slow recovery due to viral fever, but I left it to the Almighty whose travel brochures I shoot free of charge..I promote his universal spirituality , I promote the diverse culture of my country..without seeking gain or profit or a room with a view in Heaven..and God does take care of me in more ways than one..
This one was for God..
100,348 items / 615,278 views
I start a new set at my Flickr photo stream, Chhat Puja 2009 ..I shot it this evening, barefeet dressed like a tiger cub no pun intended...the latest flavor and statement post election in Maharashtra.
I shot from end of the beach to another,Mr Sanjay Nirupams podium was very grand and awesome, the entire crowd was watching the song recital from the beach, I met him took a few frames and left..
I have been shooting the Chhat Puja Festival from the time Mr Sanjay Nirupam placed it on the festival map of Mumbai in a very big way.
I have tried never to miss this festival , and today I was in real bad shape I have not recovered from my viral fever but I made it to the beach...overriding all odds.
About Chhat Puja from Wikipedia
Chhath (Hindi: छठ, also called Dala Chhath) is an ancient Hindu festival dedicated to Surya, the chief solar deity, unique to Bihar, Jharkhand and the Terai[1]. This major festival is also celebrated in the northeast region of India, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and parts of Chhattisgarh. Even in Tamil Nadu, the migrants from the north celebrate Chhath. Hymns praying to the sun can be found in the Vedas, the oldest sacred texts of Hinduism. Practiced in different parts of India, the worship of the sun has been described in the Rigveda.
The word chhath denotes the number 6 in Hindi [2]and the festival begins on the sixth day of the Hindu lunar month of Kartik, which corresponds to months of October and November in the Gregorian calendar (a week after Diwali). Chhath is the holiest Hindu festival of Bihar & eastern UP. It extends to four days.
The ancient Sanskrit epic Mahābhārata has references to Draupadi, wife of the Pandavas, worshipping the sun, which was believed to help cure a variety of diseases, including leprosy, and ensure longevity and prosperity of family members, friends, and elders. In addition, it is believed that Chhath was started by Karna, the son of Surya, who became a great warrior and fought against the Pandavas in the Kurukshetra War.
This is the only holy festival which has no involvement of any priest (Pandit). People celebrates this festival by thier own.
It is celebrated twice a year: once in the summers (May-July), called the Chaiti Chhath, and once in the winter (September-November) around a week after Deepawali, called the Kartik Chhath. The latter is more popular because winters are the usual festive season in North India, and Chhath, being an arduous observance, requiring the worshippers to fast without water for more than 24 hours, is easier to undertake in the Indian winters.
Chhath is mainly a Bihari festival, and so it is celebrated wherever people from Bihar have migrated. This is a ritual bathing festival that follows a period of abstinence and ritual segregation of the worshiper from the main household for four days. During this period, the worshiper observes ritual purity, and sleeps on the floor on a single blanket. The main worshipers, called Parvaitin (from Sanskrit parv, meaning 'occasion' or 'festival'), are usually women. However, a large number of men also observe this festival. The parvaitin pray for the well-being of their family, for prosperity and offspring. They can only perform Chhath if it is passed on to them from their older generation. However, once they decide to do it, it becomes their duty to perform it every year. The festival is skipped only if there happens to be a death in the family that year.
On the eve of Chhath, houses and surroundings are scrupulously cleaned. One the first day of the festival, the worshiper cooks a traditional vegetarian meal and offers it to the Sun God. This day is called Naha-Kha (literally, 'Bathe and eat'!). The worshiper allows herself/himself only one meal on this day.
On the second day, a special ritual, called Kharna, is performed in the evening after Sun down. On this day also, the worshiper eats his/her only meal from the offerings (Prashad) made to the Sun God in this ritual. Friends and family are invited to the household on this day to share the prashad of the ritual. From this day onwards, for the next 36 hours, the worshiper goes on a fast without water.
The evening of the next day, the entire household accompanies the worshiper to a ritual bathing and worship of the Sun God, usually on the bank of a river, or a common large water body. The occasion is almost a carnival. Besides the main worshiper, there are friends and family, and numerous participants and onlookers, all willing to help and receive the blessings of the worshipper. Ritual rendition of regional folk songs, carried on through oral transmission from mothers and mothers-in-law to daughters and daughters-in-law, are sung on this occasion. The same bathing ritual is repeated on the following day at the crack of dawn. This is when the worshipper breaks his/her fast and finishes the ritual. Chhath being celebrated at the crack of the dawn on a river bank is a beautiful, elating spiritual experience connecting the modern Indian to his ancient cultural roots.
The folk songs sung on the eve of Chhath mirror the culture, social structure, mythology and history of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Nowadays, modern Chhath songs, largely Bollywood film remixes have caught on, but the old tradition still goes strong with a great degree of sanctity. The three main linguistic regions of Bihar: the Maithili, the Magadhi, and the Bhojpuri, and all the various dialects associated with these, have different folk songs; but have an underlying unity in their dedicated to Chhath. The minor nuances of the Chhath rituals, such as in the Kharna ritual, vary from region to region, and also across families, but still there is a fundamental similarity.
[edit] Yogic Viewpoint
As per the yogic view point word Chhath is a compound of two words; Chah means 6 stages and Hath refers to the science of Hath Yog (austerity). The word Chhath refers to the process of consciously obtaining the solar energy through 6 stages involving the methods similar to Hath Yog. Hath here refers to the austerities like fasting, standing in water, etc. This entire process has been termed by the yogis as a Conscious Photoenergization Process having 6 stages.
Stage 1: Fasting and the discipline of cleanliness leads to detoxification of the body and mind. This stage prepares the body and mind of the Vratti (devotee) to receive the cosmic solar energy.
Stage 2: Standing in a water body with half the body (navel deep) in the water minimizes the leak of energy and helps the prana (psychic energy) to move up the sushumna (psychic channel in the spine).
Stage 3: Cosmic Solar Energy enters the Vratti’s pineal, pituitary and hypothalamus glands (Triveni complex) through retina and optic nerves.
Stage 4: Activation of Triveni (tri-glandular complex) Pineal, pituitary and hypothalamus
Stage 5: A kind of Polarization of happens in the spine, which results in the Vratti’s gross and subtle bodies getting transformed into a cosmic powerhouse. This can also lead to the awakening of the latent psychic energy popularly known as the Kundalini Shakti.
Stage 6: The body of Vratti (devotee) becomes a channel, which conducts, recycles and transmits the energy into the entire universe.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chhath
http://www.flickr.com/photos/firozeshakir/4039306459/
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Mr Sanjay Nirupam and Me At Chhat Puja 2009 100,348 items / 615,278 views I start a new set at my Flickr photo stream, Chhat Puja 2009 ..I shot it this evening, barefeet dressed like a tiger cub no pun intended...the latest flavor and statement post election in Maharashtra. I shot from end of the beach to another,Mr Sanjay Nirupams podium was very grand and awesome, the entire crowd was watching the song recital from the beach, I met him took a few frames and left.. I have been shooting the Chhat Puja Festival from the time Mr Sanjay Nirupam placed it on the festival map of Mumbai in a very big way. I have tried never to miss this festival , and today I was in real bad shape I have not recovered from my viral fever but I made it to the beach...overriding all odds. About Chhat Puja from Wikipedia Chhath (Hindi: छठ, also called Dala Chhath) is an ancient Hindu festival dedicated to Surya, the chief solar deity, unique to Bihar, Jharkhand and the Terai[1]. This major festival is also celebrated in the northeast region of India, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and parts of Chhattisgarh. Even in Tamil Nadu, the migrants from the north celebrate Chhath. Hymns praying to the sun can be found in the Vedas, the oldest sacred texts of Hinduism. Practiced in different parts of India, the worship of the sun has been described in the Rigveda. The word chhath denotes the number 6 in Hindi [2]and the festival begins on the sixth day of the Hindu lunar month of Kartik, which corresponds to months of October and November in the Gregorian calendar (a week after Diwali). Chhath is the holiest Hindu festival of Bihar & eastern UP. It extends to four days. The ancient Sanskrit epic Mahābhārata has references to Draupadi, wife of the Pandavas, worshipping the sun, which was believed to help cure a variety of diseases, including leprosy, and ensure longevity and prosperity of family members, friends, and elders. In addition, it is believed that Chhath was started by Karna, the son of Surya, who became a great warrior and fought against the Pandavas in the Kurukshetra War. This is the only holy festival which has no involvement of any priest (Pandit). People celebrates this festival by thier own. It is celebrated twice a year: once in the summers (May-July), called the Chaiti Chhath, and once in the winter (September-November) around a week after Deepawali, called the Kartik Chhath. The latter is more popular because winters are the usual festive season in North India, and Chhath, being an arduous observance, requiring the worshippers to fast without water for more than 24 hours, is easier to undertake in the Indian winters. Chhath is mainly a Bihari festival, and so it is celebrated wherever people from Bihar have migrated. This is a ritual bathing festival that follows a period of abstinence and ritual segregation of the worshiper from the main household for four days. During this period, the worshiper observes ritual purity, and sleeps on the floor on a single blanket. The main worshipers, called Parvaitin (from Sanskrit parv, meaning 'occasion' or 'festival'), are usually women. However, a large number of men also observe this festival. The parvaitin pray for the well-being of their family, for prosperity and offspring. They can only perform Chhath if it is passed on to them from their older generation. However, once they decide to do it, it becomes their duty to perform it every year. The festival is skipped only if there happens to be a death in the family that year. On the eve of Chhath, houses and surroundings are scrupulously cleaned. One the first day of the festival, the worshiper cooks a traditional vegetarian meal and offers it to the Sun God. This day is called Naha-Kha (literally, 'Bathe and eat'!). The worshiper allows herself/himself only one meal on this day. On the second day, a special ritual, called Kharna, is performed in the evening after Sun down. On this day also, the worshiper eats his/her only meal from the offerings (Prashad) made to the Sun God in this ritual. Friends and family are invited to the household on this day to share the prashad of the ritual. From this day onwards, for the next 36 hours, the worshiper goes on a fast without water. The evening of the next day, the entire household accompanies the worshiper to a ritual bathing and worship of the Sun God, usually on the bank of a river, or a common large water body. The occasion is almost a carnival. Besides the main worshiper, there are friends and family, and numerous participants and onlookers, all willing to help and receive the blessings of the worshipper. Ritual rendition of regional folk songs, carried on through oral transmission from mothers and mothers-in-law to daughters and daughters-in-law, are sung on this occasion. The same bathing ritual is repeated on the following day at the crack of dawn. This is when the worshipper breaks his/her fast and finishes the ritual. Chhath being celebrated at the crack of the dawn on a river bank is a beautiful, elating spiritual experience connecting the modern Indian to his ancient cultural roots. The folk songs sung on the eve of Chhath mirror the culture, social structure, mythology and history of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Nowadays, modern Chhath songs, largely Bollywood film remixes have caught on, but the old tradition still goes strong with a great degree of sanctity. The three main linguistic regions of Bihar: the Maithili, the Magadhi, and the Bhojpuri, and all the various dialects associated with these, have different folk songs; but have an underlying unity in their dedicated to Chhath. The minor nuances of the Chhath rituals, such as in the Kharna ritual, vary from region to region, and also across families, but still there is a fundamental similarity. [edit] Yogic Viewpoint As per the yogic view point word Chhath is a compound of two words; Chah means 6 stages and Hath refers to the science of Hath Yog (austerity). The word Chhath refers to the process of consciously obtaining the solar energy through 6 stages involving the methods similar to Hath Yog. Hath here refers to the austerities like fasting, standing in water, etc. This entire process has been termed by the yogis as a Conscious Photoenergization Process having 6 stages. Stage 1: Fasting and the discipline of cleanliness leads to detoxification of the body and mind. This stage prepares the body and mind of the Vratti (devotee) to receive the cosmic solar energy. Stage 2: Standing in a water body with half the body (navel deep) in the water minimizes the leak of energy and helps the prana (psychic energy) to move up the sushumna (psychic channel in the spine). Stage 3: Cosmic Solar Energy enters the Vratti’s pineal, pituitary and hypothalamus glands (Triveni complex) through retina and optic nerves. Stage 4: Activation of Triveni (tri-glandular complex) Pineal, pituitary and hypothalamus Stage 5: A kind of Polarization of happens in the spine, which results in the Vratti’s gross and subtle bodies getting transformed into a cosmic powerhouse. This can also lead to the awakening of the latent psychic energy popularly known as the Kundalini Shakti. Stage 6: The body of Vratti (devotee) becomes a channel, which conducts, recycles and transmits the energy into the entire universe.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chhath
Thank You Ya Khuda - Break Dance of Democracy Ends, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.
100,345 items / 614,282 views
Mr Baba Siddiqui erstwhile sitting MLA Mumbai Congress I/ NCP combine , won from the Vandre Constituency with a very slender margin defeating Advocate Ashish Shelar , since the results were announced there was some inter party skirmishes but the immediate arrival of the Mumbai Police saw calm and a greater calm prevailed at Bandra Bazar Road..basically it is vested interest bent on disturbing the canvas of peace of Bandra the Queen of Suburbs.
I did not shoot any pictures and thanks to the presence of the cops who were near my shop, there was a total ban on bursting of crackers..so the Congress Party NCP are back at the helm..let them bring constructive hope and solve the grievances of all concerned.
I met Advocate Ashish Shelar BJP who thanked me for shooting his rally..and hoped better luck in the next hustings and had the best regards for the winning candidate..
Now my poem
Ya Khuda
Break Dance
of Democracy ends
with your blessings
with your grace
the voter
the winner
to the Vidhan Sabha
sends ..
the loud mouthed losers
totally quiet
into the darkness blend
they have other jobs
to tend
choked
on the political
river bend
so many
fences to mend
for the sake
of the populace
their supporters
their friends
time to shake hands
make amends
the city
more important
than self on
good governance
good law and order
depends
please think
of the voters
in the hot sun
old poor very poor
who voted for you
some with their backs bent
some who never got their
voters cards were hellbent
the healing hand
is back in power
the homeless dont
torment
breaking their shanties
their tents
fires of divide and rule
dont foment
be kind to the north indians
treat them as
your own brother
without any evil intent
a new order
of peace hope and harmony
you must invent
thank them
with a nice Diwali present
100,344 items / 614,262 views
Its High Time they bought Laxmi Narayan Tripathi to the Big Bosses House bad memories erase ..She is Adab, Tehzeeb Deportment Charm and God given Grace..Beauty Brains and a Beautiful Face ..Hijda Goddess Queen of her Race ...She gives the other gender ample space , on national TV - respect culture she would showcase..
Beyond caste color or creed this human phenomenon people from all over the world will eagerly embrace..give her a chance the rest of the bunch she will outrace..and outpace..
100,342 items / 611,433 views
Marziya Shakir is my 23 month old grand daughter ,she is aware of the camera, as she has seen me take her pictures since she was 2 days old, Marziya is a camera child, the camera has been bringing her life's story to all of you.
Marziya can hold the Nikon D 80 ..she holds it like a professional assisted by me , than she bends her head into the viewfinder , I help her press the trigger..
The exercise here is not just about making her a photographer , it is to instill in her the power of the camera the greatest instrument of Peace.
The only instrument that shoots and you live forever.
The camera that holistically heals all human souls.
Marziya is my first and last student , she has watched me shoot perched on my waist, shooting into crowds at Bandra, at a few religious events save Moharam.
She has yet not been exposed to the blood shedding rituals of my Faith..
She has seen street kids , the poor umbrella lady who sits at Bandra Reclamation or Appu the limbless guy at Mahim.
She has given them money her first baby steps towards charity.
Marziya knows how to put the memory card into the camera , she knows how to put the card into the card holder and will place it into the computer monitor accordingly..
I could make her shooting easy by placing the camera on the tripod and allowing her access to the trigger , but I have not done it as yet..I have just this camera so I am not taking any chances , assisting her makes my task easier.
Only time will tell how good a photographer Marziya Shakir will be a few years from now.
I was down with viral fever and flu and have just added text to the blank space of this post
Even Marziya was not well thanks to the endless bursting of crackers that went on till the wee hours of the morning, she has recovered ..
100,342 items / 611,433 views
strings of silence
we strum
following
a silhouette
within
a poem
of good days
elusive
playing
hide and seek
as our
respective
soul goes numb
bollywoods most wanted
exiled
from filmdom
an eternity
of sartorial
dilemma
ad naseum
the call of uhuru
death
of individual
freedom
beyond
the mind
beyond
the flesh
a matrix
of confusion
unsolved
problem
waiting
for flowers
that wont blossom
waiting
impatiently
holding
a drowning straw
of good days
to come
dedicated to nabila khanam
100,299 items / 610,695 views
lighting the path
all over bazar road
nobody heard his wail
crackers tied
to his tail
the human
festive season
to regale
his soul
with extreme
cruelty
they did nail
smoke fire to inhale
happy diwali
to you and yours
after a few
hits views
this pedestrian story
will soon become stale
this is his calm
his patience
in detail
as he sits
dreading
the next diwali
the cat
with a lizards
cut tail
pain
overblown
from a thumbnail
I saw this cat in the morning near my shop, as the lady who feeds cats pointed out his misery to me, I called for my camera and shot a few frames.
100,298 items / 610,577 views
on shards of glass
on embers of coal
they dance
wanting society
to accept them
as humans
they deserve
a second chance
man loving man
ardh nari nareshwar
a spiritual romance
a few coins
thrown at their face
not even
a kindly glance
miscarriage of birth
karma in a trance
a beggars bowl
no advance
a deadwood future
the state wont finance
dedicated to Kalki Subramaniam.. my facebook friend..activist and a lot more..
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