GSB Seva Mandal King Circle Ganpati 2009 Thank You Dr BU Pai, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.
92,632 items / 561,315 views
I have placed the last 172 pictures of this series on the uploader , its about 3.25 am in Mumbai in a few minutes my wife will wake up to cook stuff for my 10 th fast of Ramzan.
I once again thank Dr BU Pai of Hinduja Hospital a GSB and a devout hardcore believer of Lord Ganesha , without Dr B U Pai these pictures would never have seen the light of day.
And I am happy that the message of peace and mutual coexistence of Ganesha and Ramzan emanates from the soul and spirit of Mumbai.
Mumbai is a simmering cauldron of love of all communities beyond caste color or creed..
That I was able to document all this in a few hours,speaks highly of Lord Ganeshas love of this barefeet Muslim Blogger of Mumbai.
Amchi Mumbai the city of migrants and the Marathi Manoos all bound to its bounty generosity , it has given us so much and made us what we are..Mumbai the city of love hope and brotherhood.. a vibrant heartbeat of India.
Jai Ho
92,502 items / 560,817 views
you are bandra's
super star
helping the needy
the poor
in their bad hour
their blessings
on you your family
they shower
uncle ashish shelar
a man who stands out
like a tower
not running
after a chair
or power
for you
grapes will
always be sweet
never sour
your well wishers
marathi manoos
muslims sikhs
punjabis sindhis
chistians madrasis
parsis gujratis
migrants from
up and bihar
residents of
bandra bazar
dalit bhim sena
from ambedkar road
pali and khar
kolis and macchimar
all part of your network
your humility
your hearts radar
GSB Seva Mandal King Circle Ganpati 2009/Tolabar, originally uploaded by firoze shakir photographerno1.
92,436 items / 560,119 views
I have shot over 800 pictures in a few hours of the GSB Seva Mandal King Circle Lord Ganesha , to share his magic with all of you , and Lord Ganesha touches everyone who thinks of him..
Today is my 8 fast of Ramzan..and media keeps harping about Muslim Hindu amity during the Ganesha festival, but a Muslim blogger shooting Lord Ganesha in the eyes of media is an object of no consequence barring NDTV nobody has mentioned about me not that I seek any rewards , I shoot with a defective camera, I dont sell my pictures , my business, I am a professional tailor is in doldrums but nothing stops me from shooting the greatest event in Mumbai.
I walk barefeet I shoot barefeet and if I am alive till Visarjan day I shall follow Lalbagh Cha Raja to Kumbharwada and Nagpada ..where Muslims felicitate the King of Kings ..
The volunteers of Lalbagh Cha Raja help me open my fast and I am indebted to them, specially Mr Satish Khankar Mandal Head, Raju Langewal , Balasaheb Kamble Sunil Joshi and others for allowing me to shoot the pictures of the King of King that I post here at Flickr.com. to share with all of you.
Because of my diabetic condition I have not shot many pandals only those close to my house at Bandra though I have requested the GSB Wadala Seva Mandal to give me permission to shoot their Lord Ganesha too.
I dont know anyone at Wadala , here at King Circle it has been Dr BU Pai who helped me get the necessary permission to shoot and I am now considered family ..thank you Dinesh and Dilip Pai too.
So I have sent them an email and await their kind response.
I am uploading my pictures here at Flickr using two uploaders so one stream has GBS King Circle Tolabar ritual and the other the Arti of Advocate Ashish Shelars Ganpati Pandal at Bandra Reclamation .
I shot the seven day Immersion at Mahim Beach because of my poor health.
I did not have the stamina or strength to go as far as Dadar or Juhu ..I dont have wheels I use public transport.
Soon after the fast , all the Muslim kids from nearby tenements , chawls slums, come to Ashish Shelars Ganpati pandal for games like housy and enjoy themselves , they win prizes too.
Keeping respect for Ramzan Ashish Shelr has his arti after Tarabi.. a thought that has endeared him to all, Ashish Bhai as we all call him gives respect to the spirtual sentiments of the peoples religiosity..
Though he represents the BJP Party , though in an area dominated by Muslim slums, nobody can ever accuse Asish Shelar of playing with the religious emotions of the people of this area called Bandra Reclamation..
I have a great respect for the humility of this grass root stalwart of life..So his pandal I shot much before it was ready, I shot his pandal as it was built from scratch.. it gave me a lot of joy...and I can see it from my house window too..
He his wife and their son Omkar are part of everyone's life in Bandra.
