Raju Earcleaner
My Friend Raju the Ear Cleaner of Bandra Talao
Raju is a devout Hindu but also a humble devotee of the Holy Saint of Haji Malang near Kalyan .
The moment Raju sees me getting out of my rickshah his eyes sparkle and he gets boastful among the people that are denizens of Bandra Talao ...for him I am an actor and a man who comes to get his ears cleaned at the Bandra Talao.
He has seen the Hindi film I acted in with his children and wife at the cinema hall ..and he lavishes a lot of praise .
He opens up to me and I listen to his chatter as interesting as the pigeons feeding at the Talao .
He is working alone and he missess his seniors Nabi and Kassim who have not returned from their hometown..Kassim went for his daughters wedding and they got delayed .
Raju tells me of the suicides at the pond ..which never make it in the newspapers he tells me of the junkies who create havoc at the pond the local goons who get their ears cleaned free but he takes it all in his stride and he hardly has time to get worked up or complain .
And I once invited him home for lunch he politely refused I than told him I will take him for lunch at Lucky Hotel but he felt embarrassed ..I did not broach the topic further .. He will always ask about my granddaughter Nerjis ..so these are a few sketches of people that share their humility with me ..and as a photographer what is your actual aim .
A picture or a storytelling moment ..so lurking in the bushes of life are pictures and storytelling moments .
I come here to relax but I also wait to shoot a video ..and it us not easy the person who is getting his ears cleaned can object to my invasion of his privacy ...but of late they seem to enjoy the attention I give them I make them famous too on You Tube .
But it is sad this camaraderie with the earcleaners of Bandra Talao I don't find elsewhere say Fort or DN Road where they sit ..they get angry abusive .. No pictures that's their first command .
But Raju Nabi Kassim like me and though normally I don't give copies of the pictures I shoot I make an exception to these three humble ear cleaners .
#earcleaners
9h
Raju Earcleaner
My Friend Raju the Ear Cleaner of Bandra Talao
Raju is a devout Hindu but also a humble devotee of the Holy Saint of Haji Malang near Kalyan .
The moment Raju sees me getting out of my rickshah his eyes sparkle and he gets boastful among the people that are denizens of Bandra Talao ...for him I am an actor and a man who comes to get his ears cleaned at the Bandra Talao.
He has seen the Hindi film I acted in with his children and wife at the cinema hall ..and he lavishes a lot of praise .
He opens up to me and I listen to his chatter as interesting as the pigeons feeding at the Talao .
He is working alone and he missess his seniors Nabi and Kassim who have not returned from their hometown..Kassim went for his daughters wedding and they got delayed .
Raju tells me of the suicides at the pond ..which never make it in the newspapers he tells me of the junkies who create havoc at the pond the local goons who get their ears cleaned free but he takes it all in his stride and he hardly has time to get worked up or complain .
And I once invited him home for lunch he politely refused I than told him I will take him for lunch at Lucky Hotel but he felt embarrassed ..I did not broach the topic further .. He will always ask about my granddaughter Nerjis ..so these are a few sketches of people that share their humility with me ..and as a photographer what is your actual aim .
A picture or a storytelling moment ..so lurking in the bushes of life are pictures and storytelling moments .
I come here to relax but I also wait to shoot a video ..and it us not easy the person who is getting his ears cleaned can object to my invasion of his privacy ...but of late they seem to enjoy the attention I give them I make them famous too on You Tube .
But it is sad this camaraderie with the earcleaners of Bandra Talao I don't find elsewhere say Fort or DN Road where they sit ..they get angry abusive .. No pictures that's their first command .
But Raju Nabi Kassim like me and though normally I don't give copies of the pictures I shoot I make an exception to these three humble ear cleaners .
#earcleaners
9h