A part of my life was spent at yacht

Old monk shots ..with my conscience to stop drinking I constantly fought .

Jesus watched me as my mind

Played fox trot ...I was a victim of my

Poetic drunkenness a cosmic plot

#beggarpoet

#yacht

#bandra

I have taken a long break from #Instagram Farewell

Don't move, I'm sleeping 😴 🐥❤️

As a photographer shooting the streets and beggars I will never forget this image a part of me that is the grandfather said to cover the child with a cloth but better sense prevailed I left some money after taking a shot and moved away.

This is life this is motherhood and this is the underbelly of Mumbai.

Even Satymave Jayate sometimes sounds hollow on the mound of Adversity .

#beggars

Do I really need a camera to tell you about the eternal loneliness of Man.

#bandra

Zindagi ek Gubbara Hai

Bas Hawa ka sahara hai

Kya Hamara

Kya tumhara hai

Main toh pagal hoon

Sirf Dil Kunwara Hai

#beggarpoet

One is slaughtered on Bakra Eid

The other is yet to be freed..

From chains of male enslavement

Still holding on to her values and creed

#muslimwomen

#sacrificialgoat

#bandra

#beggarpoet

1520 Sedgwick Avenue (the birthplace of hip hop) is the building with the tall elevator tower, second from left in the group on the right hand side of photo.

Happy #WorldPhotographyDay

Dedicated to the #touristphotographers who lost their livelihood due to extended #lockdowns and #pandemic last 2 years .

#juhubeach

Nobody really cared for them.

You need an eye to shoot pictures ..

The camera is only a means to an end ..

It freezes your thoughts becomes

Your freedom of expression

A mesage I send ...

#beggarpoet

My favorite NYC photo from my March trip was taken on an iPhone for my Instagram Story on the way back to Penn Station.

My brother Ally

Is in some southern valley

We think alike but our

Thoughts don't tally .

Waiting for him to come

To Mumbai to attend a

Farmers rally

he is @elitomelamin

I am a product of my mother's womb I am a Shia Muslim but I respect all faith thanks to my parentage and upbringing living among Christians Tamils Jews Buddhist .

I don't believe in conversion .

Once on my morning walk I was approached by a Hindu man he asked me if I could connect him with someone he wanted to become a Muslim he told me he was going through very bad times ..I told him good times ot baf times are part of a Karma .

I told him to take a more positive stand and not divert from the faith of his forefathers .

You just don't become a a new person on the drop of a hat ...religion is only a means not and end .

I am happy he changed his views and has remained a Hindu ..man falters but his faith should not .

I have been very lucky in life I met wise monks I stayed the #fck away from Godmen of all faith .

What's the use of generating millions with your oratory if does not help the poorest of the poor .

#straythpughts

youtu.be/XFTQCxzbe_Q

@glennlosack

Processed With Darkroom

Sadly in Bandra dogs are fed cared for by animal loving citizens very few care for humans ..or their sufferings or plight as they beg in a corner even God maintains social distancing beyond the minaret .

#Muslimbeggar

Meaning of #Pandemic in a single frame ...no work no job drug addicts drunkards they became ..

Unvaccinated ..what a shame ..

Is it #COVID19 ..should we blame .

#beggarpoet

#lockdownpoetry

I joined #Youtube

August 11 2008

Views 41 millions

Subscribers 108 K

Videos 7500 plus

t.co/vQ4SF6JHPQ

Do like and subscribe

Thanks

Our 75 #IndependenceDay ..

A memory

#bandrareclamation

Last of the NYC Instagram pix

This is my favourite picture my granddaughter #MarziyaShakir was 2 year old .

I did not teach her to love animals ..but the goats in #Bandra loved her as she gladly shared her biscuits with them.

She loved the bazar cats ..she was born years after I stopped keeping Persian cats and German Shepherd s .

She was very close to Omkar Shelars pet Labrador Lucky he was crazy about her .

Now she is a big girl 14 years busy with her studies but I documented her life from the second day of her birth .

Now I don't shoot her anymore ..she does not want her pictures on the internet .

Today I compiled my Ya #WarisPiya images that I shot in #DewaSharif at #Barabanki in 2017 into a slideshow cum video at #myoutubechannel .

I will add a link here it is being processed in a short while.

Since 2019 i.have not left my city due to health reasons and the pandemic .

I hardly leave my home in the mornings I go to play tennis and after that I come home ..

I don't go out again my Qalandari Gaddi Nasheen Mehtab son of Haji Masoom Ali Qalandari has made arrangements for me to join them for #Chadiyan next year but from Panipat Dargah Bu Shah Ali Qalandar.

#sufism

If things normalise I might go to #Makanpur to shoot the Urus of #zindashahmadar ..I have no work so which is another worry but for Chadiyan my daughter will sponsor me .

#sufism

I was told both the veteran #earcleaners Nabi and Kassim have died due to #Covid in their hometown at #Karnataka .

I for once hope it is false news I pray for their well-being.

They were both farmers came to #Mumbai 40 years back as earcleaners at #BandraTalao

Miss them.

I shoot humans ..this was shot 14 years back..who is the actual dreamer .

Dogs can smell me from s distance they are all over me specially the Corgi in my building ..

#bandra

In my life as a Muslim I have worn a sherwani and the only Muslim cap the furry karakul from Peshawar .

I have never worn a skull cap never worn a tehmat

My wife did bring me a chiken angharka I wore it for a few occassion.

I wore a sherwani at the nikah of my sons weddings .

When I got married in Lucknow 1977 I wore a simple attire as my father a tailor master did not know I was getting married .

My #nikanamah was signed by late Maulana Kalbe Abid Sab who came to represent me .

I had a small get together on the terrace of my building in #Colaba .

I had a few Jewish friends and one of them had given a the Jewish cap that I wore sometimes .

Those early days we lived in peace and brotherhood Jews Christians Anglo Indians Buddhists Parsis .

Born to beg

Beggars in local trains mostly young helpless kids for ed to beg by their parents and guardians.

Ever since the train travel started for out category I have been only once in a local train .

The other variety of train beggars are the singers the tile clappers performers and the #beggarhijras .

I never liked traveling by plane I preferred train travel got alot of images stories .

#trainbeggars

Prince Street Station has got to be around here somewhere...

The Malang

Shot by dear friend @laurent_salesse from Bordeaux France .

We have been friends since 2007

Laurent Salesse is a portraitist and documentaries I think as photographer he loves to shoot culture tradition in India .

We both have shot Moharam Ashura Lucknow

We shot the after math of the bomb blast at Leopold Cafe Colaba Causeway .

We shot the Maha Kumbh Allahabad 2013 .

We shot Urus of Zinda Shah Madar Makanpur .

We shot #Kamakhya Assam twice .

He is a prolific photographer shoots medium format ..

We get along very well .

Recently he shot the Parsi priests Dastoors at the fire temple Colaba .

The poor man's #facemask ..

Just smells of his sweat mixed with his tears

His dread of living the pandemic it's fears

The lockdown destroyed him completely

A migrant that is what he is called here

Politicians never realised he existed

The COVID to their conscience

Bought him near ...

Considered an important vote bank

Only during elections his vote is precious dear

#beggarpoet