View allAll Photos Tagged Mumbaikar
Shot with Nikon D3x @ Tilt shift lens - Nikkor PC-E 24mm (miniature effect focussing just on the Mosque and blurring everything around it)
30th June 2007
It has rained cats and dogs , distempered pussys in Mumbai , since last night , the roads are flooded , gutters choked , this is what happened last year, what happened year before last , life goes on.The Mumbaikar braves it all, he walks the on a live wire with Death overshadowing him, this morning news was a guy travelling in a local train on his way to work standing near the entrance of the train got into an argument with two commuters who beat him up badly, the 300 train travellers watching this reality show none coming to his help, a local journalist Sivnath rushed him to the Sion hospital he was proclaimed dead, he leaves behind a young wife and a daughter.
This is the other dark side of the Marathi Manoos ..the two guys were eventually caught by the railway police this is Mumbai life on a slow track.
Mee Mumbaikar , hollow words , when Man destroys another Man not for religion, not in defence but because he believes in Might is Right.
Funny had I not joined Flickrs I would be writing this at Word Press.But I have to reduce the load on my Homesite , so I am bringing my poems here re edited revitalised ..
I walked from home with my F100 shooting Boran Road , I dont have the energy to punish myself or my surviving camera in the heavy waters.I opened shop at 11.45, I packed off the staff gave them an off , they live nearby , one guy stays at Mulund he called up it was bad day of flooding at his end..Mumbai in the rains ,, bhuta , a cup of Irani pani kum chai, Brun Maska ..some Kheema is the right stuff for a restless soul..roads lead to Good Luck Irani joint near Mehboob Studios..
my post
photographerno1: 05/23/2006 5:50 AM
head above shoulders
a heart filled with boulders
love
missing files and folders
beauty is ugliness
in the eyes of the pissholder.
life peace of shit as
you grow older
find a new
ass licked beholder
my 366th poem titled peace of shit this poem happened as I was commenting on Velvet Paws latest Ratty post.
Rats are very intelligent ..I kept White Rats.
These I would buy from Marquis Pets , I owe my love for animals to Douglas Marquis , there is not a single lad that has never bought a fish, Persian cat, a dog, parrots, love birds guinea pigs , hamsters, squirrels, from Marquis.
Marquis died a few years back, his wife was bedridden but she could do all her work directing the help.
And their bedroom was the hall, Marquis was a chronic asthamatic, always wheezing, never cursing.
Marquis was a Chor Bazar freak, he would leave very early morning, to buy the glass pieces that came from ship breaking yards, out of this he made unusual Aquariums, he bought all kinds of stuff, made cages, custom made, in my alcoholic days when the booze joints were shut for dry days specially at the Yacht restaurant ..they would give me a take away ofa quart gin I would come to Marquis borrow a steel glass mix it with water get tanked.. listen to Marquis's yarn..
I remember a very big shot Shetty who was on his last legs thrown out of his house a more condemned alcoholic than me .. would come and drink his hooch, country made stuff thar wa 100 proof or somethinng like that.
He was a terrible sight he spoke of good times, his kids, his homlessness, gave me the creeps as I was on the kerbside trying to walk his walk..
Yes I came away I never forgot Mr Shetty.
And I never forgot Mr Marquis.
He was known fondly as Dougie.
Bandra Banstand was Marquis's Haunt or Adda opposite the Sea Rock Hotel, opposite the mega star Sharukh Khans house would be a horse cart of Marquis kids took rides grew up with their Dreams..
I miss Marquis but do bang into his son Chris who was settled in United States but gave up all that came home to take over his dad business of Pets.. Chris Marquis.
The Gateway of Art, Culture & Heritage of India.
(Formerly known as: The Prince of Wales Museum of Western India)
In the early years of the twentieth century, some prominent citizens of Bombay decided to set up a Museum with the help of the government to commemorate the visit of the Prince of Wales. One of the resolutions of the committee at its meeting on June 22, 1904 was, "The building should have a handsome and noble structure befitting the site selected, and in keeping with the best style of local architecture."
The committee spared no effort to realize this dream. On March 1, 1907, the then government of Bombay handed over to the museum committee a spot of land known as the "Crescent Site", situated at the southern end of the present Mahatma Gandhi Road. After an open competition for the design, George Wittet was commissioned to design the Museum building in 1909. George Wittet had collaborated with John Begg in the construction of the General Post Office building. His other works in Bombay include the Court of Small Causes and the magnificent Gateway of India.
Information courtesy: www.bombaymuseum.org/
looted by
everyone
gasping for air
defecating on
the face of its
sanctity a gross
living nightmare
slums created
by political satraps
as vote banks
mushroom
everywhere
Mumbai a city
caught in a snare
the homeless
on one side
the other side
towers of babel
of the millionaire
a forgotten
middle class
distant dreams
threadbare
the pain of the
mee mumbaikar
remorse n despair
bogus netas
bogus godmen
bogus police
conning the
gullible unaware
memories of
the riots bomb
blasts misplaced
welfare ..will the
next government
the next new PM
give mumbai its
rightful share
unite bollywood
unite all caste
color creed
when he sits
on the chair
or will he forget
his tall promises
his vision of
one India
healing touch
holistic care
introspect
heritage
legacy
when he
has some
time to spare
#mumbai
#beggarpoet
#firozeshakir
Borivali Bound Bombardier Local heading towards Malad Station for it's scheduled halt..
.
Rake no. 5001-02
I remember taking this picture in the middle of 2004. It was striking, the green and the black, the death and the life. This peculiar looking tree, with its jarring mix of avian foliage and rebellious greens, was outside the Gateway of India, in front of the now sadly (in)famous Taj hotel. There had been bomb blasts at the Gateway, and then, like now, I had been out of the country when tragedy struck, returning only in time to see the fading embers of the aftermath.
I remember looking at the scene and being struck by the promise of what it represented, by what it could be, by what had happened, and what would not happen again. No, lightning would not strike twice in the same place. So sure was I about this thought, that I didn't even think it.
I remember receiving a call some days ago from my mother. A message rather. It said, don't worry, we're fine. At once the convoluted pathways of my imagination were activated - what happened? And so the collective experience of my Bombay past churned itself into a paranoid pot of suggestion. Was it a communal riot? Was it a bomb? Was it a car accident? Was it a trip to the hospital or robbery? I'm glad they were fine, but WHY were they fine?
I remember, when I called her back, my mother saying something about firing and guns at Leopold's and the Taj, and I felt relieved at their safety, but didn't quite grasp what she was saying. OK, so terrorists had fired some shots and there were some problems, maybe it was even a mafia thing, after all... this was Leo's and the Taj, WHAT could happen there?
I remember getting home and modifying my admittedly pathetic single-one-bedroom-apartment-renter-in-the-western-world routine from walking in the door and checking my email, to walking in the door and checking the news. Little did I know that these little convoluted pathways of my demented imagination had so much missing from their map that even in their combined visual hysteria, they could produce nothing even close to the chaos that reality was manifesting all over Bombay. South Bombay at that.
I remember... well... not very much. Primarily because I spent the next 3 days atrophied to the computer... fingers stuck to keys, muscles in a neverending twitch of Refresh and Recheck, and nerves shot in every direction and begging for more aggravation. At this point, I apologise - somewhat out of embarrassment, somewhat out of trying to maintain whatever dignity has to be maintained in this situation - but I feel like I am unjustified in being upset at the situation because I wasn't there, because I didn't lose family in the losses, because I am sitting here halfway across the world and I feel whenever I am sympathising and empathising as a Mumbaikar, that I am somehow "excluded". I hope this is not the case. And if it is, well, there are a lot of us. It is hard being so far away from where you heart is, not to mention when it's being torn apart and there's nothing you can do about it.
For the duration of the "Siege", a constellation of satellite Bombaywallahs gradually emerged; transplanted nostalgics from the great city who formed a dependency network, constantly checking the news, chatting with each other, telephoning back and forth and to home, and in some ways, somehow we all became part of it - detached, depressed, stressed, miserable, locked up in our homes and with only each other to rely on, we let the drama take us hostage. I don't know of another time when I've spoken as much with some of the people I've spoken to over the last 4 days, but we did, and it just seemed normal. It is hard enough, as a particular kind of Indian, to identify with people outside your homeland, it is even harder as a Bombayite to find that knowing understanding outside of your original clique. Thank you to everyone who helped support me/us, and I hope that I was able to reciprocate in some way.
I remember now, all of a sudden, an odd memory of a school reunion. A bunch of cheeky, jovial guys all hanging about the Gateway having had dinner. Sporadically one of us would break off into the Taj to use the best "public" bathroom in the city (whenever home was too far), the occasionally conscientious one trying to put on a real show when he went in to make it seem like he wasn't abusing the facilities. We weren't really, everyone went, and nobody did. That was just the arrangement, and it worked.
I remember it being a real gas that night, sitting around cracking jokes, starting up ridiculous conversations with the ice-creamwallah, and enjoying the old days with the skanky but refreshing Apollo Bunder sea air. There are fond memories from there as a kid, being unable to swim and petrified of water, with my dad holding my hand and us jumping from ferry to ferry till we reached the one farthest out that would go on the exhilarating 1-hour-and-back boatride. The sweets and snacks, and horse carts and those innocent wonderings of what those men and women were doing with each others mouths as my mum tried to cover my eyes and pull me away. I remembered so many good things. And then some.
I remember walking along there with a Korean friend (amongst others) some years ago and some horrible remarks that bystanders threw her way. I remember seeing people getting chased and beaten on that stretch. I remember the whores and pimps and drug dealers, and the cops wandering around with their lathis chasing everyone and anyone away. I remember the two Manipuri girls who were attacked at the Gateway, one of them brutally and gruesomely murdered, as people just watched. And I remember, of course, the bomb blasts there. And now this.
Bombay/Mumbai/Whatever you choose to call it, has always been a case of Jekyll and Hyde, and it always will be. It is the ultimate example of having to take the bad with the good and the good with the bad and making the most of it. But this was something else; this was another monster, a much bigger, viler, more sinister thing that found its way into our story and tried to stop the plot. And Mumbai the Hero and Mumbai the Villain both stopped and stared, shocked, as they found themselves on that all-too-rare patch of common ground.
I guess if you are being picky, you can say that lightning didn't quite strike twice in the same place, but across the street was close enough for me. I'll be back there in a few days, and I will take a walk around, and now I will wonder "what next?"
In all our remembrance, let us not forget that what is most broken in India is the system. Years, no, DECADES, of occasionally conscientious, mostly-apathetic politicians, corruption, negligence, crime, poverty, ignorance, greed, and an emotional polarity that creates and destroys at will. Bombay was attacked because it was vulnerable, it was vulnerable because it was weak, and it was weak because the powers-that-be reduced it to that. Now they are all to keen to come up with some sort of drastic-counter-attack, feeding off the frenzy of the masses, a pack of filthy opportunists sensing the opportunity of their lifetimes. Somewhere, somehow, I hope that "we the people" realise that the system is so broken, and that going and breaking something else isn't going to fix it.
I remember, lastly, following the incident and trying to suppress the nagging question that some don't want to answer, and which others are ready to answer all-too-eagerly. Response? Some say war, some say attack, some say change, somewhere there is a half-hearted murmur from pacifists. Will attacking Pakistan and killing some of their civilians really solve anything? Will it soothe the grief and sorrow and suffering that's drowning a city right now? I've always thought that terrorists, despite what the TV says, don't really have a motive for inflicting terror, other than trying to elicit more terror. If they attack, and nobody responds in kind, then they have accomplished nothing.
3 Towers of 41 Storeys Premium Residential Tower Located In Mumbai.
shot with Nikon D3X @ Samyang 3.5/8mm Fish-Eye CS II Hood Detachable.
Camera Nikon D3X
Exposure 0.006 sec (1/160)
Aperture f/8.0
Focal Length 8 mm
ISO Speed 100
They came home at 1 am as they were taken in by the story of abandoned Muslim man Aziz Khan Shamsu Khan.
I described my chance encounter with him I used to see him lying at the same place on the edge of the pavement but I would be in a hurry on work assignment .
I had shot him a few weeks back a woman was giving him food.
But this evening when I took his video on hearing that both his sons Rahim Khan Zamir Khan living in America his wife Parveen living in Mumbra have abandoned him it hit me in the guts.
Than when he mentioned he lives at Lal Mitti Bandra reclamation that is across my house. ..I felt even more sad.
His wheelchair was stolen he said.
Than when I came home uploaded the video on YouTube I thought of Gambhir Singh lost for 40 years found through my viral video the love of the people of his state Manipur and the excitement euphoria of his return to Khumbong his homecoming his blissful Ghar Wapsi.. His two calls to me from Khumbong that he was missing me and his tears that he did not know how to thank me for changing his life.
And than I thought about Mumbaikar Aziz Khan Shamsu Khan from Bandra Reclamation lying on the road across the main Juma Masjid at the main road crossing and nobody cared a hoot they gave him coins but what are alms he can't get up his legs are useless.
And than I thought back to back God was pulling me I was thus caught between two Bandra stories an abandoned man and a lost Gambhir Singh.
Two sides of the scales travesty of Justice.
Would I or even you allow a father begging on the roads half alive half dead.
I was ashamed of my own misplaced Humanity.
A tweet by a friend Raajeev also from India TV made the cops take immediate action he had tagged all the big shots of our city.
CM Mr Devendra Fadnavis CP Mumbai Police Mumbai Police Salman Khan Akshay Kumar Sonu Sood Priyanka Chopra .
It worked pronto.. Just a single tweet I got a call from CP s Office from Bandra police I gave them the location.
Finally I got a call from India TV.
They said this was a big story... Why.
Because it held the cops celebrity responsible also society responsible.
The anchor Atul could not believe someone could disown his father not even a vagrant or a drunkard.
Cry my beloved Mumbai.
The India TV guys have found him at the same spot the ambulance will come tomorrow morning.
They were kind enough to inform me.
A few months back at Water Field Road Bandra , an old Shri Sai Baba Temple was demolished as it was perched on a Peepul Tree on the pavement, the Court had passed an Injunction that all illegal place of Worship , including Dargahs, Temples , Crosses to be removed , a blindfolded judgement, but with severe repurcussions for people that have made the place of worship a part of their living life..man will stand mute if he sees a woman getting raped, man will watch impotently his neighbors house getting burnt, man will not tolerate his God being tarnished, his God being demolished, yes collective Man will retalite , without thinking of the harm to society or to his country.
I till date cannot get over the images of the Babri Mosque , kar sevaks perched atop battering a disputed structure as they said, but this was democracy , faith in a democratic principal being hit, the entire nation watched impotently, now shedding tears of remorse does not hold water.. I think it was a bad letter day for all of us secular minded unbigoted people..
I saw the Riots , the after math of the riots.. the pain to both communities..
Mobocracy is when Democracy is betrayed by misguided elements..
Anyway this temple at Waterfield road was being destroyed by the Miunicipal authorities, along with Police Protection.. the people that thronged to this Temple were genuinely hurt , but Law has to take its course..
What I fail to understand when the Temple was set up what were the authorities doing.. what took them so long, this seduced somnolence of their senses… yes honestly the system sucks..
Our Indian psyche loves building Mosques Temples .. anything to appease the Maker , but this fervour wont be shown in building a Widows home or a Childrens home.. Man is a Miser towards Man.. he spends lavishly on God…garlands, floral tributes , chaddars, what not.. golden shoes for the Lord while Man walks witthout Shoes, hold on Man has no Feet…
The political leaders with their patronage give a stamp of authority to an illegal place of Worship , later on he will be nominated as erstwhile Trustee.
The guy who moves semi nude at Bhendi Bazar , dirty , unclean, coats of dirt on his body, is a sight that would put anyone off, but come night , rich folks touch him, take his blessings , he is in a comatose state of reality, he loves Ice Creams that drips on his bare chest, ants on his body enjoying the spiritualty of a sublime moment…
This is an Introduction I add to my old post.. Old Posts I find get the relevance of becoming newer as you read it after sometimes..
Word Press will never understand this Blog Machine.. no it wont rest.. even afer Death..
My Post
Gods are human too, they need to be pampered by Man, they have the whims and fancies of Man, Gods whose abode is in Indralok but who find Mumbai an ideal transit lounge. Mumbai is prime property ..even for the Gods.
Gods are not choosy about Space , God knows you have them in the space of your hearts but Gods are human too want to be a part of the environment the Mumbai Manoos.
Gods too say Mee Mumbaikar which is better than a lesser god saying Mee Patnakar. Patna is the capital of Bihar.
Man the Real estate Agent loves to dupes Gods into property illegalities.
So Man conniving crooked uses God, as a fulcrum to punish other Men.Man can tolerate anything pain, sorrow, death but an insult to his God he wont take , he will kill, this is another in born instinct of a Mujhaideen too.I call it misplaced religiosity, as I have always reiterated all proselytizing religions suck.. Man has a Will to choose follow what he wants, you can buy Man enslave him, but not his inner free will.This is the pounding resilience of Man.You can kill Man but not the spirit of Man.
So God wants to imitate Man, Yes learn from Man the meaning of his innerspirit.
God wants to be Man..
What happens is knowing Gods propensity for all that is Human, Man builds Temples architectural beauties like the Birla Temples .. there is a saying that the Birlas leave part of the Temple unfinished.. a kind of misplaced auscpiciousness.
Poor Man builds temples on congested streets, in front of a neighbours house, some of them are made for profit, I am no authority .. I am against bad mouthing God.
Yes I too am as human as God,.
I was rushing home at about 11.30 am saw a demolition about to take place of an illegal temple on Waterfield Road Bandra, here I must mention I had a premonition carried my camera just in case.. I got out of the Rickshah began shooting pictures.
The Bandra Police know me and I have a valid press card from Bandra Samachar the editorial backing of Mr Clarence Gomes who knows I dont misuse my writings , I write for a social cause.
The Cops called me let me go, but I had taken a few shots.I was dressed in my Sadhu attire..
The Temple is being demolished on a court backed order..the Judiciary is the most respected part of society..you dont mess with law or order .
What really makes me question this is the fact when the temple was coming up the local authorities turned a Nelsons eye.. over the years the temple became a part of a childs growing up, his success , his failures turned to success were bound to this temple, his sisters wedding, his fathers professional upgrade, his entire ethos was bound to this temple under the Peepul Tree.. when you demolish it you kill the very thing that inspired God to come and reside in this Temple as Man.
The recent riots, killing of man, ruthlessness, the harvesting of ill will at the demolition of a 150 years Dargah in Baroda gives India and Indians a bad name.
Why cant we sort out matters like our ancestors who celeberated Idd as Diwali , Diwali as Idd.
It saddens me.. while I was shooting this temple I was dressed as a sadhu blonde hair.
I will only say on thing even the Policeman under the uniform is pained.. but what does he do, sometimes he uses his baton.. unnecessarily ..but lets face it he is more human and closer to the ills of society… he is trying hard to quell the storm that becomes a uneventful day for all of us… it is not about religion.. demolish but also try to heal.
Why do you allow temples , illegal structures to come up in the first place, than after several years in sheer bravado break it.. human hearts feelings take years to live in social harmony a it takes an incident like the Baroda Dargah to take us back into wilderness of another 100 years.
We must demolish but also try to create .. heal.
We too.. must be part of this healing.
We are all wanting to heal.. Feel.
firoze shakir
photographerno1
The Bandra Hill road demolition was legal structures Fire Temple Churches , to give way to road widening…on one side , the other side of Bandra Hill Road is rampant buildings coming up as Malls , bad infrastructure, even the St Josephs Convent that parted with their property find stalls sitting there instead of road widening…
Bandra Bazar Road well I have decided not to talk about it, I will shoot pictures of our Desi Venice when the Monsoons strike..
Eunuch Collective Sorrow
Bandra Bezar Road emasculated fortitude
yesterday today tomorrow..
tiled pavements that get washed away
like a ministers fund add to some more sorrow
they who steal our childrens future
for whom we beg and borrow…
April 14th, 2007
photographerno1.wordpress.com/2007/04/14/gods-are-human-too/
136,147 items / 1,050,501 views
We see this view every morning and one fine day we might not be seeing it again as we are planning to relocate for the greater good of our expanding family and other unavoidable issues of urban survival.
Once a Mumbaikar always a Mumbaikar so thinking of moving out from throb of a city that we have lived since long is not possible , but somewhere close by in the surrounding suburbs.
Bandra Reclamation is a developing area of Bandra very central close to the Sea Link and the Bazar and the main SV road via the bridge you see in the picture .
The open lush ground is a common open toilet for those that have encroached the periphery and slums and shanties abound thanks to apathy and corruption of people concerned everyone is aware of it but do we really care.It has political patronage of all parties this huge segment of illegal settlers is what is called the Vote Bank.
The bloodstream of Democracy..Democracy needs Votes to survive the poor need Notes to survive this is a Golden hand shake of convenience and lost ground of our values , age old traditions of values and integrity.
The denizens Muslims Hindus Christians Dalits and others predominantly live in peace , there is no religious factionalism here , tolerance mutual co existence is the cornerstone of hope and understanding.
from Wikipedia
Bandra (Marathi: वांद्रे), nicknamed the "Queen Of The Suburbs", is a wealthy suburban area in the city of Mumbai (formerly Bombay), India. It is home to a railway station on the Western line of the Mumbai Suburban Railway. Bandra is a highly sought-after location for restaurants, pubs, and high-street stores, with several restaurants and shopping areas clustered around the Hill Road, Linking Road and Carter Road areas.
With a large cosmopolitan population in Mumbai, the predominantly Catholic Bandra is famous for its churches, especially Mount Mary's Basilica. Also the Parsi fire-temple, the Tata Agiary, on Hill Road is well known. The suburb is also famous for its coastline, which has promenades lined along Carter Road, Bandstand and Reclamation. Many Bollywood actors live along the Bandra Bandstand and in the Pali Hill areas..
Bandra is a possible adaptation of Bandar, the Persian word for Port. There are other views on the origin of the name, one stating that it is derived from a Portuguese princess and another more plausible one that it is a corruption of Bandar-gah in Persian (Bandar is a common word for Port in Iran). Vandre in Marathi and Bandar in Persian both mean port and come from the same Sanskrit root word. The area was under Silhara dynasty in the 12th century. It is referred to as "Bandora" as seen on gravestones in the cemetery of St. Andrew's Church and in the writings of Mountstuart Elphinstone of the British East India Company which describe the endeavors to acquire the island of Salsette..
St. ANNE'S CHURCH
In 1543, the Portuguese took possession of the islands of Bombay (there were 7) by force. The Portuguese gave the Jesuit priests the sole ownership of Bandra, Parel, Wadala and Sion. In 1570 the Jesuits built a college and a church in Bandra which was called St Anne's College, or 'Santa Anna' Church. In the mid-18th century, the traveller John Fryer records that the Jesuit church, which stood near the sea shore, was still in use.
St. ANDREW'S CHURCH
The Portuguese built several churches in Bandra, including the famous St. Andrew's Church, which has the distinctive Portuguese-style façade. Bandra has the unique distinction of having the most Roman Catholic churches anywhere in the world: six churches with their own separate parishes(all within a four km2 area), and also the world famous Basilica of Our Lady of the Mount, affiliated to the parish of St. Andrew's, Bandra. The Churches are: Mount Mary's Basilica, Mount Carmel, St. Peter's Church, St. Andrew's Church, St. Theresa's Church, St. Anne's and St. Francis Of Assisi Church.
In 1733 when the Kunbi farmers migrated to this island from Colaba, because the fish manure they used was banned, they founded St. Andrew's church (which is still standing and in regular use), St. Stanislaus's Orphanage (now St. Stanislaus High School, among the best boy's school in Bombay) and a monastery of St. Anne. St. Anne's was blown up on the orders of the English to prevent it falling into Maratha hands in the year 1737, and regained in the same year when the Portuguese troops were aided by the English, a slaughterhouse was built on the same spot, and assigned to the Dakhni Muslims for operating it.
ARRIVAL OF MUSLIMS
There was a section of Kokani/Konkani (Konkani Muslims) in the present eastern part of Bandra (currently across the station / railway lines), called Navpada/Naupada previously known as Naopara. These Kokani Sunni Musalman or Konkani Muslims, all Hanafi, had migrated from inner parts of Thane district like Vasai, Nalasopara, Bhiwandi, Rabodi. Nine prominent Kokni Muslim families inhabitated here, so it was named as "Nav" (meaning nine, in Marathi) and Pada (meaning "Village"). They built the Kokani Masjid (Konkani Mosque), and a cemetery and lakes, which can be traced back more than 300 years. The inhabitants of this area were mainly running cotton hand looms and by the introduction of power looms in Bombay city, this industry died and they started the milk business and some employed in Kurla Mill. The area was then divided as Navpada East and Navpada West, by the introduction of the Bombay Baroda Central Indian Railway (BBCIR). A major part of lands of this area was acquired by the Railways, where Bandra Station, Bandra Terminus (Earlier Bandra marshalling yard) and Railway lines exists. The present lake called "Bandra Talao" or "Lotus Tank" formerly known as "Motha Reservoir" was constructed by a Rich Kokani Muslaman (as per the Gazzetter of Thane Dist. [Thane - Places of Interest]publish in 1882), which was later acquired by the Bandra Municipality for maintenance, this lake is now declared the status of Heritage II.
The chapel of Mount Mary, was built around 1640. Local tradition has it that this was destroyed in 1738 during a Maratha raid. The statue of the virgin was recovered from the sea by fishermen and temporarily installed in St. Andrews, before being shifted to the rebuilt Mount Mary in 1761. To this day the statue is venerated and many miracles, minor and major, are attributed to God, through the intercession of Our Lady, by all communities. In her honour, a fair is held for the duration of eight days, (starting on the Sunday following September 8) during which pilgrims come from as far North as Vasai, Virar and as far East as Thane, to venerate at the Basilica of Mount Mary.
Bandra remained a village with plantations of rice and vegetables in the low-lying areas of the island until getting connected to Mahim by a causeway in 1845. Although many bungalows were built in the boom years of the 1860s and 70s, the fashionable Pali Hill area, now inhabited by members of the film community, saw the first constructions only in the 1880s.
R D National College was originally set up in 1922 in Hyderabad, Pakistan under the guidance of Annie Besant. After the partition of India, it was set up again, in 1949, in Bandra.
BANDRA WEST
The west-side, called "Bandra (West)", had evolved into one of the more fashionable suburbs by the middle of the 20th century. However, the East soon followed its more popular sibling, and in the mid-to-late 90s emerged as a predominantly commercial zone, consisting of the Bandra-Kurla Commercial Complex. Bandra West is also famous for Pali Hill and Carter Road areas which are home to many movie stars such as Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Rekha, Dilip Kumar, Sanjay Dutt and many more. It also has the city's best restaurants, bars, shopping and hang out places. Otters Club, one of the city's premier clubs, is located on Carter Road, near Jogger's Park.
Bandra (East) is the capital of the Bombay suburban district. However, it is completely overshadowed by its neighbouring city district with regards to government departments. The most prominent office is the suburban collector's office. Bandra (East) also has State Government Quarters.
Bandra is known to be split by the local railway-line into Bandra (West) PIN 400050 & Bandra (East) PIN 400051. Bandra (W), has historically grabbed most of the spotlight, and sits snug between the railway-line (on the East) and the Arabian Sea (on the West). Bandra (East) houses the state government employees' homes.
* Neighbouring suburbs: Dharavi, Khar, Kurla, Mahim, Santacruz
* Arterial Roads: Swami Vivekanand Road, Linking Road, Turner (Guru Nanak) Road, Hill Road, Carter Road, Navpada (Balsamant) Road, Western Express Highway, Bandra-Worli Sea Link
[Transport
Bandra railway station is connected via the Western Railway and the Harbour Line, which is an offshoot of the suburban Central Railway. It also has a newly built terminus called Bandra Terminus in Bandra (E) from where trains bound for northern and western India are scheduled regularly. The Important trains include :
* Bandra - Indore Express
* Bandra - Patna Express
* Bandra - Jaipur Express
BEST buses, autorickshaws and taxis are abundant. The Bandra-Worli Sea Link bridge connects the Bandra West shoreline linking it with Worli in central Mumbai.; Due to Bandra's central location, most parts of the city are easily accessible.
Mount Mary's Basilica
* Jogger's Park: Jogger's Park is a small seaside jogging track where joggers of Bandra congregate. The pretty little park, next to the Otter's Club, another recreation place for Bandra denizens, was where Bombay's first laughing club was launched.
* Bandra Reclamation
* Mount Mary's Basilica (in picture)
* Castella de Aguada , a seventeenth century fort at Land's End, the southernmost point of Bandra
* Bandstand Promenade
* Bandra-Kurla complex
When you frequently practice #panning with fervor, freezing subjects in motion is a frivolous task.
The action-packed street outside world heritage site of #Mumbai #ChatrapatiShivajiTerminus is my preferred place to run through panning.
Constantly witnessing a flurry of activity, you get a whole range of subjects to rehearse from bicycles to buses, handcarts to Hondas or two-wheelers to four-wheelers.
As the signal turned green, this cheerful guy led the traffic surge paddling on his bicycle waving to his friend nearby.
I was all set lucky enough to capture his antics against the beautiful blurry backdrop of BEST buses, double-deckers & the celebrated kaali-peelis ⇨ meaning black-yellow taxis of Mumbai.
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Origin : A Cannon, Mounted at Janjira Fort
Location : Janjira Fort,Murud,Raigad,MH
EDITING INFO_
Software used :Lightroom 4, Adobe PhotoShop CS6
Filters Used : _
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TECHNICAL INFO_
Camera Model : Nokia n79
Lens Type : Carl Zeiss Teaser Lens
Mode : Auto
This morning my fourth day of walking I decided to carry my mobile phone ,luckily my phone is not connected to the Internet ...outdoors only to the WiFi at home .
This was near Rang Sharda , first I thought it was a ragpickers bags , than I looked closely it is the ragpicker sleeping cross legged yoga style.
Next to him another ragpicker I presume but as Indians we have more than the rope trick up our sleeves ..
I completed my Bandra Reclamation routine walking from my house till the end and taking an about turn frrom Agasti Building .
Than a turn from Leelavati to MET Grounds to complete the next part of my walk.. I took 8 rounds each round is 280 mts I complete a round in about 4 minutes .. this morning I took 9 rounds and returned via the Bazar Masjid back home .
I shot two new garbage sites to add to my tour of Open Garbage in Bandra a BJP Stronghold with a lone uninterested Congress corporator .. least interested in the civic affairs of the Bandra he represents ,,Unless Congress wakes up it is going to be decimated in the Municipal Elections in Mumbai.. you can call it a beggar poets prophecy..
And though I am a Am Admi sympathizer I feel they can do well if they chose candidates wisely and not parachute someone from Colaba who does not the backside of Bandra ..the greatest mistake by the Am Admi party during the Loksabha ..someone local with love for Mumbai and above all Bandra .Someone who is not just there to make big bucks but add to the beauty of Bandra marred by 15 years of Congress Rule.
If you visit Bandra where I live I will show you the neglect apathy and the playground for kids near the MET Grounds is run by the Municipality .. a Municipality that is interested in demolitions and big fat bucks ,, they see illegal slums coming up , illegal extensions added to homes shops but they keep mum and hands may have been greased , when the issue gets big than they come with bulldozers .. same thing with illegal religious spaces on the public roads , when they were being built they said nothing than they come to break crosses , Sai Baba mandirs and other such places .
The Mumbai Municipality needs a new tenant after 20 years but than we vote the wrong parties that have no solution for the malaise of Mumbai.
Build statues but build hope better infrastructure too..people that represented Am Admi Party in the Bandra slums were no less than ruffians at least their henchmen were I saw it in the Bandra Slaughter house slums no educated volunteer and I blame Mr Mayank Gandhi they were only thinking of their deposits but not the common man of Mumbai and this is the harsh truth from a person who does not belong to any political or religious party not even a group.. here or online.
I love Bandra though I am originally from Colaba , Bandra has given me a lot we relocated here in the 80s we went through the 93 riots and we have seen pain , polarization and yet as person we have moved ahead and 60000 blogs on Hinduism should testify to my fascination for Hope and Hindutva,
I shot the Maha Kumbh my Guru is a Naga Sadhu from Junagadh.
And in the riots it was not the Muslim or Hindu who diied it was a part of Mother India.
Who cares for Ghar Wapsi or a manic Mullahs last stand as Ghar Ghar Islam.. a man bigot who thinks politically ,, and the Muslim Awam is more Indian than he can ever be .
As for the Owaisi brothers .. one has to be a real dumb Muslim to be part of their divisive dreams .
I voted for BJP and I was once a traditional Congress voter they took us for granted .. even the riots were part of a greater conspiracy all the riots disasters were part of the Congress Divide and Rule .
And in the next elections too the only wave that will be there will be the wave of the anger off every Mumbaikar seeing his beloved city going to the dogs enough Bhashan get off your Sihasan..
It took me 2 hours to do away with the cables which were in front of the towers.
The 'cabled' version can be seen in the comment section.
The Dalit is just a Vote Bank for all political parties
Whether you like my words or not the Dali will always be held in chains by a system that does not want him to grow.
They want him to be uneducated backward because the learned Dalit will see through the game of political misadventures misplaced appeasement.
Most of my friends are followers of Babasaheb Ambedkar and they rose by their own efforts and made us all proud.
I walked shot the Dalit protest there was no media as paid media did not want to hurt the satraps their masters in the ruling party.
I saw felt the Dalit communities pain and anger and a thought came to me as a Mumbaikar a Muslim born Shia above all Indian why can't we all live together harmoniously why are we divided by vested interests.
Why this hate for minorities we are a nation the most beautiful in our diverse unity.
AndDadhoo the Dalit cobbler bought tears to my eyes at Bandra reclamation he has lost his wife son his entire immediate family just a surviving grandson and he has willed eveything to him.
He is alone living with his memories in this tiny kiosk his workspace and home.
I buy him fruits sometimes bananas and I do it out of love for him as a fellow brother.
He likes me too.
When I talk to him greet him with Jai Bhim he smiles and endears himself to him.
I wish him luck.. He tells me time is running out..
And I think it is running out for me too
Update His name is Dadhoo he died a week back I was informed by his daughter Bharti,
Madraswadi is famous as it faces the seaface , the poor wretched side of the Worlli Seaface and is a natural dumping yard.. it faces tall skyscrapers and the Worli gutter flows into the sea touching Madraswadi.. The area is dirty filthy but the people are endearing friendly kind , hospitable and peaceloving ..predominantly Tamil Hindu migrants who have made this iconic slums their home.
Worli (वरळी) is a locality in the city of Mumbai, India. Historic spellings: Varli, Worlee, Warli.[1] Sachin Ahir is the elected MLA from worli.[2]
Worli was one of the original seven islands that constituted the city of Mumbai. Although primarily a fishing village, the Worli Fort, a British fort that is now in ruins, is located there. Worli later became known as the land of the Kalsi. Worli has a mosque, the Haji Ali Dargah, on a rock in the sea, which was connected at low-tide to the island by a natural causeway. The island of Worli was connected to the main island of Mumbai in 1784, with the completion of the Hornby Vellard. The Hornby Vellard is now known as Lala Lajpat Rai Road.
In 1842, the Love Grove sewage pumping station was completed. It has special mitre gates opening to the sea, which are opened during periods of low tide. The pumping station is built on Dr Annie Besant road which was formerly known as the Love Grove Road.
The British had built four bungalows for its administrative heads on the stretch ahead of the Love Grove Pumping station back in the 1930s. These bungalows are now replaced by the ATRIA Mall..
School & Colleges[edit]
Haji Ali Dargah, as seen from Worli Seaface
1.Holy Cross High School 2 Maratha High school 3. Sacred Heart High School 4. Watumull Engineering College 5. Adarsh English High School 6. Sasmira polytechnic college 7. Janata High school 8. Dr. D. Y. Patil International High School 9. Maratha Mandir 10. R.A. Podar Medical College (Ayu) 11. GreenLawns School Worli
Geography[edit]
view of Arabian Sea from Worli Sea-face
Worli is a part of South Mumbai which extends from Haji Ali to Prabhadevi. It is bounded by the Arabian Sea to the west and the neighbourhoods of Haji Ali to the south, Mahalaxmi to the east and Prabhadevi to the north. The nearest railway station to the neighbourhood is Mahalaxmi And Elphinstone is also nearest railway station from Worli. With the commissioning of the Sealink, Worli Sea-Face is now better connected with Western Suburbs.
Economy[edit]
Aditya Birla Group has its head office in Worli.[3]
Commercial development[edit]
View from Worli, Mumbai
Worli has been one of the busiest office areas in Mumbai since the late 70's. The first major development was the Shivsagar Estate located on Dr Annie Besant Road. The major companies having properties here are GSK Pharma, TATA, Novartis, HDFC Bank, Yes Bank, Siemens and many more.
Till September 1997 Poonam Chambers had the offices of companies like ESAB, US Vitamins But after the building collapsed they had to shift. The latest developments are happening in the old Mill lands with many television stations having their studios in them. Even multinational companies like Deloitte have set their base in Worli. Even malls have emerged with Launch of Atria on 20 May 2006.
The Worli-Bandra Sealink (is also known as the Rajiv Gandhi Sagar Setu) is located on Worli Sea Face. It was built in 2009 and the island of Worli to Bandra across the Arabian Sea. It first opened in July 2009. Now it is going to be expanded with another Sealink to Lala Rajpat Rai Road and Marine Drive.
The PIN Codes (Postal codes) for Worli are 400018 and 400030. The known MTNL Telephone prefixes are 2421, 2422, 2437, 2490, 2491, 2492, 2493, 2494, 2495, 2496, 2497 and 2498.
Residential areas[edit]
Sunset at worli sea face, Mumbai
Although Worli is a primarily commercial district, it has seen residential developments from very early days of Mumbai. Worli was a mill land and many mill workers resided in the chawls near Worli Naka.
The BDD (Bombay Development Department) chawls in Worli are the earliest and the largest of the current residential areas in Worli.
The Worli Seaface is also a major residential area mostly resided by the Rich and Famous people of Mumbai and extends from Worli Fort in the north to Narayan Pujari Nagar (India and Beyond Restaurant corner) in the south. Worli Seaface has been a very pretty landmark for Mumbai and can be seen in many Bollywood movies from the early 50's till today. The Promenade at the Seaface is one of the busiest in the city of Mumbai with thousands of Mumbaikars coming here for their Morning or Evening walks. It is also famous for the giant waves during the monsoons. The Worli Sea-Face also marks as one of the ends of Bandra-Worli Sea link.
Other big residential areas are the Adarsh Nagar located near Prabhadevi and Narayan Pujari Nagar, locally known as "Colony" located at the southern end of Worli Seaface.
Some of the famous residential landmarks of Worli include Palais Royale, Samudra Mahal, Eden Hall, Poonam Apartments, Venus Apartments, Worli Hill, Avarsekar Heights, Urmi, Sagar Tarang,Campa cola, Nishika & Worli Dairy Supervisor Colony.
Currently major residential developments are going on along the stretch or Dr. E. Moses Road leading towards Lower Parel. Some of the apartment buildings at Worli are Urmi, Nishika, Basant Parvati and Sagar Tarang. Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, the Canadian hospitality giant has opened its first property in India which is located on Dr. E. Moses Road.
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I was at my shop unaware of the bomb blasts , later we came to know and I posted an article from a Msn story , there was total chaos, I closed shop came home was watching the blood curdling images on TV when at about 10 pm I carried my camera and rushed to the Bandra station blast site close to my home, it was really bad, the eerie atmosphere , the pain that collectively hit all of us in the gut . From Bandra I took a cab , but the cops had stopped all traffic at St Micheals Church, so I walked through Mori Road shot the Mahim Blasts.
From Mahim tired drenched in my sweat, watched suspiciously by the cops and my Bandra Samachar Press Card like a talisman , I thanked my patron Saint Clarence Gomes who gave me this card..of his paper.
From Mahim I walked to Matunga , which was really bad damage done to the trains, here the cops caught me but let me go, I shot several frames, took a cab home at 2.30 am.Washed rushed to Bhabha Hospital , was not allowed to shoot pictures here , met Mr Baba Siddiqui local MLA than came to my shop and posted these pictures on Buzznet and Bloggerspot..
This one photo shoot I will never forget nor will the brave citizens of Mumbai..
The Mumbaikar even the migrant Mumbaikar stood his ground fearless , death did not scare him, next morning he wasback commuting by train to his place of work.. this is my new series.
I copy an article of CNN to give you proper facts as reported by them...on that inauspicious day
At least 174 killed in Indian train blasts
Tuesday, July 11, 2006; Posted: 10:12 p.m. EDT (02:12 GMT)
Prime minister says 'terrorists' behind attacks
MUMBAI, India (CNN) -- A series of seven explosions killed at least 174 people on crowded commuter trains and stations Tuesday evening in the Indian financial capital of Mumbai, police said.
Officials said at least 464 people were injured in the blasts in the city's western suburbs as commuters made their way home. All seven blasts came within an 11-minute span, between 6:24 and 6:35 p.m. (12:54 and 1:05 p.m. GMT).
Analysts are comparing the attack with the mass transit bombings in Madrid in 2004 and London last year, saying they all involved a series of mutiple blasts and were well-coordinated.
There was some confusion about the number of dead and injured as information was compiled from hospitals and explosion sites in Mumbai, the west Indian seaport previously called Bombay.
"There still are bodies being recovered," said Pooja Saxena, with the International Federation of the Red Cross, speaking early Wednesday.
CNN-IBN correspondent Jency Jacob was aboard one of the trains during the attacks.
"People started running helter-skelter and started jumping from the train," Jacob said. (Watch rescuers pull victims from wrecked trains -- 1:59)
"When I jumped from the train, I saw that the first-class compartment was totally ripped apart and people were hanging from the train. There are some people who were thrown out from the train and they were lying on the track, bleeding completely." (Read a full account of the horror Jacob witnessed)
One person was arrested in New Delhi in police raids after the explosions, reported CNN-IBN, CNN's sister network, but there's been no claim of responsibility for the attacks.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh urged calm and said the attacks were "shocking and cowardly attempts to spread a feeling of fear and terror."
"I reiterate our commitment to fighting terror in all its forms," he said in a written statement.
U.S. officials said suspicion fell on two Islamic terrorist groups whose focus has been on the disputed territory of Kashmir -- Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed.
Both groups have been implicated in attacks that involved coordinated bombings during peak times in India, the officials said.
It may be no coincidence that the attacks occurred just ahead of the Group of Eight summit of world leaders that begins Saturday in St. Petersburg, Russia, said Sajjan Gohel, director of international security for the Asia-Pacific Foundation.
Last year's July 7 terror bombings in London that killed 52 people came as UK Prime Minister Tony Blair was hosting the G8 summit in Scotland and one day after London was awarded the 2012 Olympics, Gohel told CNN International.
Both the 2005 London bombings and the 2004 Madrid bombings, that killed 191 people, were directed against rush hour commuters on mass transit systems.
"This time again, they're (terrorists) trying to show that they are live, active. They want attention, they want the focus," Gohel said. "It was a coordinated, multiple, simultaneous mass casualty atrocity. This is the hallmark of a powerful transnational group."
Gohel noted that at least one of Tuesday's attacks targeted a first-class commuter car, and police were looking at that carriage to see if it might yield clues. The names of those aboard would have been known beforehand -- as opposed to regular computers.
Dana Dillon, a senior policy analyst in the Heritage Foundation's Asian Studies Center, said if Indians believed a Pakistani militant group was behind the bombings, it could disrupt two and a half years of dialogue between the countries that has led to a de-escalation of troops and other positive moves.
"If this terrorist attack messes that up, it could be catastrophic to the region," Dillon said.
'Limbs lying everywhere'
The blasts hit trains or platforms at the Khar, Mahim, Matunga, Jogeshwari, Borivili and Bhayander stations. The seventh explosion struck a train between the Khar and Santacruz stations, a police official told CNN-IBN.
Police also found and defused another bomb at the Borivili station, according to CNN-IBN. (Train map)
Video footage from a train station showed people in bloodstained clothes receiving medical treatment, while others were carrying victims and some lying motionless near railroad tracks. Windows of a train appeared to be spattered with blood.
At least one train was split in half.
Jacob said after his train was attacked he moved toward the back of the train where he "could see some explosives, some pipes that were falling down. The police were investigating that. It seems to be that the explosive was packed off in pipes and kept in the first class men's compartment."
A CNN-IBN correspondent who was on one of the trains said it was leaving a station when the blast occurred. People jumped and were killed as the train hit them.
"Limbs [are] lying everywhere, bodies [were] cleared from the tracks by local business owners who rushed from their shops," the correspondent said.
Another CNN-IBN correspondent reported seeing 15 bodies at the Matunga station.
People living almost two miles (three kilometers) away from the Borivili station said they heard the blast.
The Western Railway system -- which 4.5 million people use daily -- was shut down and Mumbai's subway system put on high alert after the blasts. Police in the capital of New Delhi also heightened security.
Airports across India were put on high alert, too.
Blasts appear to follow terrorist pattern
U.S. officials said the blasts followed a pattern of initiated by the two main Islamic Kashmiri separatist terrorist groups.
Kashmiri separatists were blamed for twin car-bombings that killed 53 people in Mumbai in August 2003 as well as an attack on the Indian parliament in Delhi in 2001.
In March 1993, more than 250 people were killed when at least 13 bombs were detonated around Mumbai. That attack followed a wave of fighting between India's Hindu and Muslim communities.
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf strongly condemned the attacks, and a statement released by his country's Foreign Ministry called them a "despicable act of terrorism."
"Terrorism is the bane of our times and it must be condemned, rejected and countered effectively and comprehensively," the statement said.
Earlier Tuesday, a grenade attack in Indian-controlled Kashmir killed at least four people. Authorities suspect militants are responsible for that attack on a minibus in Srinagar. There was no immediate indication of a connection to the Mumbai blasts.
Indian Home Minister Shivraj Patil said the government had some advance knowledge that such an attack might take place. "What we didn't have was the place and the time," Patil said.
the moment she saw the camera pointed at her .. her crying stopped and she gave a beautiful smile ..
Shot with Tokina 10-17mm Fisheye.
Last week when i went there .. there was a shoot going on and 2 vanity vans parked right inside this space, so came disheartend .. went again .. and here are the pictures I shot.
Thanks so much Father. Terrence Quadros sj (Principal) for being so generous and kind to have allowed me to shoot this beautiful landmark and college of my city Mumbai. Love you Father.
The kabootarkhana, a heritage structure, near Dadar railway station, a 70-year-old traffic island that is home to more than 10,000 pigeons.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (Marathi: बृहन्मुंबई महानगर पालिका) (formerly the Bombay Municipal Corporation) or the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai is the civic body that governs the city of Mumbai (Bombay). It is India's richest municipal organisation. Established under the Bombay Municipal Corporation Act, 1888, it is responsible for the civic infrastructure and administration of the city and some suburbs of Mumbai. Its motto, यतो धर्मस्ततो जय (Sanskrit: Yato Dharmastato Jaya or, Where there is Righteousness, there shall be Victory) is inscribed on the banner of its Coat of Arms. Built in the Indo Saracenic style of architecture the BMC, as it is more popularly known, is the largest civic organisation in the country, and administers an area of 434 sq km.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Municipal_Corporation_of_Greater_Mu...
Jewel of India Restaurant, Nehru Centre, Dr. Annie Besant Road, Worli, Mumbai - India.
To a lot of people, The Jewel Of India at the Nehru Centre, Worli, is the restaurant where Sachin Tendulkar got married. It is a lot more than that. It is a restaurant that caters a very authentic North Indian cuisine.
Eating out - By Busybee
For more: www.busybeeforever.com/viewarticle.asp?filename=eatingout...
I received this in an email from a facebook friend..
I share with all of you
Hotel Taj: Icon of whose India?
Gnani Sankaran- Tamil writer, Chennai.
Watching at least four English news channels, surfing from one another
during the last 60 hours of terror strike made me feel a terror of
another kind, the terror of assaulting one's mind and sensitivity with
cameras, sound bites and non-stop blabbers. All these channels have
been trying to manufacture my consent for a big lie called - Hotel Taj
the icon of India.
Whose India, Whose Icon?
It is a matter of great shame that these channels simply did not
bother about the other icon that faced the first attack from
terrorists - the Chatrapathi Shivaji Terminus (CST) railway station.
CST is the true icon of Mumbai. It is through this railway station
hundreds of Indians from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, West Bengal
and Tamilnadu have poured into Mumbai over the years, transforming
themselves into Mumbaikars and built the Mumbai of today along with
the Marathis and Kolis
But the channels would not recognise this. Nor would they recognise
the thirty odd dead bodies strewn all over the platform of CST. No
Barkha Dutt went there to tell us who they were. But she was at Taj to
show us the damaged furniture and reception lobby braving the guards.
And the TV cameras did not go to the government run JJ hospital to
find out who those 26 unidentified bodies were. Instead they were
again invading the battered Taj to try in vain for a scoop shot of the
dead bodies of the page 3 celebrities.
In all probability, the unidentified bodies could be those of
workers from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh migrating to Mumbai, arriving by
train at CST without cell phones and pan cards to identify them. Even
after 60 hours after the CST massacre, no channel has bothered to
cover in detail what transpired there.
The channels conveniently failed to acknowledge that the Aam Aadmis of
India surviving in Mumbai were not affected by Taj, Oberoi and Trident
closing down for a couple of weeks or months. What mattered to them
was the stoppage of BEST buses and suburban trains even for one hour.
But the channels were not covering that aspect of the terror attack.
Such information at best merited a scroll line, while the cameras have
to be dedicated for real time thriller unfolding at Taj or Nariman
Bhavan.
The so called justification for the hype the channels built around
heritage site Taj falling down (CST is also a heritage site), is that
Hotel Taj is where the rich and the powerful of India and the globe
congregate. It is a symbol or icon of power of money and politics, not
India. It is the icon of the financiers and swindlers of India. The
Mumbai and India were built by the Aam Aadmis who passed through CST
and Taj was the oasis of peace and privacy for those who wielded power
over these mass of labouring classes. Leopold club and Taj were the
haunts of rich spoilt kids who would drive their vehicles over
sleeping Aam Aadmis on the pavement, the Mafiosi of Mumbai forever
financing the glitterati of Bollywood (and also the terrorists) ,
Political brokers and industrialists.
It is precisely because Taj is the icon of power and not people that
the terrorists chose to strike.
The terrorists have understood after several efforts that the Aam
Aadmi will never break down even if you bomb her markets and trains.
He/she was resilient because that is the only way he/she can even
survive.
Resilience was another word that annoyed the pundits of news
channels and their patrons this time. What resilience, enough is
enough, said Pranoy Roy's channel on the left side of the channel
spectrum. Same sentiments were echoed by Arnab Goswami representing
the right wing of the broadcast media whose time is now. Can Rajdeep
be far behind in this game of one-upmanship over TRPs ? They all
attacked resilience this time. They wanted firm action from the
government in tackling terror.
The same channels celebrated resilience when bombs went off in trains
and markets killing and maiming the Aam Aadmis. The resilience of the
ordinary worker suited the rich business class of Mumbai since work or
manufacture or film shooting did not stop. When it came to them, the
rich shamelessly exhibited their lack of nerves and refused to be
resilient themselves. They cry for government intervention now to
protect their private spas and swimming pools and bars and
restaurants, similar to the way in which Citibank, General Motors and
the ilk cry for government money when their coffers are emptied by
their own ideologies.
The terrorists have learnt that the ordinary Indian is unperturbed by
terror. For one whose daily existence itself is a terror of government
sponsored inflation and market sponsored exclusion, pain is something
he has learnt to live with. The rich of Mumbai and India Inc are
facing the pain for the first time and learning about it just as the
middle classes of India learnt about violation of human rights only
during emergency, a cool 28 years after independence.
And human rights were another favourite issue for the channels to whip
at times of terrorism.
Arnab Goswami in an animated voice wondered where were those champions
of human rights now, not to be seen applauding the brave and selfless
police officers who gave up their life in fighting terrorism. Well,
the counter question would be where were you when such officers were
violating the human rights of Aam Aadmis. Has there ever been any 24
hour non stop coverage of violence against dalits and adivasis of this
country?
This definitely was not the time to manufacture consent for the extra
legal and third degree methods of interrogation of police and army but
Arnabs don't miss a single opportunity to serve their class masters,
this time the jingoistic patriotism came in handy to whitewash the
entire uniformed services.
The sacrifice of the commandos or the police officers who went down
dying at the hands of ruthless terrorists is no doubt heart rending
but in vain in a situation which needed not just bran but also brain.
Israel has a point when it says the operations were misplanned
resulting in the death of its nationals here.
Kakares and Salaskars would not be dead if they did not commit the
mistake of travelling by the same vehicle. It is a basic lesson in
management that the top brass should never travel together in crisis.
The terrorists, if only they had watched the channels, would have
laughed their hearts out when the Chief of the Marine commandos, an
elite force, masking his face so unprofessionally in a see-through
cloth, told the media that the commandos had no idea about the
structure of the Hotel Taj which they were trying to liberate. But the
terrorists knew the place thoroughly, he acknowledged.
Is it so difficult to obtain a ground plan of Hotel Taj and discuss
operation strategy thoroughly for at least one hour before entering?
This is something even an event manager would first ask for, if he had
to fix 25 audio systems and 50 CCtvs for a cultural event in a hotel.
Would not Ratan Tata have provided a plan of his ancestral hotel to
the commandos within one hour considering the mighty apparatus at his
and government's disposal? Are satellite pictures only available for
terrorists and not the government agencies? In an operation known to
consume time, one more hour for preparation would have only improved
the efficiency of execution.
Sacrifices become doubly tragic in unprofessional circumstances. But
the Aam Aadmis always believe that terror-shooters do better planning
than terrorists. And the gullible media in a jingoistic mood would not
raise any question about any of these issues. They after all have
their favourite whipping boy – the politician the eternal entertainer
for the non-voting rich classes of India.
Arnabs and Rajdeeps would wax eloquent on Nanmohan Singh and Advani
visiting Mumbai separately and not together showing solidarity even at
this hour of national crisis. What a farce? Why can't these channels
pool together all their camera crew and reporters at this time of
national calamity and share the sound and visual bites which could
mean a wider and deeper coverage of events with such a huge
human resource to command? Why should Arnab and Rajdeep and Barkha
keep harping every five minutes that this piece of information was
exclusive to their channel, at the time of such a national crisis? Is
this the time to promote the channel? If that is valid, the politician
promoting his own political constituency is equally valid. And the
duty of the politician is to do politics, his politics. It is for the
people to evaluate that politics.
And terrorism is not above politics. It is politics by other means. To
come to grips with it and to eventually eliminate it, the practice of
politics by proper means needs constant fine tuning and improvement.
Decrying all politics and politicians, only helps terrorists and
dictators who are the two sides of the same coin. And the rich and
powerful always prefer terrorists and dictators to do business with.
Those caught in this crossfire are always the Aam Aadmis whose deaths
are not even mourned - the taxi driver who lost the entire family at
CST firing, the numerous waiters and stewards who lost their lives
working in Taj for a monthly salary that would be one time bill for
their masters.
Postscript: In a fit of anger and depression, I sent a message to all
the channels, 30 hours through the coverage. After all they have been
constantly asking the viewers to message them for anything and
everything. My message read: I send this with lots of pain. All
channels, including yours, must apologise for not covering the victims
of CST massacre, the real mumbaikars and aam aadmis of India. Your
obsession with five star elite is disgusting. Learn from the print
media please. No channel bothered. Only srinivasan Jain replied: you
are right. We are trying to redress balance today. Well, nothing
happened till the time of writing this 66 hours after the terror
attack.
--
Louise Banerjei
Louise Banerjei Productions
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Pace Communications(INDIA) Pvt.Ltd.
Apart from the many adversaries which Mumbaikar's go through .. Goddess Lakshmi has always showered blessings to each Mumbaikar's in abundance and has made sure that the citizens stands tall and keep prospering.
Panvel bound Retrofitted Emu heading towards Mansarovar station for it's scheduled halt..
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Rake no. 4525-28/Kalwa.
#FarmersProtest #FarmersMarch Azad Maidan
Do we as photographers shoot picture or do we search for stories or do stories search for us .
Ok my first regret not only as a photographer but as a person who respects humanity farmers teachers soldiers others I wish I could have walked with farmers from Nasikh to Mumbai...to feel their pain their strength of spirit and their resilience after some having lost their loved ones relatives to farmer suicides .
Photography for me is a holistic healing instrument .. it heals as it touches you and the Third Eye of Shiva embalms moments for posterity .
Yesterday I called up my two best photographer friends to come and shoot the farmers at Somaiya Grounds Chunnabatti both had prior commitments ,
So I left home at about 1 pm on an empty stomach food was not ready at home I reached the Somaiya Grounds very early and my hunger pangs accelerated by my diabetic condition made me go outside the grounds there were a few stalls close to the gate I had chips later a cucumber and finally after consecutive gaps I thought I would pick up a slice of watermelon instead I picked up a musk melon I had 2 slices and kept the remaining slices in a plastic bag .
I sat chatted with some very poor farmers in my pidgin Hindi Marathi than I pulled the musk melon and gave it to one of them he was very hungry he broke it in several pieces gave it to his comrades ..and they ate it ravenously .
They thanked me I asked them should I bring some more they politely refused .
After few hours of my wait for the marching farmers I thought I would shoot those in the grounds doing domestic chores ,..this I shot passionately and I reached a group who were eating they greeted me as I was dressed in saffron ..they asked about me I filled the gaps when I told them I had skipped lunch at home to shoot their event they offered me nachni and vegetables and I wish I can express you the feeling that were born within me , these were farmers who fed me my family all my life and were now feeding me in my state of hunger .
I had one serving only I was feeling guilty they were honored humble guests of my city Amchi Mumbai and the mantra of our hospitality Atithi Devo Bhava.
Later I got some biscuits snacks water and gave it to a few of them.
I have shot a lot of events in my life Bomblasts Shree Balasaheb Thackerays funeral cortege IAC of Shree Anna Hazare Maratha Morcha Dalit Morcha I shot all this as a Mumbaikar and as resident of Maharashtra .
Had I not shot the #FarmersProtest #FarmersMarch it would have been ingratitude having eaten the salt of Maharashtra ,.
Last night I was not in good shape I thought I would come in the morning walk with the farmers from Somaiya Grounds till Azad Maidan.. but they left at 1 am..
This morning before setting out to shoot the farmers I called both my photographer friends but again I went all by myself.
As a few Kisan Morcha Sangh leaders knew me I shot from the main stage and here Muslims who were serving everyone water snacks offered me a lot of stuff ..the Shiv Sena cadres know me too and the Samajwadi boys I kept all that they gave me and when I came down the stage I gave it all to the wives of the farmers and I had tears in my eyes ,,this is the power of humility and the power of love devotion dedication in all of us children of Mother India .
I dont think I will ever forget this shoot and as YouTube has banned me for 2 weeks because of 2 penalty strikes against my channel I cannot post my videos and I dont post my videos on Facebook or Vimeo..
I had to share these feelings with all of you ...
Shot with Tokina 10-17mm Fisheye.
This photograph is a tribute to these Dabbawalas who feed Mumbaikars. Dont know what "Mumbaikar's" would do without these great human beings. Salute to you all for the service you do for this city.
Though the work sounds simple, it is actually a highly specialized trade that is over a century old and which has become integral to Mumbai's culture.
A dabbawala (one who carries the box), sometimes spelled dabbawalla , tiffinwalla , tiffinwallah or dabbawallah, is a person in the Indian city of Mumbai whose job is to carry and deliver freshly made food from home in lunch boxes to office workers. Tiffin is an old-fashioned English word for a light lunch, and sometimes for the box it is carried in. Dabbawalas are sometimes called tiffin-wallas.
The dabbawala originated when a person named Mahadeo Havaji Bachche started the lunch delivery service with about 100 men.Nowadays, Indian businessmen are the main customers for the dabbawalas, and the service often includes cooking as well as delivery.
Their official website.
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