22 April Shahi Snan Ujjain Kumbh 2016

https://www.flickr.com/photos/firozeshakir/albums/72157667553527055

If You Like Shooting Faces Than Go Shoot The Kumbh Mela

The Holy Waters Of The Godavari ,, Kumbh Mela Nasikh

Once Upon A Time At Ramkund ,, Nasikh Kumbh Mela

If you are in a group of friends there is a lot to shoot at Ramkund  below the Press and VVIP enclosure ,,provided you dont get intimidated by the cops ,, who have this habit of treating photographers like swatting flies ,,

I shoot alone , and it is best no constrains no compulsions and being alone has its many advantages ,,you shoot what you have to do , and shoot what you were destined to shoot .

I am in Mumbai but for some reason my soul is lurking between Ramkund and Trimbakeshwar and imagine I shot Kumbh Mela in 2003 and now after 12 years it seems nothing has changed ,,

Even in 2003 I shot the Kumbh alone .. and in 2015 I was as alone as I was in 2003 ..I had a contact in Nasikh but I did not contact him..as I was here for only a few hours ,, but to really shoot Ramkund from one end to the other end you need a lot of time and patience too.

I did not know any Sadhu among the Vaishnav Akharas  at Tapovan ,,,but than the only salvation was everyone I met respected me because of my Sadhu attire ,,,necessity is the mother of invention ,,,

Faces Of India Kumbh Mela Nasikh 2015

Faces Of India Kumbh Mela Nasikh 2015

Faces Of India Kumbh Mela Nasikh 2015

I Have Lived My Life With Hindus But Placing A Meat Toran On A Jain Temple Is Not Hindutva

Ever since I can remember I have had no issue with a persons religion at all I hardly had Muslim friends as we were totally isolated living at Wodehouse Road for about 10 years , here it was Rayo a Parsi Vimal a Buddhist and Keith Kanga the sole Jehovah Witness ..
Once we shifted to Strand it was Dennis a Catholic ,Hassan Jamadar who expired at an early age a Muslim... and the rest of my friends from the Mulchandani clan all Hindus ,, and my entire school life was with Ramesh Mulchandani Strand Hotel.. Bharat Sundar Pradip all Mulchandanis ,, going to the Cheti Chand na Mela .. going to the Hanuman Mandir standing in a corner as my friends prayed for their results and I am sure they prayed for me too as I always came first in class at Holy Name High School.
Later as adults we moved out to a wider periphery ,,came the riots 93 ..and the entire city was polarized ,,it was perhaps very late early 90 I made Shia friends and giving up alcohol taking up the camera I began to document my Faith along with other religiosity .
In 2003 I was introduced to Sufism I documented the Rafaees and than made my first trip to Ajmer Sharif in 2005 and met Peersab Fakhru Miya Hujra no 6 ,, he became an important teacher and my guide and it was in 2003 I met Shree Vijay Giri Maharaj Naga Sadhu Juna Akhara while shooting Kumbh Mela 2003 and he became a Guru too.. through him I shot the Maha Kumbh Mela 2013 and the Nasikh Kumbh 2015 .
In Bandra I was very close to the Catholics Darryl Fabian Clarence Gomes Merck Desilva Fr Jaun Fr Lawrie ,,, so it was a rich tapestry all wires connecting to a single mother board .
I have had Hindu bosses I think this is what saved me I doubt a typical Muslim boss would have understood my restless soul and my love for Freedom I had good Hindu bosses Mr Arjun Daswani Charagh Din , Mr Andre Kapoor Mrs Munni Gupta Burlingtons Taj , Mr Kishore Bajaj Badasab Bandra , Mr Nitin Manmohan Prachins ,, and finally I sought redemption becoming my own boss .. there was a stint at Muscat with Dr Hamed Al Riyami Tecodev and Hon Mohomed Moosa Undersecretary of Finance Al Anwar from 1980 to 1982 ,, never went back to the Gulf ever ,, I think there is more money in India than anywhere in the Gulf if you have the honest skill to tap it.
The most important influence in my life has been Mrs Punam Sinha and Mr Shatrughan Sinha ,,the first thing I did on reaching the Kumbh Mela Trimbakeshwar sent her a message this hardcore Bhakt of Shiva .. who has visited all the 12 Jyotlings.
I promote Hinduism as Hope and Hindutva a Message of Universal Peace over 66000 Hindu blogs ,,part of my cultural inheritance ,. I became a Malang in 2011 under Syed Masoomi Baba .Asqan Madari.. so I began promoting peace and humanity and Sufism.
But whatever issues about the meat ban during Prayushan totally politicized by vested interests and the Jain community leaders keeping quiet ,, till that time the placing of the Meat Toran on a Jain Daresar was the last straw , I mean it not only hurts the Jains but our secular sentiments too.. and those guyss posing outside the Daresar need to be booked .. this is not the spirit of Mumbai this is hooliganism goondaism and is this why Rakesh Maria was shunted to give such elements a free hand beats me .. this is not the Hinduism I respect revere and promote ,, and where is law and order and progress and development I am addressing this to our erstwhile dynamic CM Mr Dev Fadnavisji..
I am hurt as much as the Jains tomorrow some issue will they place a Pork.. Toran outside a Muslim Mosque or Shrine..is what I want to know,..
I have recently come back from the Kumbh Mela Trimbakeshwar Ramkund and my 3500 blogs in the Nasikh series dont touch on this ill-will or humiliation and million light years away from the 93 riots when we lost everything at Khar Danda .
The Jains are Indians .. and certainly not terrorists to deserve such a treatment at all This is not progress or development nor is this Sab Ka Sath Sab Ka Vikas ,, as preached by our visionary PM Mr Narendra Modiji..
Discipline is the means of achieving liberation.
As gold does not cease to be gold even if it is heated in the fire; an enlightened man does not cease to be enlightened on being tortured by the effect of karma. Lord Mahaveera

You Shoot What You Want I Simply Shoot India

An Ecstatic Moment For The Naga Sadhus Called Shahi Snan

As I write this with nostalgia I am in Mumbai at home while the second Shahi Snan 13 September is right now happening at Trimbakeshwar an impressionable moment as a photographer if you have not shot it you have missed something .. and you have to be destined to shoot the chaos the cacophony and the rising decibels the blare of the loudspeakers all drowned by the power of the chant of Har Har Mahadev..


I have been getting calls from my Naga Guru Shree Vijay Giri Maharajs main disciple Mashesh Bhardwaj.. he has been documenting all the Kumbhs with my Guru on video.. I was earlier not a video man but videos add an extra living dimension to the story of the Kumbh one of the greatest event for the Hindus ,,and for all of us a cultural phenomenon ..which gets a lot of mileage from the foreign photographers capturing every single moment.
Mahesh Bhardwaj is very fond of me since we first met at the Nasikh Kumbh in 2003 and he is the guy standing on a stick while my Guru did LIng Kriya ,, this time I shot a video of the Ling Kriya on You Tube ,,

Mahesh Bhardwaj was trying to tempt me to come back to Trimbakeshwar for the second Shahi Snan today 13 September ,, but it was not possible as much as I wanted I had work commitments , I thought some miracle would pull me there but it did not happen...as a photographer the Kumbh Mela is my passion ,,and I am lucky I shot the first Shahi Snan 29 September 2015 .. over 2800 images with videos .
So hopefully I will try to go on the last final Shahi Snan 25 September 2015 at Trimbakeshwar...Mahesh is saddened by the fact that at the first Shahi Snan they all took the dip with our Naga Guru excepting me as I had got lost in the crowds ,,with an injury on my leg and limping I could not catch up with them and ended with Swamiji Avdesh Anand Ji Maha Mandleshwar Juna Akhara s procession going for the Holy Dip.. it got me entry into the Kund and whole lot of Naga pictures .. disabled from public view at Flickr because of frontal nudity ,,,


So this is a memory of a Shahi Snan the Nagas become little kids leaping jumping in the waters of the Kund they become one with Shiva and he enters their bodies removing all inhibitions .. as this kund is very small and time the major spoiler they have to get our of the Kund before the next Akhara enters ,, all seamlessly taken care by the Nasikh Kumh Mela authorities...The mortals the public gets its chance once the Naga Sadhus and other Akharas have taken their dip..
Having shot the Shahi Snan at the Sangam Allahabad ..a huge sprawling area ..the Trimakeshwar Kumbh is a bigger challenge as it is small in size and totally completely over packed
..
Mrutyunjayaaya Rudraaya
Neelakantaaya Shambhave
Amriteshaaya Sarvaaya
Mahadevaaya Te Namaha
Meaning: I pray to Lord Mahadeva who has conquered death, who is the destroyer of the universe, who has a blue neck and who gives happiness to all....


This post is my humble tribute to my Hindu brothers my friends without them their constant love support encouragement I would be lacking in my art as a peoples culture photographer ,, the Kumbh Mela ,,,gave me an insight into the Hope Harmony Peace Humanity that is part of Great India .. living in mutual coexistence beyond caste color or creed.

Raghupati Raghava Raja Ram

Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram (sometimes called Ram Dhun) is a popular bhajan (Hindu devotional song) that was a favourite of Mahatma Gandhi.[1] These lyrics were taken from original hindu text "Shri Nama Ramayanam" written by Lakshmanacharya.

Original lyrics:

रघुपति राघव राजाराम
पतित पावन सीताराम
सुंदर विग्रह मेघश्याम
गंगा तुलसी शालग्राम
भद्रगिरीश्वर सीताराम
भगत-जनप्रिय सीताराम
जानकीरमणा सीताराम
जयजय राघव सीताराम
Transliteration
Raghupati raghava rajaram
Patita paavana sitaram
Sundara vigraha meghashyam
Ganga tulasi salagram
Bhadra girishwara sitaram
Bhagat janapriya sitaram
Janaki ramana sitaram
Jaya jaya raghava sitaram

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