The Bandra Railway Station , local train service of the Western Railway, and I reached here at about 11.30 pm, the bomb blast in the first class of a Borivili  bound local  took place at 6.28 pm., and this a peak hour period as the offices shut by this time.

And the second class is absolutely jampacked, no breathing space and the only breathing space is reservedfor the quintessential Indian armpits, I would say a pin in a pin box, and the trains are Mumbais life line, connecting the arterial flow of workers, labourers from one end to the other end.

Its 4 am in Mumbai, I have come back to my shop, a very long and torturous night, a night that shall remain a dark night even in the morning.

 

I left my shop after posting my article on the Mumbai Bomb blast  11/7 ,and as I was leaving the shop the local kids from the neighborhood came to ask for money to help the people that were being bought to the Bhabha hospital, I never carry much money, and I had a few bucks I gave them all and walked home.

At home I showered and saw the mayhem and chaos on the News Channel, and the photographer in me began to rebel, I had to shoot this, but wife would not let me go, I told her I would go up to Lucky Hotel  the SV Road junction close to the Bandra Railway station, as I knew people would be  helping folks with biscuits and drinking water, as the trains had stopped and this is about 11 pm, wife gave me Rs  45 , to clip my wings and that I don’t land up at some other place.

She reads me well.

I reached Bandra Station , and walked in and  saw people helplessly stranded, and from there I walked on the wet tracks till I reached the ill lucked train, and the first class compartment where the bomb had been placed, and this blast occurred at 6.28pm, from there I came out of the station shell shocked, managed to get a cab,paid Rs 15 till, St Michaels Church Mahim, as all the roads to Mahim Station were blocked to vehicular traffic, I walked quite a distance , and shot pictures of this  tragic scene, and from  Mahim , I walked all the way to Matunga my last stop, and here too I was not allowed to  enter the tracks, I shot pictures from outside , and here it was the same  destruction, and all first class compartments were targeted.,and you must be wondering about my dress code, I wore shots, sandals, t-shirt, and a photographers jacket ,and my Bandra Samachar Press Card , thank you Mr Clarence  Gomes. Eminent editor.

At Matunga for the first time I also shot some  pictures in Raw Format.

I came home from Matunga, and had just Rs 30 to pay the cabbie.

And it was 2 am, I showered again, and wife is furious, the moment she fell asleep I slipped out of the house to post the pictures as I have a premonition that Mumbai might come again to a crunching halt, and this time the issue is greater than the desecration of a Supremos  late wife’s statue, the desecration of humanity,  a dastardly and cowardly act, and the Mumbaikar has taken enough and wont be cowed down anymore,

I reached Bhabha Hospital, and shot the picture of our local MLA.. Minister of State, Mr. Baba Siddiqi and all the news channels are around, I managed to slip in and ,on the fourth floor of casualty I shot two pictures of the victims, and hurriedly came down before they confiscate my fucked Nikon D70 ,point and shoot Japanese Camera.

I have downloaded the pictures, and I am writing this on Microsoft Word, so the accursed page does not disappear, and I will not talk on the pictures I post.

You interpret it, as a human being, disbarring your nationality, all of you..

Good Morning.

Firoze Shakir

Photographerno1

Cub reporter

I am updating this page today 20th May 2008 http://www.firozeshakir.com http://photographerno1.wordpress.com http://www.flickr.com/photos/firozeshakir/ http://www.photographerno1.com