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Every year I am invited by Tamil Hindu friend Bhima Davendar to Nehru Nagar Juhu to shoot the Marriamman feast ..A feast I dont miss and have shot it for many years all over Mumbai ..

I reached here at 7 in the morning and shot the animal sacrifice till 9am barefeet my clothes drenched in blood .

I returned home and rested after that I reached Juhu beach to shoot the cheek piercings, the limes hung on backs arms with needles and hooks attacked to the back and the human horse pulls the car or coconut trolley or a ricksha including tempos.

The Tamil ladies decked in finery pierce their tongue with thin tiny Trishuls or baby spears , most of them along with the men carry hot burning pots on their heads from the beach to the Temple at Nehru Nagar.. some distance from the beach.

This is a very long series I am posting the beach rituals and finally the removal of the rods hooks etc at the temple is an exciting sries too..


As usual I met the hijras carrying hot pots on their heads and shot them extensively...

My friend Shanmugham from Madras Wadi Worli was there helping in the piercings..

Most of the Tamil Hindus know me and this year the crowd was immense over 700 cheek piercings I again met my American friend Narottamdas I met him last year too..He too is a excellent dynamic photographer..

The animal slaughter is very graphic I shall post at the end after completion of this series.

Tags:   marriamman feast 2012 nehru nagar juhu beach bhima davendar goddess marriamman hope and hindutva

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The needles are inserted on the arms back, and it is painful procedure , time consuming but clusters of lime will be hung by the devotee , at Mariamman feast my friend Shamugham of Madraswadi inserts hooks to hang clusters of Talgodas , much heavier than lime.

Hooks are inserted in the back and the devotee pulls cars rickshas , or he hangs on a pully from a moving crane..

All this I have documented over the years and clearly seen in my Marriamman set of Koliwada Sion ..and Worli too.

Here at Juhu I was too tired I did not shoot this segment of human horse pulling cars etc..

I left early too , I was totally dehydrated , I was barefeet ...

But I shot the hijras devotees of Goddess Marriamman who carried hot burning pots on their heads ..Anjali their Guru is a follower of my HIjra blogs at Flickr and Wordpress.

Tags:   hope and hindutva

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Tags:   hope and hindutva

© All Rights Reserved

Tags:   marriamman feat 2012 juhu nehru nagar juhu beach hope and hindutva

© All Rights Reserved

Tags:   marriamman feat 2012 juhu nehru nagar juhu beach hope and hindutva

© All Rights Reserved