Nasir Zaidi

                                                            Be fearless in whatever you do. Be fearless about failure. Failure means you are trying. Failure is proof about your ability, about your honest intention. Be fearless about criticism. No one flogs a dead horse. Be fearless about pursuing your dreams. Don’t listen to those who say ‘this is not possible.’ Listen to your heart. If it sings, sing along with it. Don’t compete with others. Compete with your own self. You are in a park walking fast. Someone overtakes you. Don’t become frantic to overtake that person. That’s not the right approach. That person’s body strength, diet, mindset, age, and other factors differ from you. You have to challenge your performance. If you are walking x miles in y minutes - try improving that. Likewise, there are other examples, in other...

    Both are epics. Both are classics. Both are immortal pieces of literature. Both have enduring lines; lines that captivate and hold you spellbound. Both are written by masters. Both the masters – John Milton & Sri Aurobindo Ghosh - are champions in writing epics. Both these works run into several hundred pages and every single page has something to offer. There’s very little to choose between the two – but there is little to choose. I have read both Paradise Lost and Savitri and were I asked to choose between the two, I would choose Savitri. I have no intention to downplay Paradise Lost. Who am I to do that? Its place is entrenched in literature’s Hall of Fame. But Savitri has its own charm, class and cult. One line from Paradise Lost pales all other lines in it. ‘ Better to reign in Hell than to serve in Heaven.’ This line has stayed with me since I read Paradise Lost almost twenty years back. But in comparison, there are several lines from Savitri ...

                                                  After I published my blog What Women Like in Men (18.6.2019), I received couple of requests from readers - both male and female - to write about what men like in women. Man is a visual animal. He likes women who are well dressed, wears the right make-up and correct footwear. If her clothes and footwear do not complement each other, then it puts him off. A majority of men never compromise on a woman’s footwear. That’s the number one priority. The way to a man’s heart is through a woman’s feet – all you ladies keep this in mind.       Smile is the next big thing that matter to men. Refer to my blog When a Woman Smiles (21.6.2019) wherein I have made an attempt to describe the types of smiles a woman has. Men like it when the woman’s smile portrays trust and confidence in him. So work yo...

                                                                      Yesterday I attended the corporate toastmasters club’s meeting in which COO, who is a distinguished toastmaster himself, played the role of Table Topics Master. Before inviting the speakers, he spoke briefly about impromptu speeches. He stated that when a topic is given out of the blue to even seasoned speakers, they experience the feeling of being LOST momentarily. The novice speakers develop cold feet and are LOST completely. Then he said, LOST is an acronym for Listening Organising Speaking Thinking In prepared speeches, speaker has enough time to think before speaking but in impromptu speeches, the speaker speaks first and then thinks. To manage such instances, he advises that one should keep their ears open and listen ...

                                        One thing becomes clear when you hit rock bottom. There is no going further down. So, it’s a sign of relief. So, heave a sigh of relief. You should now know that any action that you take, a single step even, will be your victory. Small victory, but victory nevertheless. So, take that action. Take that first step. Don’t think you have a long way ahead of you. Think of only the next step. The initial steps are vital, crucial to turning around. The progress maybe slow but it is progress nevertheless. Pat yourself on the back after every successful step. You will not have anyone to egg you on, to spur you on, to motivate and encourage you. You are your own motivator. Don’t feel down when you see no support coming in. You are the hero of your life. Lift yourself up whenever you are down. You have to prove a point to yourself, not to others....

                                                      Q1.   Does God exist? A1. Depending on your belief, God either exists or not. Q2. If God exists why is there so much sorrow? A2. If doctor exists why is there so much sickness? If teacher exists why is there so much illiteracy? If wealthy people exist why is there so much poverty? Q3. If God is one, why is there so many religions? A3. We have one body. so why different clothes? We have one stomach, so why different foods? Q4. If God is just, then why is there inequality in the world? A4. Take the example of cricket. Or any other sports. Two nations play and only one wins though prayers are offered by fans of both the sides. God doesn’t intervene in such matters because he is just – the team that plays the best on a particular day, wins. So, sometimes a Christian natio...

                                                    Thank you, Mr. Satan, for agreeing for the interview. I know you are a super busy person so I won’t keep you for long. NZ: What is your issue with God? Satan: I don’t have an issue with him. He has an issue with me. NZ: Really? Is that so? Satan: Yes. He told me to bow before Adam. How could I? NZ: Why couldn’t you? Satan: I am superior to Adam because I am senior to him. NZ: Senior or junior doesn’t matter. The command came from Big Boss. Satan: I am the Big Boss. NZ: You may call yourself that but the fact is that God is the Big Boss. Satan: Look, my friend, if you are going to insult me then I will walk off. NZ: Please, Mr. Satan. I apologise. I have no intention of insulting you. I will rephrase my question. Before you became the Big Boss, weren’t you reporting to...

                                      Nick Carter was a god for me when I was a teenager. I was so fascinated by him that his British counterpart James Bond meant nothing for me. Carter, to me, is the last word in the espionage world. All the other secret agents pale in comparison to him. His full name is Nicholas J. Huntington Carter – can anyone think of a more exotic name than this? Carter’s boss has an equally exotic name: David Hawk, who is lean, wiry, and leather-tough. Nick Carter works for AXE, a fictional spy agency for the US government. If Bond is licensed to kill, Carter is a Killmaster. His code is Agent N3. AXE has only four Killmasters and Carter is the senior-most. His appearance and personality make the Greek gods look ordinary. He is tall, lean, and drop dead handsome. His eyes are steel-grey and depending upon the situation, can become cold, harsh, and dangerous. ...

George Orwell has written an essay on the same subject. In it he mentions the following four reasons for writing: Sheer egoism Aesthetic enthusiasm Historical impulse Political purpose Taking a cue from him, I furnish below my own reasons for writing. 1.       Passion I maybe a banker by profession but by passion I am a writer. It’s the inner desire in me that drives me to write. I am able to write anytime and anywhere and on any subject that comes to my mind. Writing is never a chore for me. It never crosses my mind that ‘O God I have to write now.’   2.       Reading An input has to have an output. I read a lot and therefore I have to write. I can’t go on gorging on books and not regurgitate knowledge and information in the form of writing. That’s a natural process. 3.       Leisure Whenever I want to relax, I write. Writing gives me more pleasure than any other activit...

                                                  Don’t be taken in by a woman’s smile - don’t rush in where angels fear to tread – because her smile has different dimensions. To know what her smile means, you should first be able to understand the smile. There are three main types of smiles: 1.       Smile that doesn’t reach the eyes 2.       Smile without teeth being displayed 3.       Smile with teeth being displayed When the smile doesn’t reach the eyes, it means she is cautioning you; beware, do not cross the LoC (line of control). Without using a single word, she is sending a strong message. That kind of a smile is her main weapon to warn trespassers. Next time, you see a woman whose smile doesn’t reach her eyes, stay as far away from her as possible. When she...

Joy is like pure clear water; wherever it flows, wondrous blossoms grow. Sorrow is like a black flood; wherever it flows it wilts the blossoms. These sublime words are Shams Tabrizi’s. The spiritual teacher of Mawlana Jalal ad Din Muhammad Balkhi, whom the world knows as Rumi. Legend has it that for forty days Tabrizi taught Rumi in complete seclusion – the knowledge that the master passed on to his disiciple is evident on reading Rumi’s poems. Tabrizi entered Rumi’s life unexpectedly and disappeared from his life unexpectedly. Rumi was already a scholar when he met Tabrizi. But when they entered into a theological debate, Rumi was so awestruck that he almost fainted with Tabrizi’s arguments. In one of his poems, Rumi pays tribute to Tabrizi in the following words: Why should I seek? I am the same as he. His essence speaks through me. I have been looking for myself. Once when Rumi was reading - a stack of books at his side - Tabrizi passed by. He asked Rumi, ‘What...

                                                                  Krishna is the consciousness. He is the breath of the universe. The blue skinned god drives away blues. When you chant his name, you reach the pinnacle of awareness. O Krishna - the divine name - cast a glance on us, we are the needy ones, the misdirected ones. Show us the way, the path to resurrection. Reflect on his name to open secret doors. He is the centre; everyone and everything goes around him. He is the salvation, he delivers you from destruction. Krishna is , he was always is . He is a world within a world, he commands the cosmos. He is the mind and the mind is he. O Krishna, O Krishna, O Krishna.   Kill the Kansa of our souls. Liberate us, set us free from the Kauravas in our minds. You are the daata , you are the deity, you are the...

Pick up any book on women or talk to any man, they all say that women are unpredictable and mysterious. I don’t want to dispute this belief. But I can comfortably say that all women, irrespective of their nationalities, background, colour, race, etc, like the following qualities in men – so where’s the unpredictability? where’s the mystery?   Here are those qualities: SENSE of HUMOUR : No women in this world want to be in a relationship with a man who makes her cry, gives her tension, adds to her stress or is forever grumpy and complaining. Women prefer men who can make them laugh, can lighten up their mood, and make them feel fresh and happy. That’s why they like men who have exceptional sense of humour. AMBITIOUS DRIVE : Women are always inclined towards men who have an ambitious streak in them. Men who are lazy, reluctant to further their development and progress, don’t go down well with the members of the fairer sex. They secretly admire men who are forever look...

                                                  To twist Shakesperare’s words from to be or not to be, that is the question? to to be happy or not to be happy is the question - and the answer to that is simple, unlike to the question that Shakespeare posed. Being happy is in our hands. Period. We can’t pass the buck for our unhappiness to anyone else. If we wish to be happy, we can be, despite several odds, and if we don’t wish to be happy, we won’t be, despite everything being in our favour. The number one enemy of happiness is COMPARISON with OTHERS . Till the time we keep doing that, we can never expect to be happy. Now, there are two things here. If the comparison with others is due to envy, then the green-eyed monster (to borrow Shakespeare’s phrase again) can wreak havoc on you. But if you compare yourself with others, to improve yourself, ...

Be it at office, home, or anywhere else, words, if used appropriately can motivate anyone. Everything else takes a backseat. Words have the power to send a person’s morale soaring or plummeting. If we learn how to use words effectively, we’ll have seriously motivated people around us. Below are few examples of how we misuse the words, thus puncturing the motivation of people. If only we say them the other way around, their motivation will skyrocket. At Home : Example 1                                                          Child shows you his /her report card. He/she has done well in al the subjects except one. Our focus will be on that one subject in which he/she didn’t do well. So instead of ...