Nasir Zaidi

Yesterday after my morning prayer, I went for my 30- minute walk. My wife did not accompany me because she preferred the warmth of the bed to the cold outside. Usually, she does. I did not take the path that I normally take every day. The road was deserted and not a soul was in sight. I walked briskly, determined to do a certain number of steps within the time that I had. It was dark and the wintry breeze was making me shiver. I thought of the cosiness of my bed and for a moment was tempted to abandon the walk and go back home. But commitment is commitment. So, I kept walking. When I reached the end of the walking trail, I turned left instead of right. I don’t know why I did it. I should have turned right because that’s where the walker’s path continues. On the left is an alley between two high-rise buildings. Before I could turn back, I spotted a lady smoking a cigarette. She was wearing a long, red gown and her lips were painted with blood-red lipstick. Her tired eyes had da...

All of us get angry sometime or the other. There’s no denying this fact. It’s human nature. Getting angry is not a problem. Not controlling the anger is the issue. When you are angry you are not in your senses. Doing anything then can be disastrous. Relationships crumble, friendships end; anger disrupts and damages. Only some can manage anger effectively. Rather, everyone should be doing it. When we lose our temper, we indicate our immaturity to deal with a situation. Not always things will work the way we want them to. Not everyone will behave the way we want them to. If we get upset with others, others also get upset by us. We should know this.   We should not think that we are right while others are wrong. It maybe that we are right but the other person may also be. We should stop seeing things only from our points of view. Others also have their points of view. If we understand this simple logic, we’ll be able to control our anger.  Yet, despite our best e...

Making imaginary teams has been my favourite pastime. Right from my childhood days I have been doing this. I first made an All Time India Test XI in the mid-80’s when I had just joined college.  Here’s that team:  Sunil Gavaskar Vijay Merchant Vijay Hazare G R Vishwanath MAK Pataudi - captain Vinoo Mankad Kapil Dev Syed Kirmani - wicket keeper E A S Prasanna Mohammad Nissar Subhash Gupte 12 th man Eknath Solkar During my current vacation, I flipped through my old diaries and found 2 more All Time India XIs. I found that only 4 names were common in all the three All Time India XIs. They were Gavaskar, Mankad, Kapil and Gupte.  I decided to make another All Time India XI because lot of great players have emerged in the last decade. I also wanted to see if Gavaskar, Mankad, Kapil and Gupte would still make it in the final team. I wasn’t surprised that they made it. Class is permanent.  Here’s the latest All ...

Most of us just exist; only a miniscule amongst us truly live. Days, months and years pass by, seasons change, childhood gives way to youth, youth to old age, time ticks away, everything goes… We are not sure about the next moment and yet we squabble about the now moment. Unless we experience now , we can’t experience next .  In the now-ness is the knowing-ness.  The sky is a chimera and yet we are so enthralled by its vastness and enraptured by its blueness. A sweet tongue goes a long way in fortifying the relationship but too much sweetness may cause sickness.  Some days are like a bed of roses while some are like a sharp dagger piercing through your heart. If an unknown person crosses your path, you may not feel bad but if a known person after laughing and sharing a joke with you fires a salvo, then it does make you wonder. When I blend with the now , I forget everything. The next seems as promising as the now .    - ...

Ameer-ul-Momineen is not an ordinary title that anyone can claim it. It is not a worldly designation. It’s a title bestowed by the Holy Prophet on the command of God. Ameer-ul-Momineen means Commander of the Believers. Can anyone become the Commander of the Believers on his own?  Many titles of Imam Ali (a.s.) have been usurped by underserving people, one of which is Ameer-ul-Momineen. This title is so revered that no other Imam is referred by it. Once someone greeted Imam Jafar Sadiq (a.s.) by saying ‘Salam alai kum Ameer-ul-Momineen.’ To which Imam Sadiq (a.s.) said ‘Never again call me Ameer-ul-Momineen.’ The greeter was stunned. He asked: ‘Are you not Ameer-ul-Momineen?’    Imam Sadiq (a.s.) replied. ‘Technically I am, but we Imams don’t call ourselves or allow anyone to call us Ameer-ul-Momineen. That title is reserved only for our grandfather Imam Ali (a.s.). When eleven infallible Imams do not claim to be Ameer-ul-Momineen , how can any Tom, Di...

He had emerged victorious from a bloody battle. He had bruises all over his tiny fragile body. He was sitting in a corner pondering over his fate. I knew he didn’t have much time to live. With whom had he fought this deadly battle? I thought. Was it a territorial struggle? Or was it to win the heart of a lady? Or was it attacked by a foe bigger and stronger than him? As I tried to draw my own conclusions, I saw him shivering. Feathers had fallen off him. His tender body was exposed. His wounds were serious. He could hardly move. His eyes were closing. The sun’s merciless rays added to his discomfort. Then a strange thing happened. He took a step forward. He seemed to be in great pain. He was limping. Blood was dripping all over. The gallant little bird tried to fly for one last time. He didn’t want to die just sitting in a corner. He wanted to die by doing what he had always done. He wanted to fly. As he spread his wings, he collapsed. He had no strength left in him to take h...

What more does a man need than an isolated space in the favourite corner of his house and books to read? Can anything be more satisfying than sitting with a book in hand without a care of the world? Imagine a long wintry night and you are cosily tucked in bed, a soft fluffy quilt is covering you, the glow of the reading lamp is adding to the atmosphere of the room, and you have a book in hand…isn’t it something divine? And you are reading ever so slowly, savouring every word, not wanting to miss the magic of the moment.  Reading is oxygen for the mind. Nothing refreshes the intellect more than a good spell of reading. When you pick up a book to read, you enter the world the writer has created. And every time you read a new book you enter a new world. Isn’t this amazing stuff? How can there ever be a dull moment in life when there is so much to read?       A house without books is like the sky without stars. Books give the house a complete look...

Like a tsunami it hits you, catches you unawares. It breathes like a huge dinosaur. It has no time for Father Time, so much in a hurry it is. If on the one side you see muck and dirt then on the other side there is unimaginable wealth. It is a city of contrasts. Life moves on because it has no other option. There is no standing still and admiring the landscape; even if you were to stand still, there is nothing to admire. The hoardings and the billboards give the Mumbai landscape an unusual appearance. One gets to see nothing. But the city is indefatigable. It has tremendous energy. And it is contagious. Even the beggar at the street corner is busy. Despite the city crumbling under the sheer weight of the population that it supports; it still continues to attract. Like a giant magnet pulling iron pins and clips of all sizes. It is one of the few cities of the world that has charisma. It is a pot of gold. It is a playground where all can play. It is a stage where an...

Ying and yang, the Tao of life, Buddha-less moments, uncertainties, momentary blankness, and a snake that is as harmless as the garden lizard. The water running from an open tap, the water evaporating from the sea, the water that is still in a lake, the merriment of waves, the rise and fall, the gurgle, the roar, and the hush. Nowhere to go and yet the hope, I am lost somewhere and there’s no direction, the ways, the paths, the bleak landscape. Often the emptiness is filled with joy and often the joy is empty. If two and two is always four, then what is the need for an x? The right assumptions lead us to god. Bended knees, lifted hands, the cloudy prayer. The shells, the shrimps, the starry eyes of a lost starfish carve a path of the right way but there are strings of pearls scattered over the surface of desire. Woes and worries, the immature decisions, provocations, hurt feelings, and a soul that doesn’t know where to go; life doesn’t always throw up opportunities. Som...

An enchanting evening, a forgotten yesterday, the song of merriment, some bastard moments, ravishing future, and a journey to nowhere; life is a goose that sometimes lays a golden egg. The street is wet because of the sudden, unexpected shower. There is dampness in the air. The sky is dark like darkness. The heart has no yearning. A cat meows and a chair squeaks. Inside the womb of time, a zillion moments breathe. In the distance a light flickers; the cosmos world is barren. Some cars honk, then a well of silence. Quietly, quietness looms larger.  The vicissitudes of being a writer, the blocks, the reluctance of the muse to come, the paucity of ideas, the lazy mind, idle thoughts, the temptation of basking in the warmth of nothingness, the sheer joy of giving up, but the Grecian urn, the odes, Shakespearean sonnets, the Joycean prose, the dynamics of sentences, the beautiful struggle, they push you on. Stars of hope, leafy neighbourhood, the gentle raindrops, ...

Every generation has a legend. Ekhlaaq Hussain ruled the roost in the 70s and the 80s. There was no one who could compete with him. Of course, there was Sachey , the legendary Pakistani sahebae bayaz, who was a master in his own right. But I would rate him a step lower than Ekhlaaq because of one reason. When it came to reciting 4 stanzas, Ekhlaaq was unbeatable. He had complete mastery over rhythm and the ups and downs of each line. His breath control was perfect and at his peak he was faultless and matchless.  There are other notable nauha reciters like Nasir Jahan who was known as the king. His recitation of Saalam-e-Aakhir and Ghabrayegi Zainab is a class apart. Then, there’s Nazim Hussain who created a furore when he recited Shaam ka Bazaar, Abid -e Beemar . It is nauhakhwaani at its best. The modern legend Nadeem Sarwar has his own style and way, though he has lot of studio support. The others created magic without any technical assistance.  Co...

During a conversation with a senior colleague of mine, he remarked, ‘Nasir, you know it all depends on where the thing is – the thing itself maybe inconsequential but it assumes significance if it is placed elsewhere.’ I asked him to elaborate. He said, ‘Look at the snake. If it is on the ground people will rush to crush it but if it is around Shiva’s neck people will worship it.’ Never a truer statement was uttered. I thought and thought and thought. His words resonated in my ears and mind. Even now, it resonates.  Take the corporate world. In one department nothing happens while in another one promotions, solid bonuses and salary increases are given. The department where nothing is happening is like the snake on the ground and the department where things are happening is like the snake around Shiva’s neck. Likewise, in life, there are plenty of examples. If you wish to move on in life then see where you are placed. Relocate yourself. Reinvent yourself...

When we are enveloped in darkness then it means that we do not want to see light. The frog in the well thinks that the well is the world. To a chicken a falling leaf seems the sky. We should neither be the frog nor the chicken. Sometimes being impulsive is idiocy. The moments are merry when we share a cherry and a berry with others. If we think only we know everything then we should see the mirror more often. Narcissism destroyed Dorian Grey. I listen to the hooting of the owl and think I have become wise but the monkey on the tree imitates me and shows me my true worth. The waterfall creates a resounding din but is still beautiful; so ‘empty vessels make the most noise’ is not always true. We are all CEOs of I Inc. How we run ourselves distinguishes us from others. The sky that is blue is also grey at times. Time is never the same. Life is a movie that is in progress. At the end of the day when we review it, we realize that we were unnecessarily stressed out....