Nasir Zaidi

A vacant mind, the vacant eyes and the vacant sky gives the impression that vacation has begun but no, it hasn’t. Some impressions are false while some are real. The ones that are false don’t exist in reality and the ones that are real exist only briefly. We are caretakers of our dreams but we care less as we get on with life. We can write a great story about us but we are more interested in what the other person is writing. Often it is not wise to join the bandwagon; instead ride your own horse. The paths are many; each leading to somewhere. If we aren’t sure and don’t have a proper plan, then we will be lost. But if we are sure and have a proper plan, we will find our way to somewhere; somewhere where we deserve to be. Each one of us is unique; hence each one of us has a unique place. We only need to find it. The journey is treacherous and there is no short cut. The only companions we have are our courage and determination. And as we move on, we will have to face more hosti...

Dubai today resembles London and Mumbai. Grey Dubai is a rarity. From morning, it is gloomy. Raindrops fell like tiny diamonds being scattered by a wealthy prince. While driving to office, the mind was adrift. Like black clouds sailing in the sky. The mind thought of only one thing: What if this day turns out to be my last day?     Immediately the thought was confronted by another thought. No, this day should not turn out to be my last day. It doesn’t matter for the person who goes away – but it matters for the people around him or her. The other day at the funeral a young colleague of mine, many years my junior, was boasting that last week he was driving his car in Al Ain at 160mph.  I asked him if he was alone in this world. He said, ‘No Sir. I have my family.’ Then I told him if that was the case then he was doing a grave injustice to his family by over-speeding. There is no thrill in speed. It is courting disaster, flirting with death. Would he want his ...

Death is the most familiar thing that we all like to be unfamiliar with. It is only a split second away from us and yet we behave as it so distant. It’s a reality that we don’t want to accept. Or rather, we are forced to accept, because we have no option.  Death doesn’t bother about age. For it, anything that is alive, is a target. It is cold and cruel. Emotionless. When it strikes around you, it shakes you up, so much so, that for a moment you are left breathless. And when you start breathing again, you wonder, when it’ll be your turn.  Death is depressing, debilitating, devastating. Those who lose their loved ones are the ones who well and truly know what it means to be bereaved. I’ve had had my share of bereavements. My grandparents, sister at age 39, and mother were the ones that affected me the most. Also, uncles, aunts, other relatives, and friends and colleagues. Every death around you is a unique experience.  Like the one yesterday. A lady colle...

Imagine a situation:  A gang of cricket terrorists have kidnapped me. Their Demand : Pick 10 batsmen to chase 500 runs in 50 overs  In a Race against Time these are the 10 Master Blasters on whose batting skills I will rely upon. And if they can’t, then no other batting line up can… 4 West Indians : 1.    Vivian Richards: The man with the bat to kill. The original Hit-Man. When Viv goes berserk then only he can stop himself; no one else can. 2.    Chris Gayle: When he bats, he kicks up a storm. Gayle brings gale to the stadium. Brutal and ferocious. 3.    Gordon Greenidge: Some say on his day he was better than Viv. Need anything else be said about his batting prowess. 4.    Clive Lloyd: When his bat does the talking, then one can only sit back and enjoy the brilliance. He is the guy who once hit Bedi out of the Wankhede stadium in a Test match in Bombay. The ball was found on the railway tracks.  2 Indians...

You are your own brand ambassador. What you say defines your personality. What others think about you depends to a large extent on how you conduct yourself with them. It is very easy to form an opinion. That’s one thing that not only all of us love doing but we are damn good at it. In no time at all we are ready to crucify a person. That’s why it is more important to think twice before speaking. If you think thrice, then you narrow down the odds even further, of people forming an opinion. Though don’t be under the impression that if you are silent you are safe. Silence is sometimes perceived as dumbness. In the corporate world, especially. If you are quiet in a meeting or a discussion, then it is considered that you don’t have anything of value to add. So, people talk, even if they have nothing of value to add. Paradoxical situation – but that’s the way life is. Coming back to you are what you say , I believe we should never drop our guard while interacting with people becau...

We all have our list of top 10s. Top10 movies, top 10 books, top 10 actors, top 10 places, top 10 authors, etc, etc. In this blog I will list down my top 10 WORST ACTORS of Bollywood. Please note that the list is extempore so I may have missed some more deserving candidates. Please feel free to share your own list. And if by chance any of the names mentioned here is one of the favourites of any of the readers then my sincere apologies to them. 1.    Suniel Shetty: The guy is amazing. Except acting, he can do anything. See his acting prowess in films like Bhai, Rakshak. Watch him dance to the tune of Sundara Sundara and Hello, hello bol kar.  He takes the cake and the bakery too.   2.   Deepak Parashar: Wow! In front of this guy Suniel Shetty is a master. DP is a pain in all the places. To say that he can’t act for nuts will be an insult to nuts. And I don’t wish to insult anybody or anything.  3.   Anil Dhawan: He has ac...

While reading a book* I came across this line: What you want and what you get are usually two entirely different things The author painstakingly states that we may want the whole world in our grasp but we may end up catching nothing in our fist. It isn’t necessary that what you want you will get…in fact it may never happen.  I agree with the line but not with the writer’s assessment about it. My argument is that: We may want a 3BHK apartment but instead we may get a penthouse. We may want to become a millionaire but instead we become a billionaire. We may want to become an officer at the time of getting the job but instead we end up becoming a CEO. The writer has only echoed Nida Fazli’s sentiments Kabhi kisi ko muqammal jahan nahi milta Kahin zamee toh kahin aasman nahi milta  I ask ‘Kyuun nahi? Why not?’ We limit our own self. We draw a line and stay behind it. We dream but are afraid so we stop dreaming. We become content with what we have. Contentme...

I am the masterpiece of my Creator.   He is the master and I am the piece. I stand on the periphery of darkness. A halo of light envelops me. Illumination flickers in the darkened corners of my mind. It’s time to bow down in gratitude. My heart aches with expectation. And expectation aches with fulfillment. The circumference of desire cannot be calculated. The soul flies into the limitless sky. I run into my own arms. But I meet with emptiness. That emptiness is an unwritten poem.       -NZ 26.11.2019 BN: 200 

  The ungainly evening disrupts my poise; The horizon dips in a glimmer of yellowness. An orb, indistinct, fragmentary, shatters And the sky explodes into a million pieces.   The cawing rooks and the disturbed onlookers Rattle the atmosphere to an extent that The setting sun assumes a vicious look Of a witch, whose face is shrinking, shrivelling;   What should have been a smooth transition, The evening dissolving into night, Instead turns out to be a murderous assault;  And in the ensuing mayhem, I lose my bearing. -NZ 25.11.2019 BN: 199    

Moonbeams dance likes pixies in a Shakespearean garden. Thoughts float like a friendly spirit wooing another friendly spirit. Night has fallen and yet looks dignified. But if man falls, then the situation is different?   Life shouldn’t be led as an afterthought. The moon blushes as countless stars glitter in the dark sky. Sensations cease when desires freeze. Failure is a myth that continues to influence us. Why is it taboo to know who we are? Alan Watts in the preface to his book ‘The Book’ writes ‘We are in urgent need of a sense of our own existence which is in accord with the physical facts and which overcomes our feeling of alienation from the universe.’   We learn languages, we study different subjects, we explore and imbibe and absorb but we hardly get to know who we are. Someone asked Buddha: ‘I want happiness.’ Buddha in his infinite wisdom replied, ‘Remove ‘I’ because it is ego, remove ‘want’ because it is desire, and you will be left with happines...

1.        Relaxing 2.        Imagining 3.        Reading 4.        Meditating 5.        Watching a movie 6.        Dining out 7.        Being with the family 8.        Long drives 9.        Playing with kids 10.     Connecting with friends 11.     Listening to the spouse 12.     Doing household chores 13.     Switching off from office 14.     Dreaming 15.     Doing nothing 16.     Taking stock of the situation 17.     Building relationships 18.     Lolling in bed 19.     The present 20.     Spoiling yourself 21. ...