The Boy and his Buffalos

As a little boy in Lahore, I saw buffalos for the first time. They were strange animals, neither cow nor goat. To me they were like elephants without trunks. I was fascinated by them. I loved watching them wade in the water for hours. I would watch the young farmers accompany them, pamper them and clean them. The buffalos were the farmer’s pets, friends that they could whisper to. At times farmer and buffalo would swim together and the farmer’s wet clothes would cling to their bodies. I loved the buffalo and their young farmers. Continue reading The Boy and his Buffalos

intimate self-portrait

As I kissed last of the guests good night after my birthday gathering, I could sense cold creeping up, my light and my shadow sentinels, stood motionless.

I felt weak and exhausted, torn between self-preservation and self-harm. Continue reading intimate self-portrait

A Touching Story of Healing Hands-London

Artist and masseur Ali Zaidi gets hands-on about healing the body, mind and spirit. Ignore the picture though, he doesn’t practice rake-i.

Let me begin by saying that I was not always comfortable with my body the way I accept, respect and love it now. Love is an important word that I repeatedly return to throughout my work as a self-confessed connector. Continue reading A Touching Story of Healing Hands-London

Drawn from Life

This spring after a gap of over 30 years when I started to draw again, it was followed by, “Why did you stop in the first place?” There isn’t a straight forward answer to this, however I applaud my learning and un-learning that’s revitalised me to exhibit drawings for the first time in London.

From my teen years the prefix ‘mono’ left me craving for more. For me mono denies Abundance. Not that mono is good or bad per se, however, wether it be monogamy, monotheism, monopoly, monosyllabic, monologue or monolith, I have always had a propensity towards POLY. Whilst I adore the drama of the monochrome, I find Polychrome fantastic. While I respect a mono-theist’s singularity of belief, I believe in a universe of many Gods. All interconnected energies and faiths pass through my heart. I LOVE loving many. Pantheism feels aligned with my being. Continue reading Drawn from Life