This morning I went to see Nadeem Chawhan. I’ve been wanting to see him since the last 8 months or so and every time there has been something or the other but we finally got to meet. In his usual, he’d be a show-stopper, would do weird things, crack jokes, pull a few legs and speak wisdom. I don’t remember a single meet where he wasn’t the centre of the attention. However he didn’t say much today, actually nothing at all. He lied flat on a little bed which wouldn’t have accommodated him until a few years ago. Unlike always, it was a pretty silent meet. Contrary to what everybody will endorse, he was not engaging or inspiring. Here lied the man who could blow away thousands, blown away; the man who could make us all laugh no matter what the situation, causing tears; the man who’d tell us that we only get to live once, had lived his. Nadeem passed away. It wasn’t only him, it was that whole little room which was dead. As I stepped out, I saw all - colleagues, x-colleagues, competitors & clients. Most wouldn’t stand each other otherwise but they all came together. It’s sad that only when somebody passes away do we stand united like that. What good does it do anyway then? He taught me without teaching me. Most, including me, would call him a mentor despite the fact that it would be an occasional unplanned conversation and not the kind of relationship mentor-mentee have. But everyone would agree that a chat with Nadeem would always leave you in awe of what all was possible and of what little were we up to. He’d quote, he’d simplify, he’d create. he’d question, he’d test, he’d succeed, he’d share, he’d fail, he’d admit and of all that he did, he was brutally honest! I have not seen a professional questioning his/her work as much as Nadeem would. Every once in a while he’d get bored and call it quits or plan a sabbatical only to return in a few days. He genuinely wanted to do work that’d be significant. I think he never thought ill of anyone and in his teasing and humor, he’d only expect to elevate the other to a better standard. A video we put together recently had the famous here’s to the crazy ones lines. We placed his picture on ‘where others may seem them as crazy, we see GENIUS’. Yes, that’s the word. Nadeem was a genius. Not only in Pakistan but from global benchmarks, Nadeem was so full of ideas that it was unbelievable. Yes, another word he liked when he started training - unbelievable. Of course his other favourites included ‘Qaddu’, ‘Chay’, ‘Chawal’, ‘Interestingly enough’, ‘Moving on’, ‘Are we ok with this’. It wasn’t only talking, Nadeem would eat and smoke a lot too. He’d have long conversations outside work and a fan club everywhere he’d go. I’d admit that somewhere he wanted people to treat him like a king, to chase him a little more, to make him feel important but taking into account his talent and contribution, it would still qualify for a very high level of humility. Yes, he was humble. If you’d strike a chord with his heart, he’d give his life for you. May be someone just did that. While flying to bid him farewell, my colleague expressed her aguish with what has happened. She said it isn’t fair and I told her that we are all creations and a creation to the best of the ability will never fully understand the will of the Creator. It’s blasphemous to comment or complain but if it’s okay to wish, and a wish which can’t come true now, not as a non-acceptance to the wish of the Creator but just a wish as a mere human who is emotionally hijacked right now, I’d say that Nadeem could have lived more. Our country and this world could have been so much better with his presence. We’d have made better choices, smiled so much more and been more and more genuine in our lives. I also wish that Nadeem’s work would have gone more places than it did. Lastly, I wish that Nadeem had stayed to see his second child to be. His legacy remains in the thousands of us as the lessons he taught us, the energy he drew from us and the laughter he created with us. I pay him a tribute by repeating Iqbals verse he taught us: Wo faraib-khurda shaheen jo pala ho kargizon mein Ussay kya khabar ke kya hai rah-o-rasm-o-shahbazi JazaakAllah! (as he’d close his talk every time)
Posted on: Wed, 19 Nov 2014 19:57:57 +0000
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