Drew up my good friend Ainu Abraham.

My attempt at drawing Ainu's face upon her request. I like this piece, hope you all appreciate it too!

The Billionaire Centenarian.

FUN FACT: What if you had inherited wealth in billions of dollars and a lifetime of 100 years and counting to enjoy it? Well, then you would be called David Rockefeller.

He is going to turn 100 years old on 12th June 2015 and has a net worth of over  USD 3 Billion. He is the only living grandson of the legendary Oil tycoon and multi-billionaire John D. Rockefeller.

He has donated hundreds of million dollars to philantrophic causes.

However, as we all know that money can't buy everything and an unfortunate fact is that he lost his son in a jet crash a day after his 99th birthday last year.

Nevertheless, lets's wish this very lucky old man who was born with a golden spoon in his mouth and has been blessed in terms of both health and wealth a Happy Centennial Birthday!

2015 Rolls Royce Wraith.

An unfinished Wraith. Drawn by Kazim Mirza. 

Mirrored Beauty.

Drawn by me with the most economical Reynolds ball pen I could find. 

Timeless Classics

With everything undergoing massive overhauls in today's dynamic world, the race for constant change is evident with its positiveness not always guaranteed. It seems practically impossible to stick on with traditional heritage in an offering with the temptation to harness the shifts in consumer preferences from time to time. But even today there are some things that stand strong in this aspect, here is a list of some of them which I have personally felt and compiled and think they deserve some recognition and treated as a example for all the corporations out there which adopt policies of unnecessary modifications and fail miserably in their industry.

1.Rolls Royce

The symbol of uber-luxury and traditional royalty has undergone imperceptible change in its character. Be it the gigantic size of their cars which give you the feel of a small apartment on wheels and the hefty engines that power them, neither the generous use of fine wood across their interiors nor the analogue displays meters.

Most particularly the Phantom line of cars and its predecessors have withstood the test of time with negligible change. Now under BMW ownership, this classic car brand directly battles with very few in the industry Ex. Volkswagen Group’s Bentley. It has wiped out the Maybach marque completely within a decade and RR continues to grow with the similar designs being sold at similar prices every year highlighting how strong heritage can still demand vintage respect among today’s car enthusiasts. If it is good or bad is a personal judgment for you to decide.

2.Rolex

The hands that adorn a Rolex are usually the same hands which pay huge sums to own one. Truth be told, Rolex has not experimented much with unconventional styling like their fellow Swiss watchmaking rivals. Instead they have stuck to their roots since many years and that has worked for them as these great watches are instantly recognizable with the round dial or a Mercedes hour hand; the distinct yet repetitive designing across the line. Annually their new watch releases have variations which have more to do with the external materials used to make them such as Gold, Diamonds, Platinum and Jewels rather than watch movements or bold design overhauls. The amount on the price tags has only increased and so has the number of people desirous to own one which is after all just an impeccable piece of machinery that not just speaks accurate time but also status.

3.Think Pad

This business laptop from IBM has looked and felt pretty much the same since its inception in 1992. The jet black rough pre-historic looks just tease our technological era which not just wants advance features and functionality but also a dash of style to accompany all that. Thinkpad is the only type laptop to be used in space and still continues to be used by NASA.  Now produced by Compaq 2005 onwards, this product continues to be a popular business laptop of our times and resisting unnecessary change. Seems like this ‘Pad’ is going to outlast the iPad!

4.Mercedes G-Class

The longest serving passenger model in the history of Mercedes-Benz, this boxy rugged off-roader has undergone unnoticeable change since the late 1970s! The round headlamps and minimalistic looks have been built to last. Even when you step inside this vehicle, the square design affinity does not end but the “new” models have the latest technology from the German roost-ruler while preserving the classy looks of older models. Overtime, a wide variety of increasingly powerful engines have been added. It commands a steep price to buy one coupled with poor fuel economy but sturdy off-road prowess and cushioned interiors. This classic car which is still available in showrooms has been the choice of Football players, Rap-stars and Oil-Barons.

5.Volkswagen Beetle

Everybody accepted that this graciously old beauty had been put in a coffin and buried back in 2003, after being in production for 65 long years. But Volkswagen has decided to revive “The Beetle” and take a wise guess? Yes, not much has changed. The bug design of the car just stands out in the crowd of similar looking automobiles. It has just gone from good to better with a racy engine and technology for 2014 onwards.

6.AK-47 (the Rifle)

Now, this is a deadly one. When one thinks of an assault rifle, this ultimate fully automatic rifle comes to mind. It is in service since 1949 till present day. General Kalashnikov who invented this says, “I have nothing to do with the destruction that my invention carries with it. I never made the machine-gun for ordinary people to fight and kill each other.” He regretted very much that it has turned into a deadly weapon. He expressed his anguish that he would have preferred to invent something which helps people and makes life easier for farmers. It has undergone negligible changes and continues to be popular with the respected militaries of various nations and unfortunately with terrorists; people who have no regard for human life.

7.The Train

Once we have learnt to fly successfully in the skies why would we need trains? That was maybe what laymen thought when they found train travel in locomotives time-consuming and tiresome. But the truth as it is is that trains have become an indispensable part of the lives of many people around the world and for good reason. Speeds have quadrupled and convenience has increased. Whatever type of train it is- Metros of Europe and US, High-speed bullet trains of Japan or Diesel locomotives of India, any of these or more continue to offer an unrivalled experience of public transport and it doesn’t always have to be public or less plush. Especially not with the luxury tourist trains of India like The Palace on Wheels, Maharaja Express and the Golden Chariot to name some.

8.Land line Telephones

Hello is what we have all been saying since time immemorial, when we converse through telecommunication networks. Surprisingly the old Landline telephones have been and still are an integral part of this network. The presence of cellular phones and satellite phones in today’s times may have dwarfed the usage of the telephone right? Wrong. Landline telephones continue to dominate as official contact means, business usage, in developing countries where mobile penetration has not been as effective, emergency services such as Police, Hospitals, Fire-fighting etcetera. It adds extra levels of security in terms of identity of the caller as well as being operational in times of calamity and in zero network or weak network areas. Another added advantage of landline phones is that they do not die due to low battery like our mobile phones.

9.Books

Efforts have been made to replace paper books with e-books and tablets but the efforts have not succeeded. Readers still enjoy the pleasure of reading a good book in the most conventional way possible without having to adjust the brightness, scroll around or check battery status; simply open the book and flip the pages and close it when you are done. Simplicity is what has attracted book lovers for generations and libraries still store paper books and are still filled to the brim with avid readers of all sorts of books.

10.Boeing 747

The grandfather of the newly-born nemesis- A380, has existed in the industry ever since it first took off to the skies in 1968. The semi-hump body design is iconic and can be instantly recognized which is different from all others. There have been heavy improvements have been made from the first 747-100s built with six upper deck windows (three per side) with a ten window upper deck as an option offered later as compared to the present-day version dubbed 747-8 is quite long and stretched out to accommodate more passengers while still maintaining the historic design. It is also obvious that the Jumbo Jet is technologically on par, if not more advanced, than all modern commercial aircrafts.

There are many more illustrations of to-be future day classics which I am aware of and shall share it with you all at the right time. It has indeed become a rare breed and I hope to see an improvement in that as it has not been completely extinct even today.

Obscurity

When the nights are lonely, dark and neat, I crave your presence here with me. I seek the world, you are all I see!

You're cold to me and yet so sweet,
I could wait and wait every night till we meet.
The moon is cheesy,
The wind is breezy,
The perfect time to be;
Like the calm before a tumultuous sea,
I bow to the Maker who made you so,
Destiny says we don't have a future though!

A bouquet to impress,
Or a smile to suppress.
My feelings for you will just not express,
You'll always remain my mind's empress!
For with morning, I forget you again with little success!
You are all I see,
Yes; you are all I see!

-Kazim

Private versus Public Debate: Is Initial Public Offering (IPO) A Boon or Bane?

In contemporary times, more and more lucrative privately held companies from disparate sectors are going for IPOs in international stock exchanges such as Facebook, Twitter, GM, Visa Inc. etc. and paradoxically some public giants like Dell, H.J. Heinz, Blackberry, Richard Branson's Virgin Group etc. agreeably going private after remaining public. Some public corporations such as Best Buy, New York Times at least pondered over the transformation from public to private.

It is a fact that most reputed stock markets have strict listing regulations and procedures which include but are not limited to a sound financial track record of past years which shows that the company is profitable as well independent auditing of all the past financial data. The Big 4 accounting firms namely PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte, Ernst & Young and KPMG are the most respected top-tier auditors which have undertaken tasks for big companies but second-tier lesser known firms are also available for hire. These top auditing firms are famous for their objectiveness and often steer clear from shady and disreputable firms wanting to get their accounts window-dressed or falsely certified. However, both private and public companies have their own advantages and drawbacks. It is a mistaken widely held belief that a private corporation is always smaller than or inferior in some sense to a public corporation. Did you know that the food-processing and chocolate-making giant 'Mars, Inc.' with annual sales revenue topping US$ 30 Billion employing 70,000 people is still a private company owned by the Mars family? How about the diversified Koch Industries, revenue of more than US$ 100 Billion and emloyer of 60,000 individuals, privately held by the Koch brothers, Toys ' R' Us, Amway, Hilton Worldwide, Bloomberg, McKinsey & Company, Kohler, Levi Strauss, etc. are all examples of large private companies. Some like the Big 4 Accounting firms are also private partnership firms, the part of the reason being the nature of industry they work in. Furniture-maker Ikea International is another good example of a private giant.

Every corporation starts off as a private one, it gradually grows and if the promoters aspire, it can turn into a public corporation. As we all know, A private organisation is closely knit and mostly a familial one with the key decision making with the founder CEO/Managing Director and his immediate family or co-founders with severe restrictions on the trading of its stock. For a capable private company to go public and raise capital from the public, finding the right amount of capital to be raised for the same, setting the initial price per share, ensuring minimum subscription, legal and regulatory compliance etcetera is essential. To address all these issues, a qualified Investment Bank is hired as the underwriter of the issue. The best known and largest full-service global investment banks are: JPMorgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Bank of America Merrill Lynch among others. Whether you have a sizeable Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) or a large private company, there is limit to which you can leverage by adding debt to you capital structure. Though banks may lend generously for a good business, in most cases, it adds to your risk and bringing in fresh equity through third-party contacts such as investors and other companies may just be a short-term solution. In the long-term, bringing in public money through listing in a renown stock exchange is the best choice for growth and expansion. Yes, its success depends on the attractiveness of your business proposition and in which type of industry the company is operating in. 

Now once the company is a public company, the working of the company comes into the limelight. The Board of Directors of the company, the CEO and the CFO become the media face of the company and are now more responsible for their decisions and actions as they are answerable to shareholders and an extended array of stakeholders. If the company's top management does not perform well from this point forward, it faces risk of reduced profits or much worse a loss, reduced revenue, indulgence in fraud or embezzlement of funds, taking wrong decisions etc. then the share price would tumble and investor confidence will lower. The pressure on the company increases and it has to keep all the everyone happy. Positively thinking, if the company successfully capitalises on opportunities and boosts profits, revenue and utilizes the funds efficiently and effectively to name a few possibilities, then the share price will soar and it will benefit all the stakeholders directly and indirectly from continued growth. The image of the firm enhances and it can reap goodwill benefits. The net worth of the promoters who hold the lion's share of the ownership of the firm will be directly proportional to the stock performance. But that said, A Public company is again not necessarily superior to a Private one and vice versa.

Private companies generally have simpler organizational structures, lesser number of employees and relatively limited global accessibility, in most cases there are exceptions. Contrary to false belief, there is no maximum size, crossing which a company is no longer allowed to remain privately held. Private companies can be discreet about their financial information. It can be selective in which level of employees know how much about the company's financial scenario. Public companies have to reveal every bit of tiny detail about their financial status and survive from one quarter to another.

So which is better Public or Private? Well, the question is complex; the answer multi-dimensional. It depends on who you are as in which type of stakeholder are you. From my perspective, as the owner/founder/promoter of the company you may want your brainchild to yourself and a few others as long as possible and resist going public as it would provide you with great control and enviable flexibility in operations. If you are the government, public or private debate should be irrelevant to you as long as the company is abiding by all the rules and regulations and is carrying out business honestly, is an employment generator and promulgates entrepreneurship. As an investor, you would wish that a prosperous private company goes public, so that you can own some portion of the corporation and have a piece of the cake which would eventually reap returns and multiply your wealth. As a customer, you might be indifferent to the company time again if you are getting quality products that you want, with adequate innovation at an appropriate price, fulfilling your needs and wants. As an employee at any level, you may be more interested to know more about the company you work and rather have the company private and secretive but the catch here is that if you have enough faith in the management and you are well-remunerated, you may feel more at home in a private corporation. For bankers, a public company adds an added level of security for them in  dealing with a company especially for granting long-term credit as the there is greater financial transparency. Though not universally true, the same can apply to business associates and partner companies pursuing joint-business interests. In my opinion as long as a company has a dynamic vision and a long-term potential to succeed in its line of business both financially as well as operationally and it is being responsibly managed taking care of all the relevant parties and adding value congruent with innovation, growth and fluid expansion into diversified markets, the type of company does not matter so much at the end of the day.

-KAZIM MIRZA

The Best Smartphone War: Are we really getting smarter?

There was a time, not so long ago, in the early and mid-2000 when phones used to come equipped with complete physical alpha-numeric keypads and a smartphone meant a good camera phone with 'decent' hardware. In 2005, Nokia introduced the N-series as a successor to the Nokia 6260. The N90 was then the talk of the town with its '2 megapixel' camera and Carl Zeiss lens, Symbian OS, 31 MB of built-in memory , no radio, 2.1 inch TFT Screen and a folding transformer camcorder-like design commanding a price tag of several hundred Dollars . This was followed by the N70, N93, N73  and so on in 2006 which had features which can be considered negligible in present times. 

The N Series continued to flourish in the smartphone segment with regular releases of feature enhanced phones in all possible shapes. The Nokia Communicator series which was like a small booklet having double screen and a sizeable complete QWERTY keypad found popularity with business customers in the form of Nokia 9300, 9500 etc. and rivaled the older blackberry devices to an extent.

Nokia at the time even had the largest market share in the smartphone segment. This was until Steve Job's Apple Inc. came up with the iPhone.

In 2007, when Samsung was an unknown player in the industry, Apple came up with a phone which revolutionized the smartphone experience. It was not the case that touchscreen phones did not exist before the iPhone but the ultra-sensitive feather touch (And not press!), the smooth user interface with the iOS took the tech world by storm. Sleek and slender looks and the popularization of "Apps" as we know them started biting into the competitor's market shares and crowned Apple as the king of smartphones with dedicated fans from its other products. While Apple's simplicity attracted the masses, Blackberry's push mail found love with businessmen and Nokia's reliability and durability was chipping in the third place. In around 2008, Android, an open-sourced Operating system for mobile devices was launched by Google to compete with Symbian and iOS. It was initially met with lukewarm response but constant improvements and it's open and customizable nature meant that it was adopted by various phone manufacturers Acer, ASUS, HTC, LG, Motorola, Panasonic, Samsung, SONY, DELL, Huawei etc. All these phone manufacturers jumped into the smartphone market to have a piece of the pie with their versions of Android running touch smartphones sprinkled with advanced hardware and 'unique' software features. Some were hugely successful with customers such as HTC, Samsung, LG etc. and others such as Dell, Acer etc. which were unsuccessful. The touchscreen revolution was so strong that Research in Motion Ltd. (now Blackberry Ltd.) which was resting on its previous laurels and chose to stick on the tried and tested Blackberry OS, Blackberry Messenger and QWERTY keypad failed miserably. In 2012, when the sleeping beauty Blackberry finally understood the market wanted touchscreen phones that provided greater flexibility and could be switched from a business phone to a multimedia monster and back again in no time, It was too late. In 2013, the launch of the Blackberry Z10 touchscreen smartphone was seen as a poor emulation of other phones which were already market leaders. Nokia's Symbian Operating System suffered a similar fate for it's uninteresting and relatively cumbersome UI and had to be abandoned after the last NSeries phone the N8. In 2010 Nokia tried to partner with Intel to launch a new Linux-based mobile operating system- 'MeeGo'. The OS was slammed by customers as well and was a short-lived failure. In 2011 Nokia partnered with Microsoft to run Windows OS on its phones and the launch of the Nokia Lumia series gave Nokia some respite in terms of increased sales and overall appeal of their smartphones. Nevertheless, Nokia too was unsuccessful in winning the gamble in the long run and was eventually bought by the tech-giant Microsoft as a slightly expensive grocery item for US$ 7.2 Billion in September 2013. 

So it boils down to 2 Operating systems which are ruling the roost till date. It is Google's Android and Apple's iOS with Windows OS settling in for the third place. To be more specific it is the clash between the most prominent smartphone manufacturers of present times: Samsung and Apple who are fiercely competing with each other till date for the top spot and the former holding it (for now). HTC, LG, SONY and Motorola (After Google's acquisition)  too can't be underestimated by any means. I would not speak much about the Nokia Lumia series here.

Who could have predicted that Apple would go out of the way to make colourful smartphones in the shape of iPhone 5C or go gold with the iPhone 5S. It discontinued outright it's 'successful' flagship iPhone 5 in just 9 months after its release and launched not one but two phones simultaneously. That's very unconventional by Apple standards. The case is similar with Samsung. Samsung launched the Samsung Galaxy S4 after a year of S3's launch. After the initial success of the much hyped S4 came the nauseating slurry of Samsung Galaxy devices being launched in confusingly quick succession the S4 Zoom, the S4 Mini, the Galaxy Mega and so on and most recently the Galaxy Note 3. 

Frequent Flagship smartphone releases with an interval of less than 6 months to 8 months has become the norm. The result is customers being bombarded with more and more smartphones to choose from. There is sudden, quick and continuous drop in existing smartphone prices week by week. A phone releases at a ridiculously high price making the manufacturer 60-70% margin on the cost of production.  For example an iPhone 5 costs US$200 to manufacture while the 5S costs slightly higher than that to build. The price drops in one one month and even further by the first quarter of the release date. And the cycle goes on ad infinitum. Eventually the phone is outdated and forgotten rather quickly for the price it is purchased for. The same is the case with the Galaxy S4. 

Is it really innovation? Hoarding of technology: relying on the same popular operating system with updates, increasing camera capabilities slightly with every new model, putting a 'new and improved' processor every few months with a model launch and bundling all that with a few extra never -heard-of features, tweaking the RAM, installing a new chipset, experimenting with different screen-sizes Ex. 4.8 inch in the Galaxy S3 to 5 inch in the S4 to 5.5 inch in the Note 3 to an outrageously large 6.3 inch in the Galaxy Mega to just 4 inches in the Apple 5/5C/5S from 3.5 inches in the 4/4S. Also there is a racist approach, openly followed by smartphone manufacturers nowadays in terms of differential release dates region-wise and the bigger problem is that of reduced features in some markets for instance, no 4G LTE version of the Galaxy S4, No Facetime in Apple iPhones and no 4K Video recording capabilities in the Galaxy Note 3, slower processors for South Asian markets like India etc.  in products shipped these countries. In the competition to reduce costs and increase profit margins, manufacturers are shying away from using premium materials to produce their phones. While the plastic body of the Galaxy S4 was a surprise was a shock at the high price point the phone is placed at. The relatively poor call quality (the main function of any 'phone') in the S4, no Xenon flash, no Carl Zeiss Optics for the camera. Not to forget the flop show of the iPhone 5C with it's plastic casing or the faux champagne gold colour in the iPhone 5S Gold. Customers are in short just getting minor upgrades with each passing smartphone and each suffers a very high obsolescence rate. As far as I am concerned, that's a big NO unless you are too keen.

This begs the question: Why will a person already having a well-functioning perfectly good smartphone which released less than a year back upgrade to a marginally better new phone which is on the market now. The answers are many: Smartphones serve these days as status symbols of wealth rivaling luxury watches to some extent  but the easy availability of Chinese clone phones like the HDC S4, though not in wide circulation thankfully, which are shockingly close to the real thing defeats the purpose coupled with fast ageing of the genuine phones which become outdated before you can say- floccinaucinihilipilification. Another reason could be peer-pressure and wanting to stay technologically up-to-date to fit in your social group. All this topped with innovative marketing techniques and aggressive advertising of the smartphones through TV, Internet, Print Media and News channels means you cannot escape the urge and start desiring 'revolutionary' features which you didn't know existed and you were doing well enough without remotely feeling their need until yesterday. 

Think. Does a new smartphone released every now and then really make your life simpler as claimed? or Does it make it more complex by having to upgrade unnecessarily and getting used to a new device? And need I even mention the battery issues we face with these devices? So, I feel you should hold on to your dear smartphone, if it is good enough, until these smartphone wars get over if you want to be smart with your money. Let the storm pass. Let me also remind you of the laptop wars of the past, which proves that nothing lasts for eternity. My advice to you will be to be smart and suave, don't get carried away and don't get controlled by smartphones, control your smartphone instead! 

By Kazim

Journey from Infant to Rattled Centenarian

A child comes out of a mother's womb,
Lives the world and returns to a tomb,
Innocent vitality flows throughout the little one's body
With pristine smiles and meaningless tantrums,
Capable of muting all violins and drums

As the baby sprouts and grows,
Learns now to understand words and speak fluently in rows,
Knows how to eat on his own;
He is discretely detached from the motherly shade
As he fast climbs the stairs of education; strong and sleek
His twinkling fresh eyes now marginally weak

Books make him a 'wise' scholar
He gets a good job; white collar
Climbing up the corporate ladder
His life is a collage but busy and sadder
With passing time, Mother's warmth is gradually forgotten
For new found love he has now gotten

Wedlock signals maturity
When life's independence  is at its peak
The loving mum now begins to have a symbolic presence,
Her unconditional craving for her offspring has lost its essence
Nevertheless, life goes on
Even at 50, worldly worries are far from gone!

As decades go by, the child becomes old
And the mother older
She once used to feed and care
Now has to just sit and stare
One fateful day she passes away
As subtle as the thin morning air!

Ultimately her elderly child realises,
The loss of the most precious diamond he visualises
Sadly, it is too late to regret
With his Alzheimer's disease compelling him to forget
In his last years he is again at someone's behest
The cycle continues in disturbing peace; east to west
He is back to the helpless state in which he has to rest,
Moribund with regret, happiness and regret!

-KAZIM

Dubai Police: Police and Supercars

The fascination of man for machines has existed throughout centuries. This is especially true in case of cars. Ever since the invention of the automobile, it has been in the state of constant and dynamic change. The primary motive for its invention was to transport a set of people from place A to place B. With passing decades, cars evolved to unimaginable limits in terms of speed, comfort and luxuries. According to surveys, cars come next in line to houses as status symbols.

While supercars, hypercars are rarely spotted in developing nations, developed nations such as the UAE have a plethora of high-end sports cars in the hands of the public. In a country where Toyota Camry and Nissan Altima are used as common taxis, now even the police forces which already had the likes of BMW 5 series and Mercedes E-Class are being provided with the latest, fastest and coolest of the cars.

Security and safety is taken seriously throughout all the emirates of the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.).

Dubai Police in a time of less than two months now has full-fledged super car fleet of outrageous beasts.

It commenced in April of 2013. Starting up with the announcement of the Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 a discerning choice for receiving the most cheerful reaction from public with a 6.5 Litre V12 generating 700 Horsepowers , having a factory estimated top speed of 349 km/h and 370 km/h (Test:Sport Auto Magazine)

Next, the officials announced the Ferrari FF, a sports car with four seats, which seemed to be a more practical yet fascinating choice. To make things even more interesting, it was announced that the FF would only be driven by lady police officers [Feminists can rejoice!]. This particular Ferrari comes with the largest capacity road going Ferrari engine ever manufactured at 6.3 Litre V12 naturally aspirated producing 650 HP

After witnessing the Lambos and the Ferraris joining the Dubai Police, the news that they were also procuring a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG and a Bentley Continental GT did not surprise many. It is worthy to note that it is the high-end V12 model of the Bentley not the V8 model and the Merc being an underrated car with an impressive top speed of nearly 320 km/h. The BMW M6  was a fine selection too.

It was a shocker for car fanatics when the selection of one of the world's rarest cars was made [Link: http://kazimmirza.blogspot.fr/2012/11/aston-martin-one-77.html]. The price of this car is greater than that of the aforementioned cars combined. The Aston Martin One-77!

Considering the hype that surrounded the launch of the big names in car manufacturing by Dubai Police, the 'wow' to the subsequent addition of Chevrolet Camaro SS and Ford Mustang was understandably silent.

This is what comprises one of the coolest Police forces in the world. With a rumoured Police Bugatti Veyron expected in the future all of you might ask a person like me who has lived in the UAE for 2 decades now as to what was the need for this?. Well, the Police Chief of Dubai has made it clear that these cars would not be used for pursuits and high speed chases. Anyhow, people do not dare try to escape the police here anyway! According to the Chief, these supercars would be deployed in tourist areas to monitor the security of the people as well as displaying the money metal of Dubai through these beautiful cars which complement the huge sky-scrapers further enhancing the desirability of the place as a tourist hot spot!

-KAZIM

Latest Update: On November 5, 2013, though not the Veyron, Dubai Police has added a Mercedes G-Class BRABUS, Audi R8, Mercedes SL63 AMG, Nissan GTR and Audi R8 to the existing squad.                                                                                                                                                

         

Crushes

Devil's Dungeon

Gloom emanates from the valley of corpses,
of great men, lesser men and murderers of the masses.
Pristine black is the shade of death
say the wisest of scholars.

The serpentine Devil 
spreads his blackish evil.
Satan his name and unholiness his game;
lustful leverage shields his execrable aim.
The rapist, the assassin, the corrupt breed 
are his kin and are fond of misdeed.

The Devilish demon resides in the heart of hatred
and harbours in agnostic souls; flourishing within the spritually weak.
Forever he hides and improbable seems his seek.
If allowed to unleash, havoc is what he loves to wreak.
Hell-bound God's misled creations stand in millions
turning brother against brother; a massacre across millenniums

He does not mourn a single demise, 
instead carries a sinister smile for his pusillanimous premise.
Deep if you go into the workings of the behemothic Anti-God's arms
you shall be lured atheistically by His treacherous charms.
Forgetting the torridity of hell, one enters His House;
A gargantuan mansion away from the Church, Temple and Mosque,
with Mysterious music and semi-audible sounds all around
mocking the Almighty absurdly surmount.

The Prince of Darkness rules the Kingdom of Sins
and your foul acts cause His wins.
Your boiling blood and body ablaze is of course his eternal gain.
Giving you transient pleasure and permanent pain,
His sly efforts never ever go in vain.
Thus Lucifer and his minions reign!

-KAZIM

Month of Splendour

December should be a month to remember
with winter breeze so soft and tender
unbiased towards creed or gender
X'mas and New Year's grandeur; 
merriment blesses the ultimate of months
let's hope there shall be peace for once!

A lengthier night and shorter day awaits,
cosy sleep and lovely dates
bundled with sumptuos treats;
A time when evil dies and good never retreats
Let not these days pass in hurry
relish every moment with no worry

Here is me always admiring the bountiful gifts of nature
for so high is God's stature;
fortunate we are to live every December
It should indeed be a month to rejoice and remember!

-KAZIM

The Stranger

You're unaware how lovingly I look at you Amigo

All is recalled, for it was not so long ago

A stranger you were to me!

Had a fluid string of chats, didn't we?

Day by day we knitted a bond,

closer and closer as though spell bound by a wand

You shared your grief and sorrow

It was only some happiness you wished to borrow

I showed you the mirror; miss beautiful

The deed of mine was at last fruitful

Back came that radiant smile

Yes, it took a while

Love blossomed in the gardens of friendship

So did the young roses of a special relationship

Trust garnered the bouquet of promises,

assuring me that there shall not be any misses

whenever we shower each other with hugs and kisses

Soon we shall meet and greet

Oh dear! How sweet!

-KAZIM

$1 Billion Yacht: Eclipse

One thousand million US Dollars of disposable income to spend on a yacht may sound like a ridiculous idea and a pompous display of extravagant wealth to many mortals but if you are a multi-billionaire like Roman Abramovich (who also owns Chelsea F.C.) it's just another toy your immense riches can enable you to buy.
The 'modest' price tag would have given you a clue that this is no ordinary luxury yacht. It is the most expensive and most sophisticated yacht ever built. Features include two swimming pools (one is not enough, you know!) on the deck, two helicopter pads (again, one just won't do), a dedicated disco hall, around 30 cabins, a submarine (50 meter submerging capability) and an anti-ballistic missile defence system. It also has an armour plating around Abramovich's master suite, bullet proof windows and a laser system designed to dazzle long lens photographers. It is loaded with three launch boats. In addition to the aforementioned, it also has an intruder detection system. It is currently the world's largest private yacht measuring 162.5 meters in length which is 0.5 meters longer than the previous record-holding yacht owned by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum of Dubai.
A trivia about this yacht is its apparent impracticality due its large size.Eclipse is too large to fit in next to all other tycoons' boats moored at ports. It is evident from the fact that it was refused to dock at the French Riviera due to insufficient parking space because of another super-yacht and had to be anchored several hundred feet put at sea. Well, sometimes even billionaires struggle to find space to park!

Ambassador Car with a TWIST!

Our very own Indian 'Minister's' car Hindustan Motors Ambassador is refreshingly and unconventionally customized by DC Design India into a mini Rolls-Royce. It is fitted with light beige seats and trims and contrasting wood finishes on the partition. The exterior also gets minor enhancements. The headlights are bi-xenon while the re-styled grill and bumpers are garnished using a chrome finish. The side profile of the car remains untouched while the rear is more of a clean-up job with a simpler bumper, LED tail lights complimented by a chrome-tipped exhaust pipe. A modern job on the Indian legend is indeed admirable. Below is a peek at it's more traditional ancestor to draw a comparison if you wish:

PIAGET

Piaget is arguably one of the most coveted watch and jewelry brands in the world and definitely the most famous name in the Swiss Richemont Group, its parent company. The picture above displays The Emperador Temple Diamond watch manufactured by Piaget. It's the most expensive watch in the world priced at a whooping US$ 3.3 Million. It is studded with 1212 diamonds! If you are a billionaire looking to shed over US $3 Million for this opulent beauty then people will comment: ''Oh gosh, that's an expensive wrist!"

Aston Martin One-77 [Limited Edition]

ASTON MARTIN ONE-77: This one is for the car fans, James Bond's automotive love seems to be splendidly conveyed in what is often dubbed as the as the most beautiful car-making art form in the world. The looks of this ultra-unique car are blended with insane performance. Powering this British masterpiece is a massive naturally aspirated 7300 cc V12 Engine churning out 750 hp of raw power and torque checking in at 533 lb-ft. Acceleration of 0-100 kmph happens in 3.5 seconds. It hits a top speed of 355 kmph! No Ferrari stands a chance against this car, probably Aston decided to restrict production to only 77 cars. Making this super expensive car  costing US$ 2 Million super-rare. You can surely break into any VIP party on Earth with a machine such as this one!
-Kazim

Kazim's Quotes

"What's within reality is beyond imagination." - Kazim Mirza

"I've drank the elixir of life...so far, so good." - Kazim Mirza

"If time is money, then I'm a pauper. Because I don't have time." - Kazim Mirza

Forgetful Me!

I forget to breathe,
seeing your pretty face,
decorated with shimmering eyes
and a sparkling smile;
that others have none.

I forget to speak,
hearing your delicate voice
echo amidst the rest
because yours is the best.

I forget to speak
being lost in the flowery scent
of your benign presence

Humbled to have spent
a moment too precious along with you,
dreaming about your dream;
I forgot to dream.
But now you are gone! My loving heart gives a silent scream.
And I have a modest plea
Don't forget "me",Don't forget "we",
Do come back before
I forget to live
or I may leave...

-KAZIM