THE WET HENS
When they were sitting here before me, I thought I was watching the latest SRK movie - 'Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi'.
They were parents, and they had come to my office with their 17-year-old daughter for her admission. He seemed to have hailed from Mars - was desperately shy and avoided eye contact as he spoke. In fact, he hardly spoke. She seemed to be a direct descendant of Venus - out going and out spoken. That tells as to why she did all the talking.
The daughter was cast in her papa's mould. She sat there just like a wet hen.
After the admission formalities got over, we started talking about other things. The mother seemed very concerned about her young daughter's shy and withdrawn nature. "She should talk; should mix up," the mother told me looking at her quiet daughter.
It was our first meeting, and I did not know them well. "She is fine ... a bright girl," I responded looking warmly towards our young girl.
"She is smart in every respect, sir; but, I want her to be bold as well ... She should not be shy; she should express," the mother clarified.
"I am sure, she will learn to 'express' her self effectively, soon," I expressed my hope, "She will bloom into a beautiful flower in her own garden." I gave a pat on the blushing young one.
"Hope so," the mother said, as she lead her husband and daughter back home.
Strange people meet in life. They become couples. Their children, too, turn out to be strange - some like their fathers, some like their mothers. Some shy and withdrawn, some expressive and bold.
My father was a born extrovert. Though he hadn't schooled much, he possessed with him a raw talent for singing. He loved to sing where ever there was a social gathering, and he did it with all his gusto. My mother was shy and an introvert.
On the other hand, my grand father - father's father - was a chronic loner. He was so shy, that he would disappear, all of a sudden, whenever a priest or a nun was scheduled to pay a house visit. He was a pious man; still, he would never go to the local priest for his confessions; he would pilgrimage, all the way, to some remote church, where the priest wouldn't recognise him! And, his wife - my grand mother? Oh, boy! She was a true-blue, gregarious woman. She loved to sing, dance, talk, argue and she had lots and lots of friends.
I have inherited the genes from my grand father. I am a shy person ... a desperate one in that!
"You are shy?" They, often, ask the live-wire SRK, in disbelief.
"Yes, I am," the Super Star confirms. "More than 80% of whatever I do or perform on stage, screen or in public - comes straight from my shyness ... I dread to walk alone to a shopping mall; I take my son along to make me feel okay," he said in a recent interview.
The formidable Amitabh Bachchan has announced this from every imaginable platform. Minus his nervousness and shyness, he is a dead actor, he believes.
And, I vouch for it.
Minus my nervousness and shyness, I wouldn't have started something wonderful like 'The Dawn Club'. I wouldn't have become that voracious reader, that passionate speaker and writer - even teacher.
I wouldn't have been writing this piece, these daily blog articles.
Like SRK, I, too, strongly believe, that whatever worthwhile work I am doing - that which gives me tremendous amount of fulfilment - stems from my shyness. I am grateful to God for making me shy like my mom, my grand father ...
But, wait. I am even more grateful to Him - for giving me the wisdom to 'understand' - and 'channelise' this 'energy' of mine. Yes, for something fruitful.
My mother never dreamt that I 'should' sing like my father. For, she herself couldn't. But, my younger brother, Rony, became a very popular singer. And, no ... my father never dreamt about him, either.
We all blossomed in our own 'private' gardens. And, we know, one day, our children, too, would.
And, I hope, the mother of my student, too, one day, will have in their garden a flower - as fragrant and distinct as the one God had, specially, planted in His Eden Garden.
This is my pat for the mother.
GERALD D'CUNHA
They were parents, and they had come to my office with their 17-year-old daughter for her admission. He seemed to have hailed from Mars - was desperately shy and avoided eye contact as he spoke. In fact, he hardly spoke. She seemed to be a direct descendant of Venus - out going and out spoken. That tells as to why she did all the talking.
The daughter was cast in her papa's mould. She sat there just like a wet hen.
After the admission formalities got over, we started talking about other things. The mother seemed very concerned about her young daughter's shy and withdrawn nature. "She should talk; should mix up," the mother told me looking at her quiet daughter.
It was our first meeting, and I did not know them well. "She is fine ... a bright girl," I responded looking warmly towards our young girl.
"She is smart in every respect, sir; but, I want her to be bold as well ... She should not be shy; she should express," the mother clarified.
"I am sure, she will learn to 'express' her self effectively, soon," I expressed my hope, "She will bloom into a beautiful flower in her own garden." I gave a pat on the blushing young one.
"Hope so," the mother said, as she lead her husband and daughter back home.
Strange people meet in life. They become couples. Their children, too, turn out to be strange - some like their fathers, some like their mothers. Some shy and withdrawn, some expressive and bold.
My father was a born extrovert. Though he hadn't schooled much, he possessed with him a raw talent for singing. He loved to sing where ever there was a social gathering, and he did it with all his gusto. My mother was shy and an introvert.
On the other hand, my grand father - father's father - was a chronic loner. He was so shy, that he would disappear, all of a sudden, whenever a priest or a nun was scheduled to pay a house visit. He was a pious man; still, he would never go to the local priest for his confessions; he would pilgrimage, all the way, to some remote church, where the priest wouldn't recognise him! And, his wife - my grand mother? Oh, boy! She was a true-blue, gregarious woman. She loved to sing, dance, talk, argue and she had lots and lots of friends.
I have inherited the genes from my grand father. I am a shy person ... a desperate one in that!
"You are shy?" They, often, ask the live-wire SRK, in disbelief.
"Yes, I am," the Super Star confirms. "More than 80% of whatever I do or perform on stage, screen or in public - comes straight from my shyness ... I dread to walk alone to a shopping mall; I take my son along to make me feel okay," he said in a recent interview.
The formidable Amitabh Bachchan has announced this from every imaginable platform. Minus his nervousness and shyness, he is a dead actor, he believes.
And, I vouch for it.
Minus my nervousness and shyness, I wouldn't have started something wonderful like 'The Dawn Club'. I wouldn't have become that voracious reader, that passionate speaker and writer - even teacher.
I wouldn't have been writing this piece, these daily blog articles.
Like SRK, I, too, strongly believe, that whatever worthwhile work I am doing - that which gives me tremendous amount of fulfilment - stems from my shyness. I am grateful to God for making me shy like my mom, my grand father ...
But, wait. I am even more grateful to Him - for giving me the wisdom to 'understand' - and 'channelise' this 'energy' of mine. Yes, for something fruitful.
My mother never dreamt that I 'should' sing like my father. For, she herself couldn't. But, my younger brother, Rony, became a very popular singer. And, no ... my father never dreamt about him, either.
We all blossomed in our own 'private' gardens. And, we know, one day, our children, too, would.
And, I hope, the mother of my student, too, one day, will have in their garden a flower - as fragrant and distinct as the one God had, specially, planted in His Eden Garden.
This is my pat for the mother.
GERALD D'CUNHA
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