THE BEAUTY OF BEING DIFFERENT...


Several years ago, I used do rounds to Sanjay’s house. He and his five friends were learning from me when they were in T.Y. B’Com. What I still remember about this house is: they would never ever keep their two hall-room doors (Ground floor flat) closed. It was the classic ‘Open House’… Anybody could come, and any body could go… and, at any time. All were welcome... and, all the time.  Needless to say, there was a real buzz, round the clock.

My challenge was: “How can I teach these big fellows in this ‘market place’?” So, we had to settle in one of their rooms inside. Even there, it was difficult for me to concentrate!

Sanjay and his two brothers, now, live in different localities with their own respective families. Whenever I happen to meet Sanjay, I ask him: “Do you still keep your doors open like that?”

“Yes, sir, we still do,” Sanjay tells me with pride, “All my brothers, too.”

Then, I ask him, “No thief has ever entered your house?”

“Never,” Sanjay tells me with emphasis, “They only enter the closed homes.”

Well, that is scary for my ears! For, my house is exactly the opposite. If the hall-room door is open, I am too shy to eat on our dining table. Shorts and sleeveless make me self-conscious. I speak in whispers. The TV goes mute and the radio goes off the air. Our curtains fall much before the darkness does… and, I keep reminding every one around, it is night time! Yes, there are thieves around!

Well, though Sanjay tells so, no thieves have entered, so far, my ‘Closed home’. Even then, I prefer the door of my hall room closed. “It is my personal space… I like it this way,” I find telling myself.

I have a very dear friend who loves to drink coffee with me every time he is in my office. “You make excellent coffee,” he says, “I love it here.”

But, what baffles me is: he likes it ice cold and I like it coal hot! I have tried desperately to be courteous and keep pace with him. But, it is frustrating to do so. I finish my coffee even before he is hardly two sips down! “I am so sorry, my friend,” I express my regret genuinely. “It’s fine; you don’t have to be,” he reassures me.

We ARE great friends… and, that’s so beautiful!

I don’t think, Sanjay and his brothers will feel suffocated in my house, if they appreciate the fact that I am a beautiful soul even though I prefer to remain private behind my closed hall-room door. Likewise, I will not be suffocated in Sanjay’s house, if I truly appreciate the fact that they love it that way.

Maybe, because we are able to appreciate this difference – this SPACE – God has protected both our homes. Nobody has dared to rob us off that beauty… of being different, yet good.

GERALD D'CUNHA


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

MUTHU KODI KAWARI HADA

Image
Pic.; Ashwin Mohta M y Hindi was always bad. It still is. One reason for this was, that they introduced Hindi for us only in 6 th standard. Or, was it in 8 th ? I don’t remember… I only remember struggling to write and read… leave alone speak! But, I loved Hindi movies, and, strangely, I could understand the dialogues and the lyrics of the songs… I used to sing those songs (of course when no one was around me!) as if I was the lyricist… One of the songs was a very funny one. ‘Muthu Kodi Kawari Hada’. It was from Mehmood’s super-hit comedy – ‘Do Phool’. I was a 15-year-old high-school boy when I had heard that song (not watched the movie). I could grasp the meaning of two words – ‘Muthu Kodi’… which meant ‘Give kiss’… But, what ‘Kawari Hada’ meant, I have no clue till date! It was just like ‘Why this kolaveri di’... Yes, why ask? Simply enjoy the beats… And, the beats are great… The rest... Who cares? Really! So, whatever bit of Hi...
Read more

SELLING MIRRORS IN THE CITY OF THE BLIND

Image
“I laugh when I hear that the fish in the water is thirsty. I laugh when I hear that people go on pilgrimage to find God.” - Kabir T here is a universal human weakness – and it dates back to the days of fallen civilizations – and it is: to place people on pedestal and trying to be smothered by them, feel loved and protected in their company… worship them as mentors, heroes,  gurus, Mahagurus and Satgurus… Make these mortals larger-than-life cut-outs, worship them as flawless, pure and give one’s all… And, then, ‘take’ everything from them blindly as divine… Give everything to them blindly… Eventually, what happens is:  one more dangerous bondage… What was supposed to free you now becomes a new prison… It’s sad to see this happen! T his room, where I am writing this Post, has no image of any deity. I have no image of any Guru or Master around me… My question is: “Am I not able to feel close to Almighty God?  How ...
Read more

"HAPPILY EVER AFTER IS NOT A FAIRY-TALE... IT IS A CHOICE"

Image
“Love doesn’t just sit there, like a stone… It has to be made, like bread; remade all the time, made new.” – Ursula K. Le Guin,  The Lathe of Heaven T welve years ago, when Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie got married, the world began to hail the couple as ‘Brangelina’. It became a fashion for couples around us to call themselves so… Norbert and Teresa renamed them as ‘Noresa’…  Amol and Vishaka baptized their relationship as ‘Amoshka’… and, Salman and Nargis became ‘Salgis’! I and my wife, too, got tempted to re-christian our matrimonial relationship as ‘Germa’... That is, Gerald and Anima, to be precise! B efore I proceed any further, let me make it very clear, here… that, I have no business to judge on the break-up of Brad Pitt and Angelina’ Jolie’s marriage. I have no inclination to go into why, how, what when etc behind it… The couple ‘chose’ to split. And, it’s their choice… Only they know how good or bad… how joyful or pain...
Read more
THE WILD, WAYSIDE FLOWERS
There is, always, something extra-ordinary in the wild, wayside flowers...