Gerald D'Cunha

“There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children. One of these is roots, the other, wings. ” Henry Ward Beecher Some times , I wonder as to why parents keep drillings into their children’s heads those basic values, even though the children seem not interested… I did not see the value of those values when my own simple parents tried to drill them into my tiny head, yes, back in those village days… And, here in this big city, I found myself doing the same thing with my own little son… As all parents did, my wife and I began to drill the basic values into our child’s mind… And, we did it even though, like all other children, he seemed not interested… and, whether or not he saw the value of those values… Parents know as to how valuable those basic values are… And, they also know how important it is to inculcate them into their children’s minds when the minds are very supple, very tender… Wh...

Most of us have heard this story in our school days. There was this blind man. Whenever he had to go out in the night, he would always carry with him a lantern. This would leave the onlookers puzzled. One day, a group of young- men looked at this strange sight and tried to poke fun at the blind-man. “You are anyway blind and can't see anything,” they chided, “Whom are you carrying your lantern for?” “I am carrying it for you, my friends,” the blind-man replied; “It may help you see a blind-man walking in the darkness!” “Because, the streets are filled with idiots.” This is the message of the popular ad from CEAT-tyres. A young-man is walking in a busy, traffic-infested street. He is lost in his own world – with his right hand, he is driving the pram… A little baby is inside it…His left hand has pressed a cell-phone to his ear and he is lost in talking… completely blind to the reality around him… He elbows out walker-byes, blind and in...

I was in Pune, some two weeks ago. As I was about to get into my friends’ car, I received a phone call. The lady, on the other end, spoke in a stylish accent and told me who had referred her to me. A doctor friend of mine it was; so, I lent her my ears. “Mr. D’Cunha, I wish to meet you and discuss with you something very important to you,” the lady said with loads of conviction, “May I know when will it be convenient for you?” “Ma’am, can you please let me know what is that about?” I asked the lady. “Something really very important Mr. D’Cunha, trust me,” I was told, “We can discuss this over when we meet up.” “Still ma’am, you will be coming from far and it is extremely hot outside,” I said to the lady with my sincere feelings, “It is always best to know what’s the subject of discussion, so that we can save each other’s time.” The lady reluctantly let me know that she wanted to discuss about my financial security....

  “There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child… There are seven million.” ― Walt Streightiff Of late, I find myself reminding my young-students about the three pillars of learning: Curiosity, Trust and Risk. Curiosity is the most important pillar… the corner-stone. Every piece of learning starts from this… for every one of us… and, it starts when we are little babies and lasts a lifetime… Perhaps, that’s why it is called the ‘childlike curiosity’… If we are eager to learn, all our lives, we are expected   to be little children… We are expected to be struck with wonder… The sense of wonder… Lee Ann Womack sings in her beautiful song- ‘I Hope You Dance’: “I hope you never lose your sense of wonder… I hope you still feel small standing beside the ocean…” Imagine, learning without this childlike curiosity… this sense of wonder. Imagine gazing at a star-studded nigh...

I was talking to someone, last evening. There was this line I had unwittingly used during our discussion: “I want to help someone. But, I fail to notice that, this ‘someone’ is there right at my own home!” What I was trying to convey to the person was the old reminder: “My friend, charity, always, begins at home! Your bed-ridden dad is calling you – his wet bed-sheets need to be changed… Your wife wants a listening ear… Or, your hubby wants a quite moment with a cup of tea… Your young-daughter likes some polite words from you… Or, your young-son needs from you some more trust in him… Monsoon is just some days away… Your maid-servant is gripped with worries about the leaking roof of her hut… Perhaps, she needs some cash, a soft loan… Your five-year old wants your attention… Your sister wants you to forgive her for marrying against your wish… Your br...

When ‘Titanic’ began to sink, the ancient prophecy came true: the rats deserted the giant vessel before anyone else did! In this ship called Life, all of us are rats… When the ship goes down, we don’t want to go down with it… We desert the ship that sheltered us all this long… Now, we want to save our lives; and, so, we jump off… But, jump into what? Well, that’s another story! When things are rocking in our lives, literally, the life around us is a great rock show… We are surrounded by scores and scores of friends and well-wishers… They swear by us… They claim, that they are ready to give life for us! Yes, all this goes on as long as the ‘Titanic’ sails gloriously along… When the weather is fair, the sea is gentle and kind… But, the moment the chips are down, the moment the weather turns rough and the sea stormy, unsafe, there go the deserters… the rats… all our fair-weather friends! ...

This morning, a young boy was speaking on the topic - ‘What Money Means to Me’. He quoted Bill Gates: “If you are born in poverty, it is not your fault; But, if you die in poverty, it certainly is.” I had come across this famous statement of the Microsoft founder long before. Today, as our young-man was speaking on the stage, I found myself saying in my mind: “Hey, why poverty, is it not true everywhere else, too?” We really can’t do anything about the condition we are born into. But, we can certainly do something about the condition we choose to live in… and, particularly, about the condition we leave behind, when we leave. Just think about it, again… Think about any area of life, any condition… Yes, what we leave behind is always our legacy… There is an old spiritual principle, whose beauty is concealed in such a legacy. This age-old principle urges all of us that when w...

The way a tree drops its leaves, the way a snake drops its skin and the way the Sun drops its intensity when night falls, our hearts, too, drop their aggression as we steadily move towards our own sun-sets… Yes, in Youth, we rarely realize this truth: that, we all age; that, our bodies wrinkle and our looks fade… that, our hearts quietly long to be anchored… that, they search in our life-partners for our best friend… our best companion. Each wedding anniversary, I seriously think, is a quite reminder about the above reality… The time to whisper with quite dignity and grace: “Dear, you are my anchor in Life’s ocean.” In fact, this longing for an anchor in Life’s ocean is nothing but the deep longing of our hearts to find in our life-partners our best friend, our best companion. Each passing year makes this longing only deeper and more intense…  There is a beauty beyond skin… There is a love beyond lust… And, there...

  "Choose your rut carefully. You may be in it for the next ten years." -- Anonymous The common thing about George Bernard Shaw and the game of Cricket was their love-hate relationship with each other! In those days, the Gentlemen’s Game took five days to complete… and, they called those games ‘Test matches’. Imagine two teams sweating it out on the grounds for five consecutive days while thousands of spectators sat there glued to their seats! Television was a distant reality… Radio had just come. And, the idea of masses deserting their offices, classes and household duties in order to watch a match in a stadium, somehow, repelled the legendary writer. Perhaps, little must he have realized that his comment about the game of cricket, too, would go on to live as a legend like him: “Eleven fools play and eleven thousand fools watch!” T onight, it’s the first Playoff of IPL – 2013… Mumbai Indians V Che...