Gerald D'Cunha

“For the God on the mountain, is still God in the valley When things go wrong, he'll make them right And the God of the good times, is still God in the bad times The God of the day, is still God in the night.” T his song by Lynda Randle is one of my favorites. I have written around its lyrics and shared the song a couple of times before… and, today, as I was writing on the subject of Religious Intolerance, mysteriously, Lynda’s words popped up before me… “Life is easy, when you're up on the mountain And you've got peace of mind, like you've never known But things change, when you're down in the valley Don't lose faith, for you're never alone.” Which God are we talking about here? The Christian God or Hindu God? Muslim God or Jewish God? Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Zoroastrian,  or is He the God of the Godless – an atheist's? Really, the thought simply amuses me. I was born as a Roman Catholic… My Christian faith...

I had taught Aparna some twenty-five years ago. Presently, she lives in Gurgaon with her husband and little son – who she has playfully made famous by the nickname ‘L’le Tiger’. Aparna carries in her body that funny bone which delights all of us, particularly her FB friends… She had been delighting us with L’le Tiger’s stories even when he (when she had no clue whether it would be ‘he’ or ‘she’!) still inside her belly. Aparna’s stories about her L’le Tiger don’t seem to end… Last evening, Aparna shared a lovely picture of L’le Tiger and his L’le lady friend at Agra’s Taj Mahal. I loved the picture, instantly... and my mind had started working around it… “What are these little kids watching?” I wondered, “What is crossing through their mind?” Many years ago, when I had been on a visit to Agra with my wife and little son, what took my breath away was not the romantic glory of the Taj under the moonlight… not the passion with which Emperor Shah Jahan had built i...

M y colony friend, Vijay, had migrated to Bangaluru to take up a new job assignment starting from 1 st  of this month. Since his four-year-old son Shiva’s academic year is yet to end, Vijay’s wife and son would be joining him after the completion of this school-year. While leaving for my Tai Chi class, this morning, I was delighted to see Vijay on his motor bike, with Shiva proudly sitting in front of his dad. It was Vijay’s first home-coming since his migration to Bangaluru… “So Shiva, daddy has come… You are happy?” I ran my hand over little-fellow’s head. The little head nodded with a huge blush on the face… The daddy and the son were on their way for a hair-cut… I placed myself behind Vijay on the motor bike… When I reached Tai Chi class, I was happy to see Kannan almost after 2-3 weeks. I knew that he was busy with his son’s migration to Australia to do Masters. Thus, I asked, “Kannan sir, son has gone?” “Yes, he has gone,” Kannan replied. “...

M y colony friend, Vijay, had migrated to Bangaluru to take up a new job assignment starting from 1 st  of this month. Since his four-year-old son Shiva’s academic year is yet to end, Vijay’s wife and son would be joining him after the completion of this school-year. While leaving for my Tai Chi class, this morning, I was delighted to see Vijay on his motor bike, with Shiva proudly sitting in front of his dad. It was Vijay’s first home-coming since his migration to Bangaluru… “So Shiva, daddy has come… You are happy?” I ran my hand over little-fellow’s head. The little head nodded with a huge blush on the face… The daddy and the son were on their way for a hair-cut… I placed myself behind Vijay on the motor bike… When I reached Tai Chi class, I was happy to see Kannan almost after 2-3 weeks. I knew that he was busy with his son’s migration to Australia to do Masters. Thus, I asked, “Kannan sir, son has gone?” “Yes, he has gone,” Kannan replied. “M...

M y colony friend, Vijay, had migrated to Bangaluru to take up a new job assignment starting from 1 st of this month. Since his four-year-old son Shiva’s academic year is yet to end, Vijay’s wife and son would be joining him after the completion of this school-year. While leaving for my Tai Chi class, this morning, I was delighted to see Vijay on his motor bike, with Shiva proudly sitting in front of his dad. It was Vijay’s first home-coming since his migration to Bangaluru… “So Shiva, daddy has come… You are happy?” I ran my hand over little-fellow’s head. The little head nodded with a huge blush on the face… The daddy and the son were on their way for a hair-cut… I placed myself behind Vijay on the motor bike… When I reached Tai Chi class, I was happy to see Kannan almost after 2-3 weeks. I knew that he was busy with his son’s migration to Australia to do Masters. Thus, I asked, “Kannan sir, son has gone?” “Yes, he has gone,” Kannan replied. “Mis...

N o matter how difficult life, at times, seems to be, most of us are better placed in life. Take my case: I have a nearly-perfect body… I have no speech or hearing problems, my eyes can see, legs can help me walk, I can use my hands well, by muscles and bones have no issues… Inside, my heart, lungs, liver, kidneys and pancreas are, so far so good… which means, I couldn’t have asked for a better deal… My skin may not be fair like that of a European or American, nor is it black as that of an African… But, hey, I do have skin on my body, at least… Whether white, black, brown or yellow, what the heck? Well, there is hair still on my head… and, even if I did not have that, at least there is a strong head steadily planted over my shoulders?... My family is loving, caring and faithful… Financial state is not bad… God has given me and my family members fine talents and, more than anything else, He has given us the wisdom to recognize and realize them… Yes, there is hope and faith ...

J io may be a smart – rather ‘clever’ – business idea. But, ‘Jio free-lunch’ mindset is not. The old wisdom applies here: ‘There is no free lunch in this world’. Somebody, always, pays for your free lunch… Often, it is you who pays for the free lunch without you knowing about it! Weeks ago, Tarun*, one of my eleventh-standard students, argued with me for over fifteen minutes over the Jio free-offer. “Sir, you should go for it… What is wrong with you?” “Nothing wrong with me beta ,” I convinced my student, “I am happy with my Vodafone.” “But, sir, why don’t you grab what is free?” Tarun pressed, “Why pay when you get it free?” “There is nothing free in this world, dear,” I tried playing a philosopher, “Someone pays for it.” “I don’t care who pays for it, sir,” Tarun was clear about what he was talking about, “as long as I don’t pay for it.” That was weeks ago, when Jio was sending everyone dizzy… Now, after crossing - what Mukesh Ambani proudly c...

“Y ou are too naive,” this man told me today morning, “You don’t understand how politics works.” Why did he say that to me? Because I had wondered, while having our casual discussion about yesterday’s BMC voting: “ Arey yaar … I was thinking how would these candidates spend money for their campaign? Where will the cash come from? How will they go ‘digital’, survive without cash? Will they have to pay everyone involved in the campaign only through Paytm or by cheque etc, etc?” “Did you observe what the difference was during this campaign?” this person asked me, “Highest amount was spent during this campaign… Cash flew like water. Never before was a BMC election fought by the parties and their candidates so aggressively and on such a grand scale.” Yes, I had observed that. I have been in Mumbai for over thirty-seven years now. Never ever have I seen a corporation election fought so aggressively and on such a grand scale… And, yes, it has made me wonder: “W...

“If one’s bowels move, one is happy, and if they don’t, one is unhappy... That’s all there is to it.” - Lin Yutang (1895-1976) “A 3-week fat-to-fit challenge,” I read the announcement of my ex-student on his FB status yesterday, “I have lost 1 kg in a week!” The accompanying half-minute video was the proof that Vivek was serious about his shedding job! “Great job, bro,” complimented one of Vivek’s friends, “ Lage Raho ,” wrote another… “Inspiring!” lauded another… “Where is it?” enquired yet another… Meanwhile, Vivek must’ve felt a lot pampered… rather, motivated to shed more kilos! Was Vivek trying to show-off? Is a status like this one really needed? Does it help Vivek in any way? W hy people do what they do… yes, I am not supposed to poke my nose into others’ affairs. Maybe, it is good for Vivek: The fact that he has made a ‘public announcement’ means, he will be under its pressure to keep up his commitment. People wil...