Gerald D'Cunha

‘S orry’ is a magic word.  We try to inculcate this value – this lesson – in the hearts of little children. What happens when these children grow up? Does ‘Sorry’ continue to be a magic word? This morning, I had an ‘opportunity’ to deal with two giant egos. One of a man and another of a woman… both highly educated and in their mid-fifties. Amazing thing was: we have been having a wonderful, long relationship! I was talking to them on different issues, this morning. Strangely, I got to observe how I was getting dragged into an ego-trip simply because both of them had taken a strong position. One option for me was: to acknowledge their position – the stand – and respect it, however different it was from mine… Even if it meant swallowing my pride… which, for a moment, also seemed like humiliation… The other option for me was to try my best to dislodge them from their positions… prove them wrong and prove me right… and, thereby, run the risk of ruining our long-s...

“One is never afraid of the unknown…  one is afraid of the known coming to an end.” - Jiddu Krishnamurti I was a school boy when I first saw Vinod Khanna in the movie ‘Mere Apne’. He never ceased to fascinate me – challenge, inspire and even confuse me – ever since! Like most around me, whatever I know about Vinod Khanna has come only through whatever I have read in newspapers and magazines, or watching television and his movies … or through pure grapevine. This Post, therefore, is not about Vinod Khanna, the glamours Greek God, that he had been on the silver screen, but about the fallible and vulnerable human that he came about to me from my own perception… I always admired Viond Khanna’s looks… He looked stunning, a Greek God! But, I was aware, that what I was admiring was just an outer body of a mortal… It would wrinkle with age, look frail with sickness and age… The other day, when that picture of Vinod Khanna in the...

“Gold medals aren't really made of gold. They're made of sweat, determination, and a hard-to-find alloy called guts.” - Dan Gable I watched the Hindi movie ‘Poorna’ along with my wife on 24 th of this month. It was my wife’s  50 th birthday. It was, also, one of her happiest! Both, my wife and I, loved the movie a lot… After coming home, my wife posted on her friends’ group:  “POORNA… A very inspiring movie!” Just the way great Sachin Tendukar is… 24 th April is his birthday, too! I remember an inspiring quote from the Legend: “Don't stop chasing your dreams, because dreams do come true.” Till my friend, Vivek, told me about this movie, ‘Poorna’ - just two days earlier that was - I hadn’t heard about it. How ironical, how sad! “Watch it; it is very motivating for multiple reasons,” my friend had told me. It was only after watching the movie that I gathered what the ‘multiple reasons’ were… THE FIRST REASON: Obviousl...

“Excuses are merely nails used to build a house of failure.” - American Proverb “S o, the train was late, today,” I playfully teased the young-man who was almost fifteen minutes late for the session. “Train was not late, sir,” the tall young-man corrected me, “I was late!” “Wow! That’s something I loved,” I explained to the class, “That’s exactly what I meant by ‘Owning up… taking responsibility for one’s actions… It is the first leg of the stool called ‘Self-confidence.” The boy wasn’t giving me any justifications for his late-entry. He wasn’t feeling anxious, guilty or scared… For, he had owned up his action… He knew, that if he wanted to be in time, he would … Trains were running in time… The weather was absolutely normal - no thunderstorm or hailstorm… There weren’t any bandh or riots… At home, everything was normal… the milkman, delivered milk in time, the paperwala dropped paper in time… the maid came to make rotis in ti...

M y friend, Austin Coutinho, literally survives on the oxygen called ‘Cricket’. Is he a player? Yes, he was, once. Is he a coach? Yes, he was and he still is. Is he a mentor? He has always been, and will always be one. Is he a consultant? Yes, he is… and, too good in it. What else? Here it is: He is a gifted cartoonist! And, rightly, has been spending hours and hours to give life to every cricket hero through his adorable caricatures… Every morning – perhaps when all of us are still asleep – he wakes up with a new idea in his mind… Sometimes, the subject of his creative work could be a Soccer star – a Messi or a Ronaldo… sometimes, it could be Usain Bolt or  Michael Jordan… or our own Sindhu, Sakshi or Dipa. Like me, there are several admirers of Austin… and we all look forward to see his fresh offering of the day… When we see it, our hearts smile! “How does he do it?” I have wondered almost every day, “He is a genius!” Once, earlier, when I had blogged...

A re we all shy people? Well, most of us are… if not all. Majority! Early this morning, Rakesh Menon, the founder and teacher of our Tai Chi group, was on stage organized by Chembur Festival Committee (2017) to promote health and well-being. Today, from 8 am to 9 am, our sir, along with some of our students, demonstrated to the participants the benefits of Tai Chi… Rakesh Menon, our teacher, was brilliant on stage! I watched him closely… getting transformed – rather transcended – from ordinary to extra-ordinary… from real to surreal. I had one more live testimony to prove: It is your core strength… your niche… your own cherished domain… yes, it is when you operate from this space, you come about special, mighty… authentic. It is when you sing from there, dance from there, write from there, speak from there, teach from there, heal from there, play from there, paint from there… do anything and everything from there… yes, it is only when you rise up from the...

“People can become addicted to fame, money, and attention as deeply as they become addicted to drugs.”  ―  Dennis Prager ,  Think a Second Time I n our college canteen, Mangalore, there was a rude waiter. He dealt with the students with his sarcastic comments and got away with it; but, not always. One day, he got the taste of his own medicine… A student came to the counter and made a typical inquiry with the rude waiter. I reproduce, here, the exchange of their dialogues (with Hindi and English translation) in the local Tulu language as it carries its own flavor: Student : “Bechha yenchina undu?” “Garam kya hai” “What is there hot (dish)?” Waiter : “Bechcha? Dingeld genda undu.” “Garam? Chule mein koyla hai” “Hot? There is coal in the oven.” Student: “Korle onji plate.” “Ek plate de do.” “Get me a plate of it.” The waiter went inside the kitchen and returned with a plate of red-hot coal… and placed it on th...

“A flower does not think of competing with the flower next to it… It just blooms.” - Unknown I spent the entire day, today, with B.Sc (IT) students of a Mumbai college. They are all set to walk into their final year, in a few weeks from now. So, the college authorities are aware of the fact that these young-ones would need to be groomed so that they get good placement. I was there, today, to help them in their self-confidence and communication skills. At their age, I was worse, as far as my self-confidence and communication skills were concerned. So, if I could do something about my problem, they, certainly, can do something about theirs… As I, always, say: “If I can, you, too, can.” But, after a pause, I add this: “I said, ‘You can’… not ‘You will’!” Yes, I, always, hammer this truth into young-ones' skulls: “Till you do not make ‘I can’ into ‘I will’, your problem will remain your problem.” Guys like me go there and share o...

“Skill and confidence are an unconquered army.” - George Herbert T wo days ago, I had an occasion to re-affirm my belief, that there is much more to our self-confidence than our looks, size and academic qualification. A gentleman, who had a couple of post-graduate degrees, including an MBA and PhD, wanted to meet me to discuss about his self-doubts. Similarly, a young girl, a college student, too, wanted to meet me to discuss about her self-doubts: her color complexion and size… T he gentleman was a HOD in one of the premier educational institutions in Mumbai. He was very articulate and spoke with good body-language… Before getting into the academic field, he had spent more than six years in the field of selling and marketing.  “Why did you switch the field?” I asked the gentleman. “I, always, wanted to influence people,” he said, “teaching, I thought, would be the best way to go about it.” “Do you enjoy teaching? Do you feel you...