THE LITTLE LILY IN OUR GARDEN










Enthusiasm is not just another word… It’s another name for Life… a clear sign that we are alive and kicking!


In our PD sessions, I take a hammer and convey this to our young ones and little ones, alike.


Yesterday morning, we had our session from 8 to 10.30. It’s a summer vacation, you see. So, no matter how hard you ‘hammer’ it into the thick skulls of our young ones, some of them – mercifully, ‘some of them’ and not all – find it difficult to be regular or be punctual, or both. ‘Ki farak painda’… Yes, what difference does it make?


So, come as you please…


But, you better be prepared to get the hammer, too…


Hello, enthusiasm cannot be taught in the classrooms… You better pick it up, from here and there, by being hungry and thirsty in life…


“What class is this?” I thunder…


“Personality Development, Sir,” they respond…

“Personality Development… My foot!” I hammer it hard, knowing well, that ‘My foot’ is not a nice way of conveying it. But, this much I know very well: It conveys!


“If you want to develop your personality, you do not need to join classes like these,” I hammer it again, “You need to keep your hearts thirsty and minds hungry.”


Five-year-old Barkha and her 10-year-old brother Arindam were sitting on the front bench. They both are brought to the session by their 71-year-old grandfather. They come by auto-rickshaw, all the way from Kanjunmarg to our place in Chembur. And what is endearing is this: they reach at least ten minutes before the session, every time! When I see these little kids and their grandfather, who sit engrossed through the entire session with their eyes, ears, hearts and minds open – I feel so happy. There is not a single dull moment for them… They are so involved, so enthusiastic.


On the other side of the spectrum, some of our young ones, who live in our backyard, come, always, late… and, they come with their drooped eyes and frigid hearts. I can feel this lifelessness as I go about conducting the session… And, I go for the hammer, all over again…


“Look at this little lily in our garden,” I placed Barkha on the stage, last morning, “She looks so fresh!”


Whether my older lilies like it or not, they cannot escape from what is there before their eyes!


Who puts ‘life’ into my little lily early in the morning, and who takes it out  from some?


Life is equally fair for all of us… to little Barkha, her brother Arindam, their grandfather, me and all… Is it not?


The Sun shines for everyone,
The Moon smiles at everyone,
The Stars twinkle for everyone,
The rainbow appears for everyone,
The raindrops fall on every one,
Then why – yes, why – does Luck smile at only some?


I wrote this in one of my books - ‘The Late Bloomer’, some thirty years ago. It is still relevant – still fresh – as this little lily in our garden. Barkha!



GERALD D’CUNHA

Pic.: Elak Wallpaper



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