Gerald D'Cunha

“There is a huge amount of freedom that comes to you when you take nothing personally.” ―  Don Miguel Ruiz I t’s very, very difficult not to take sides when two people fight, even though it’s very, very important not to take sides. Now, who are these ‘two people’? They can be anybody – from intimately close ones to absolutely strangers… I remember, just a few yards from our local primary-school in our village, there used be weekly cock-fights… ‘Kori Katta’, they would call them in our local Tulu. I suppose, it’s banned now. The players would raise sturdy fighter-cocks at their homes and, assemble every week at those designated arenas, where a huge crowd would round up to watch the brutal game. Imagine those hapless roosters, sharp razors tied to their feet, provoked to fight to the finish… Even when the roosters were bloodily wounded, they would stitch up those wounds up and make those poor cocks fight… People fr...

“Sustainable diet has no name.” -       Rutuja Diwekar A fter my health crisis, last year, I had been advised by my doctors – the Onco, the Nephro, the Uro and my surgeon – that I should see them every three months along with various reports… Yes, just to keep monitoring! For sixty years, I had never been hospitalized, ever.   Like everyone else around me, I had some health issues, now and then; but, I was never advised to be hospitalized. Though dad’s side, diabetes had been hereditary, I only remained a ‘borderline case’… So, it’s fine. My BP, considering my age, has been consistently ‘reasonable’. A mild pill has been prescribed… That’s about it. I do not drink or smoke… I do have a weakness for non-veg food and some sweets; but, I never over indulge in them… I do not party or have any erratic lifestyle or eating habits… Sleep has been quite sound and sufficient… So, a year ago, when a canc...

“Sometimes, love blinds us; other times, it lets us see.” -       Paulo Coelho A FB friends of mine was a die-hard fan of one of the political parties, especially its supreme leader. For about three-four years, I would get on FB his absolutely-polarized posts - either glorifying everything about his idol and his party, or brutally demeaning the opponents. I remember blocking his posts regularly. But, they would surface relentlessly, again and again. The blind worship had made him see nothing good on the other side of the divide and nothing wrong on his side… It was black, or it was white… No shades in between. The fact, that his friends belonged to both sides of the divide and many of them, including me, would not like his ‘public display of affection’… yes, he seemed to have hardly bothered about it… Just how many couples do love on the roadsides… or, on these social platforms! While such PDA continues to be there - left right and the c...

"This dull river has a deep religion of its own."  - NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE I n matters of our religious faith, all of us are encouraged to ‘believe’, mostly, without questioning. And, hence, we call ourselves - ‘believers'! This is true of all religious faiths… As a Christian (Catholic), to me, Mother Mary will, always, remain a ‘Virgin Mary’, even though she gave birth to Jesus. I shall, always, believe, that she was ‘physically’ taken up into Heaven, by God’s angels, at the end of her earthly life… I shall, always, believe, that Jesus rose to life on the third day from his death… I shall, always, believe in the simple theory of how God created this Universe, including  Adam and Eve… I am a 'faithful' Christian, if I accept all these myths and stories as ‘truths’… Yes, if I question less. And, that’s how it is in every religion. The other day, I was at one of my friends’ place. They were Sikhs. Wh...

"Moderation in all things, especially moderation.” ―  Ralph Waldo Emerson D o you and I need to have a body like Arnold Schwarzenegger’s? Or, a figure like Katrina Kaif’s? Or, a vocabulary like Shashi Tharoor’s? In other words, do you and I need to do anything in life which is ‘extreme’? I, always, think, that doing things in moderation and consistency is enough. Yes, enough to feel good about ourselves. Let’s look around us. Rather, let’s look at ourselves… Have we tried to push ourselves to the extreme in a gym, Yoga class, music class, running track, sports coaching camp, diet plan, our company’s sales target, or, even in academics… yes, only to quit soon… do nothing at all, then on… no gym, no Yoga, no diet plan, no sports, music or sales targets… just to get bogged down and give up? On the other hand, let’s look at those who have pursued the same things in moderation and consistency. They continue to do those thin...

“The worst loneliness is to not to be comfortable with yourself.” -       Mark Twain      T wo days ago, while I was watching the latest Hindi movie, ‘Bala’, I remembered this popular fable… O nce, in a forest, there lived a crow happily. One day, he saw a beautiful Swan sitting on the branch of a tree. The Crow felt bad about himself and said to the Swan… “You are so white and beautiful… Look at me, I am so black and ugly.” The Swan said to the Crow, “I may be white, but I am not beautiful… Look at the Parrot… He is blessed with two colours. He is the most beautiful bird in this forest.” The Crow met the Parrot, looked at his beauty, and said, “O Parrot, you really are the most beautiful bird in this forest. You are blessed with two colours…. I am ashamed of my ugliness.” “No, No. You are wrong, my friend. I was thinking that I was the most beautiful bird in this forest till I saw ...

“B ad politicians are elected by good people who don’t vote.” The conscience-keepers on social media always remind us – the ‘good people’ – before every election in our society. A fair-and-free election is the most important opportunity to bring about the change in governance. So, the right to vote is nothing short of the right to breathe. No matter how bad the situation looks outside, the ordinary citizens like you and me shouldn’t just sit at home and complain and curse… On the voting day, we all need to come out and vote… I did for several years, and I did it during every election… be it the Corporation, the State Assembly or the Lok Sabha. Most importantly, I did it for myself… for my own good. As it’s my a private matter, I have never discussed about who I voted for even in my own house. I haven’t flaunted my inked-finger ever on social media… I haven’t nudged anyone saying, “Go and vote” … not even my son. He is an adult, just as I am… W hy am I...