Gerald D'Cunha

“ "It is hard to understand addiction unless you have experienced it.” -        Ken Hensley F or most of us – shall I say ‘for all of us’ – it’s become very, very difficult to sit quietly at one place, even for a few seconds. Our minds have become so addictive to fill every millisecond of that quiet space… that, our hands instinctively reach to our phones, computers and other gadgets… And, there we are… All of us… everywhere… looking down on our mobile-phone or computer screens… endlessly watching something, reading something, listening to something, allowing ourselves to be swayed and influenced, and, yes, ‘colonized’… Though I knew what the constant onslaught of social media and technology has done to our lives, it was Mahershala Ali, the American actor and rapper, from whom I first picked this colourful expression: “Social media has colonized what was once a sacred space occupied by emptiness: the space reserved for thought ...

“I am an unabashed admirer of accomplished people.” -       Mr. Narayana Murthy T oday was the last session for the students of class 12 (HSC Board) in my classes. So, I was telling them about the importance of having personal bench-marks. From my own experience, I was telling them, that the best way to become better in life was to observe and learn from successful people… Yes, learn from our heroes, our icons. My own idea about ‘success’ has changed constantly over the years... So have my heroes. But, the need to look up to my heroes has never ceased. I am sure, the same need inspires most around us The other day, I was watching a video, in which Mr. Narayana Murthy and his wife, Mrs. Sudha Murthy, were answering questions of young students at IIT Kanpur (Mr. Murthy’s alma mater). Towards the end of this session, a young girl asked Murthys this question: “You have been meeting so many people ...

“If I were to say, 'God, why me?' about the bad things, then I should have said, 'God, why me?' about the good things that happened in my life.” Arthur Ashe V irat* belongs to an affluent family, which handles large construction and infrastructure projects. I had taught him when he was a F.Y. B. Com student. Ever since then, he has remained in touch with me. He was very fond of reading biographies of successful people. There was a humble and curious side to him, which would make him ask questions and learn from other people. ‘The other people’ – no matter where placed in life – were his open text-books to grow from… And, this was something, I had, always, admired about Virat, my student. This afternoon, Virat had proudly shared with me the images of one of the big projects his team had just completed successfully. I sent my appreciation and wished him and his team more success. I, also, asked him to drop by, one of these days. “I wish ...

\“What if the kid you bullied at school, grew up, and turned out to be the only surgeon who could save your life?” ―  Lynette Mather A couple of years ago, when Danish* was a little boy, his mother was a worried soul. “Sir, my biggest worry is about Danish being too timid… He gets bullied; at times, beaten up by some of his playmates… but, he doesn’t give them back… He comes home and complains… I want him to be tough… be able to stand up to the bullies… Give them back.” This was when Danish was in class six and seven. Yesterday, he was in my office with his parents. He is all set to clear his tenth-standard boards and walk into a college. I was impressed when I saw Danish, yesterday… He sat before me and spoke very confidently… He was clear in his thoughts and displayed a mature body-language… Whatever happened to those fears and worries of Danish’s mother? She was a relived soul, and said to me, laughing at her ...

“Little by little, we human beings are confronted with situations that give us more and more clues that we are not perfect.” -       Fred Rogers L ast week-end, when I had the choice to watch two well-publicized Hindi films – ‘Chhapaak’ and ‘Tanhaji’, I settled for the former. It was the fourth day of the release when I went to buy my ticket at the nearest multiplex. It was very clear to me, that ‘Tanhaji’ was doing well at the box office while ‘Chhapaak’ was not. But, then, the box-office success was not the reason why I had decided to watch Megna Gulzar’s ‘Chhapaak’… The subject of the film was. Ditto happened on this week-end. I wanted to watch an English film and I had this choice: ‘1917’, the story set during the World War 1, or ‘A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood’, the story based on the life of Fred Rogers… “Who?” My wife asked me when I expressed my desire to watch it, that even...