Gerald D'Cunha

“No one has ever measured, not even poets, how much the heart can hold.” -      Anonymous I f you ask me, how was ‘ Thappad ’ - I mean, the movie ‘ Thappad ’ - I would say, without even blinking – ‘Excellent’! Now, you may give me a tight ‘Thappad’ for saying so… Because, you may come out of the theatre saying – ‘Bakwas’ ! So, there we are – we may love ‘Thappad’ or hate ‘Thappad’… but, we cannot ignore it… We will come out of the theatre with one of the two extreme reactions… I am very fond of Anubhav Sinha’s craft of story-telling… His movies always challenge us, provoke us, make us even guilty and ashamed of our prejudices. In ‘Article 15’ and ‘Mulk’, we did experience this inner stir in us… Now, with this movie – ‘Thappad’, Sinha does it to us, once again. Yes, at the core of the movie lies that one single – unintended, accidental – ‘Thappad’, which this young husband gives to his wife in the heat of t...

“Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully As they do it from religious conviction.” -      Blaise Pascal I have witnessed the communal riots right since I was a little boy in our home town, Mangalore (now Mangaluru). Our small house was surrounded by families of all major faiths… On the very left lived a staunch Brahmin family, on the very right lived a staunch Christian, a Hindu (GSB) and   a Muslim family. Right behind our house lived many families that belonged to various faiths… Ditto was in the front, across the road… So beautiful this co-existence was, so enriching… This sight still continues to behold us, inspire us! Here in Mumbai, at my age of 62… In my floor, wing and our buildings live people of different faiths… Ditto is in the Society where I hold my classes and house my office… I am the only Christian in this building. But, during these thirty-two years of our co-existence here, none of...

I started writing since I was 17-18, not because I was good at it; but, because I was bad at it. Same is the reason why I started helping others in Public Speaking – yes, not because I was good at it; but, because I was bad at it! Many people do not understand the logic behind what I just said. “How can you write daily when you are bad at it? And, how can you help others in Public Speaking when you yourself are bad at it? Well, my job is not to convince others… My job is to convince myself. That, despite my own handicap of English, I can still write; and, despite my trembling heart, I can not only speak in public, but also help others. I recognized my two handicaps – English and Stage Fear - when I was dreaming of becoming a teacher and a writer. So, I went about overcoming my handicaps by - going out there and doing it. By writing daily, for over forty years, I hope, I have in me, now, enough confidence to write in English… By speaking in public, despite...

“If you burn your neighbors house down, it doesn't make your house look any better.” -       Lou Holtz B enjamin Franklin said, “Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbours.” Now, who are our neighbours? Are they the ones who live next door? Or, the ones who live in our housing society? Or, in our locality, town, city, state or the country? Or, as Ana Monnar said, “All human beings are my neighbours; we share the same planet,”… Is that so? Let’s be a little practical, here… Let’s talk about our immediate neighbors – the ones who live on our floors, in our buildings and in our housing complexes… That’s enough. If we can learn to live in peace and harmony with these neighbours, yes, I think, that’s enough… City, State, Country and the Planet – these are quite far. In fact, if we learn to live in peace and harmony with our immediate neihbours, we will be able to live in peace and harmony with our distant neighbou...

“The things you are passionate about are not random… They are your calling.” -       Anonymous E ven though I know, that our talents help us feel self-confident in life, I will never say, that our talents alone can help us in this. In fact, unless a talent becomes a fine skill, talent is of no value… It’s a waste. And, the process of converting our talents into skills calls for real discipline… we need the burning desire, dogged determination, sagely patience and perseverance, and, above all, some luck – call it God’s grace, if you like. But, unless our talents become our skills, it’s just not possible… The talent, which makes Amitabh Bachchan a legend, is his acting talent… Not any other talent. The talent, which makes Lata Mangeshkar a legend, is her singing talent… Not any other talent. The talent, which makes A.R. Rehman a legend, is his talent of music composition, above anything else… Take any one else...

“God writes the Gospel not in the Bible alone, but also on trees, and in the flowers  and clouds and stars.” -       Martin Luther T oday was a public holiday, here in Maharashtra, on account of Maha Shivaratri. But, I was working. Suraj, my 11 th standard student, had turned up (as usual!) without doing his homework… He put the blame on Lord Shiva… “Sir, I was awake the whole night along with my family, at our temple,” Suraj justified, “How could I complete my homework?” “Wow, a holy excuse!” I said sarcastically, “ Olagina guttu, Shivane Bhalla.” “What is that supposed to be?” Suraj was clueless about my this saying in   Kannada … “It’s supposed to be this,” I explained, “God alone knows the inside secret… the ‘real story’ in your case.” “Shiva knows the real story, Sir,” Suraj justified, “I was awake the whole night in His temple… It’s not a holy excuse as you think.” “You had, at your disposal, the...