THE STONE THAT WE REJECTED

















"Things you may take for granted,
other people are praying for.”


Marian Rico Lee

 “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” This Biblical line has been, often, used to convey, how the things, that we had once taken for granted, have, later, become so important in our lives.

Just as they have become, today!

Yesterday, while I was talking to my friend, Joe, who lives in my hometown, Mangalore, he reminded me of this line, and, he gave me this familiar account:

“There is a grocery store near our house, which has been there since the days of my great grandfather. A local Musulman had started this store, and it had been called after him - “Maplyachi Angad’ (in Konkani) … The Musulman’s store. Some years ago, the area around this shop became a hot property… Swanky malls and super markets mushroomed all around it, and, suddenly, the store of the great-grandfather era looked irreverent and was found rejected by the new generation. But, somehow, the store stood there showing a stoic resilience. Now, during this tragic lockdown, the malls and the supermarkets are all shut down… Only the Musulman’s Store is open. As the Biblical words describe, “The stone (The store in this case) that the builders (the new generation in this case) rejected has become the cornerstone, today.”

Not just the grocery stores… Everything and everyone in our lives – that we had rejected, taken for granted – have become the cornerstones, today!

Another friend of mine, who lives in a posh locality in Noida, sent to me this video, which, most of us have already watched by now. 







I don’t know whether it has made us laugh or cry. But, it reminds me of the simple things that we – the members of this new generation – have rejected… taken for granted…

Maybe, this is God’s way of shaking us off our ignorance and arrogance… Maybe it’s His way of showing us the way home…


GERALD D’CUNHA

Pic.:Anil Bedi

Video: VideosBUZZ



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

MUTHU KODI KAWARI HADA

Image
Pic.; Ashwin Mohta M y Hindi was always bad. It still is. One reason for this was, that they introduced Hindi for us only in 6 th standard. Or, was it in 8 th ? I don’t remember… I only remember struggling to write and read… leave alone speak! But, I loved Hindi movies, and, strangely, I could understand the dialogues and the lyrics of the songs… I used to sing those songs (of course when no one was around me!) as if I was the lyricist… One of the songs was a very funny one. ‘Muthu Kodi Kawari Hada’. It was from Mehmood’s super-hit comedy – ‘Do Phool’. I was a 15-year-old high-school boy when I had heard that song (not watched the movie). I could grasp the meaning of two words – ‘Muthu Kodi’… which meant ‘Give kiss’… But, what ‘Kawari Hada’ meant, I have no clue till date! It was just like ‘Why this kolaveri di’... Yes, why ask? Simply enjoy the beats… And, the beats are great… The rest... Who cares? Really! So, whatever bit of Hi...
Read more

SELLING MIRRORS IN THE CITY OF THE BLIND

Image
“I laugh when I hear that the fish in the water is thirsty. I laugh when I hear that people go on pilgrimage to find God.” - Kabir T here is a universal human weakness – and it dates back to the days of fallen civilizations – and it is: to place people on pedestal and trying to be smothered by them, feel loved and protected in their company… worship them as mentors, heroes,  gurus, Mahagurus and Satgurus… Make these mortals larger-than-life cut-outs, worship them as flawless, pure and give one’s all… And, then, ‘take’ everything from them blindly as divine… Give everything to them blindly… Eventually, what happens is:  one more dangerous bondage… What was supposed to free you now becomes a new prison… It’s sad to see this happen! T his room, where I am writing this Post, has no image of any deity. I have no image of any Guru or Master around me… My question is: “Am I not able to feel close to Almighty God?  How ...
Read more

"HAPPILY EVER AFTER IS NOT A FAIRY-TALE... IT IS A CHOICE"

Image
“Love doesn’t just sit there, like a stone… It has to be made, like bread; remade all the time, made new.” – Ursula K. Le Guin,  The Lathe of Heaven T welve years ago, when Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie got married, the world began to hail the couple as ‘Brangelina’. It became a fashion for couples around us to call themselves so… Norbert and Teresa renamed them as ‘Noresa’…  Amol and Vishaka baptized their relationship as ‘Amoshka’… and, Salman and Nargis became ‘Salgis’! I and my wife, too, got tempted to re-christian our matrimonial relationship as ‘Germa’... That is, Gerald and Anima, to be precise! B efore I proceed any further, let me make it very clear, here… that, I have no business to judge on the break-up of Brad Pitt and Angelina’ Jolie’s marriage. I have no inclination to go into why, how, what when etc behind it… The couple ‘chose’ to split. And, it’s their choice… Only they know how good or bad… how joyful or pain...
Read more
THE WILD, WAYSIDE FLOWERS
There is, always, something extra-ordinary in the wild, wayside flowers...