Gerald D'Cunha

“I don’t think of all the misery, but of the beauty that still remains.” Anne Frank ‘H ope’ is a bright four-letter word, just as ‘Love’ and ‘Life’ are. Had it not been for Hope, Life, for all of us, would have been a dark, endless tunnel, completely devoid of meaning. Yes, Hope holds Life together for us, so that we are able to say, “Everything will be alright”, and “I went to prison, but I never let my mind go to prison.” By the way, what significance do those two statements have? Whose words are those, and what is the context? Another routine thing I would do in our summer programmes for the young ones (on Personality Development) was showing them many inspiring videos from the talent shows, such as ‘America’s Got Talent’ or ‘Britain’s Got Talent’. Most of them would be the Golden Buzzer moments, which gave us goosebumps, and took our breath away. Our young ones would enjoy them as much as I would. But, this summer… Well, I miss watching them together and f

“Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learnt in the school.” Albert Einstein M any years ago, I was in a doctor’s cabin. He was also my very good friend. After completing examination and handing me the prescription, he began to chat with me on general subjects. It was a warm and personal discussion, which both of us were enjoying. But, as there were several patients outside, waiting for their turn, I began to feel a bit restless, and even guilty. “Doctor, I am feeling bad… There are so many patients waiting outside.” “You don’t have to feel bad,” my doctor-friend said a bit sternly, “That’s why they are called ‘Patients’… They have to wait patiently!” Well, nobody heard that from outside the cabin… I quietly slipped out from there once, I was released. But, my guilt hasn’t still left me! Patients are called ‘patients’, because they have to wait… Wait patiently! Even though it’s a bitter pill to swallow, it’s true elsewhere in life

Did you ever know that you’re my hero? You’re everything I wish I could be, I could fly higher than an eagle, ‘cause you are the wind beneath my wings.” From the song ‘Wind Beneath My Wings’ by Bette Midler I n the morning, today, I received a ‘surprise friend-request’ on FB… It was Danika, the young daughter of my cousin, Oscar Rebello and his wife Mavis.  I said ‘surprise friend-request’, because, while Mavis has been on my FB friend-list for years (and would read my blogs regularly), Oscar found FB and other social-media platforms very superficial. He had told me, many times, that he believed in keeping personal touch, not virtual touch. That seems to be the only reason, why Oscar made it a point to keep in touch, by calling and visiting, with all his relatives, near and far, young and old alike. He has called my 85-year-old mom, who lives in our hometown, Mangalore, almost on every festival and special occasions, while, I may have skipped many times!

“It’s okay to cry over something you thought you were healed from.” Unknown A nother thing, which I have been doing during this lockdown period, is watching some amazing commercials. One reason for this is, that, due to the lockdown, I miss conducting our summer programme on Personality Development. In our PD sessions, I used to play so many of these commercials, just to drive home the points: 1.     We all love stories… and, everything in life – including our communication – is nothing but a story. 2.     A story has a soul in it only when it has real, raw emotions. Else, the story is dead. I have, always, encouraged our young ones and little ones to speak from their heart. Many would understand this, and many wouldn’t. So, I would play dozens of these great commercials – very creative, very soulful – and leave it at that… The message would be loud and clear… even though not a word was needed to convey it.

“I would rather have roses on my table than diamonds on my neck.” Emma Goldman O ne of the things I have done, during these lockdown days, was watching many episodes of ‘Malgudi Days’. For the uninitiated, ‘Malgudi Days’ was a collection of R.K. Narayan’s enchanting stories set in a humble (fictitious) village – Malgudi. It was telecast as the popular TV serial in mid-eighties. (Directed by Kannada film star Shankar Nag). I remember watching many of those episodes, then. But, now, watching them, all over again, was a different experience! I think, one of the reasons why Malgudi stories appeal to most of us is, that they are utterly simple and relatable. R.K. Narayan had this unique gift of evoking this connect in us… Just as his celebrated cartoonist-brother, R.K. Laxman, had the unique gift of evoking the connect in us through his own craft! A dear friend of mine loves to live in Malgudi village, quite lite

“To be prepared against surprise is to be trained; to be prepared for surprise is to be educated.” James P. Carse I had to read the above quote a couple of times to fully comprehend its meaning. Let me read it one more time: “To be prepared against surprise is training; To be prepared for surprise is education.” Every summer, for last three decades, I and many of my associates at THE DAWN CLUB have been conducting Personality Development programme for young ones and little ones. The programme would spread over two months – roughly from April 10 to June 10. This summer, due to lockdown, the programme went for a complete toss. Many kept suggesting, that we should do something ‘online’. But, I was not at all convinced… nor ‘prepared’! Did I say, ‘I was not prepared’? Yes, I did. One of the standard features of our PD programme has been the release of one or two inspirational books on the day of certification. We would involve

“It’s not at all hard to understand a person; It’s only hard to listen without bias.” Criss Jami I t was late in the night when I happened to read the heated debate on one of the WhatsApp groups. It’s a group of fifteen of us… all friends and all educated. Apparently, one of the group members had showered praises on our Prime Minister and hailed him as the only leader who could deal with the current situation in the country so efficiently.  Immediately, another member mocked at what was being just said and criticized the PM and the central government for, what he called ‘a complete mess’ in the country. Suddenly, the floodgates were thrown open… missiles being fired from either side of the border. I was surprised to see one of our very quiet members, who seldom opened his mouth, firing his missiles from one of the sides… I stood neutral, a mute spectator, rather… and watched the fun! Of course, I had a very strong view about the current state of affair