Gerald D'Cunha

  “Anxiety doesn’t empty tomorrow of its sorrow, but only empties today of its strength.” Charles Spurgeon   W e all need reminders every night when we go to bed… that, despite all our problems, there is something we need to thank God for… that, our problems are very small compared to so many in this world who go to bed with every night… Yes, we all forget to look at the blessings of God and only end up getting overwhelmed by our problems. ‘Thank you God’ doesn’t come to us easily… ‘Why me?’ … ‘Poor me’… yes, these complaints always come easily. L ast night, when I was about to retire, I happened to see two things… One was the report of my routine blood and other tests. Well, just as my students and their parents get anxious on receiving those unpleasant remarks in the progress report, some of the remarks in my lab-report weren’t pleasant… The anxiety was slowly coming over me… Many unnecessary thoughts, to be precise… “What if that happens, this happens?”… and s...

“If you really want to do something, you’ll find a way. If you don’t, you’ll find an excuse.” Jim Rohn   W ho wants long sermons early in the mornings? I am asking this: Do you think, that any college kid – a teenager – has the inclination or patience to listen to a teacher’s ‘sermons’ in the early mornings? Well, the ‘early mornings’ may be 8 or 9 or 10, you see… At the end of my 9 a.m. class today, I heard myself telling this class-12 group… “Don’t worry. You may have to bear with my ‘sermons’ for a month more, maximum. You will be free after that… ‘Chutkara’ , once and for all!” Of course, my tongue was firmly tucked inside my cheeks as I was telling them what I was telling. I knew, that it was their age to resist… find a teacher’s sermons ‘boring’ and ‘repetitive’. But, I also knew, that the time to recall these sermons –   appreciate them, and value them – would, always, come later in life… It came later in my own life, and, it would come later for my young st...

  “ Even in a time of elephantine vanity and greed, one never has to look far to see the campfires of gentle people.” Garrison Kaillor   A s the international schools , IB and IGCSE (Cambridge) in particular, have the subject of Accountancy during their Grade 9 and 10, I get to teach some of these students, these days. Imagine, what traditionally the college students were learning, these 13-14-15-year-old kids have to learn now. Initially, I was reluctant to take up teaching commitments to these kids, assuming, that it’s too much for them and too early. But, the more I assumed so, the more and more parents began to approach me. “Sir, that’s how it is in these global schools,” I was repeatedly reminded. Thus, with a lot of caution and discretion, I started teaching some of these students during last couple of years… And, my experience? Well, wish to reserve my comment… The world is changing faster and faster… Along with it, let me say this: human ambition, too...

  “Here is the problem: while some folks are frustrated and tuned out  and stay home on election day, other folks are showing up...  Democracy continues with or without you.” Michelle Obama                     T his is Maharashtra… Yes, my wife and I showed up, yesterday, and voted. Were we not among the ‘frustrated’ folks? Considering the way these elected representatives crossover, we, certainly, had frustration in our hearts… The one we are voting for – his/her party, which we thought was a better one compared to others – well, we have no guarantee that this representative, who we had voted for yesterday, will stay faithful to us – his voters – or not. Still, Democracy thrives on hope – often, a naive hope. Voters’ skin is very thin… we bleed and get hurt fast. But, sad to see the reality, that the skin of the politicians is very, very thick… They possess unusual im...

  “Everyone is a genius.  But, if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree,  it will spend its whole life  believing that its stupid.” Albert Einstein   W hen I was a student in school or college, did my teachers show any discrimination when they taught us? My college classroom had more than hundred students… My teachers (we called them lecturers, and here, in Mumbai, they call them Professors) taught whatever subjects they taught with equal dedication and passion. But, as is the case always, some students picked things extremely well, some fairly well… and some, like me, limped behind… I wasn’t a bright or even an average student… I was just limping, as I said. That said, after my F.Y B. Com, inspired by my teachers, I started developing an unusual interest in subjects like Accountancy and English. It’s because, by then, I was burning with a desire to become a fine teacher and also a writer… So, my own desire did it… Till then, I was just t...

“Listen, and you will realize, that we are made not from cells and atoms… We are made from stories.” Mia Cuoto   O ne of the books I loved reading the most was ‘Freedom at Midnight’ by the French writers, Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre. It was in the early-nineties and I was in my early-thirties. What I remember, even today, about reading this book, is its gripping narrative… It was so gripping, that I was reluctant to keep the book down! And, now – in my mid-sixties - when I learnt about streaming of this book’s adaptation (on Sony LIV), I wanted to watch it desperately. So, last night, my wife and I sat till 1.30 in the night and watched all the seven episodes of Season 1. Let me tell you this: We never moved from our seats, even for a minute… It was so engaging, so gripping! I have, always, marveled: “How could two Frenchmen capture this powerful drama of the Subcontinent in a book, with such brilliance?” The storytelling at its best… That’s how I have ende...

  “We will be judged by, ‘I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat; I was naked, and you clothed me; I was homeless, and you took me in’.” Mother Teresa   F rom Richard Attenborough’s movie, ‘Gandhi’, two powerful scenes come to my mind… First scene: One of Gandhi’s most faithful followers - an English woman associated with his work for a long time – one day, in his Ashram, expresses her deep wish to be converted into Hinduism. Bapu’s response takes my breath away… “You do not deed to convert yourself into a Hindu,” he tells her, “You just need to become a better Christian.” The second scene: It involves, once again, a young Christian priest, an English man, who has been deeply inspired by the ideals of Gandhiji. He mentions these ideals in one of his Sunday sermons in the church… We see some hardened men and women walking out. Apparently, they have come to church to hear what Jesus said two thousand years ago, not what this ‘coloured man’ (by all yardsticks, m...

  “We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.”         Dolly Parton   S ome days ago, two young girls joined my eleventh standard, almost simultaneously. One was from St. Xavier’s and the other was from Jai Hind. These South Mumbai colleges have been extremely sought-after institutions. Students take immense pride in the very thought, that they belong to these great institutions… Their parents, too. But, my experience has, always, been different: more than the educational institution that one belongs to, one’s outlook towards oneself and people around him that counts more in life. Often, the pride turns into arrogance, lack of empathy. I see many young kids from such institutions living in their own ivory towers… Yes, your great institutions matter in life… provided you deserve them. Else, it can only make you a snob… a misfit. Am I being too blunt or biased? Well, I am not… Not trying to generalize, either. Over the f...