Gerald D'Cunha

  “The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second-best time is now.” Chinese Proverb   I t’s 8.50 in the night… It’s the New-year eve. The greetings have already started pouring in. “A Happy and Prosperous New year”… Yes, this is the familiar greeting. How many near and dear ones have sent it to me, and to how many near and dear ones I have sent the same! “Wishing you all a very Happy and prosperous New Year”… Here is one more time… As I am about to step into 2025, a few hours from now, I become strikingly aware of one thing I badly want to do: to take a chill Pill… to calm down, to relax, not to be too anxious, fearful or angry… in the New Year… Of late, I was finding myself wanting in this area… Excessive irritation, annoyance, impatience and anxiety had quietly entered from the backdoor and made me a lot gloomy… Yes, yes, that’s despite my relentless writing on positive things… When has one ceased to convert himself or herself into completely...

“My life is a blank cheque before God… No strings attached.” David Platt   I did not start writing because I was good at writing… It’s the opposite. I was very, very bad at it. English was not my medium… I was afraid to open my mouth before those who spoke fluently in English. I had terrible stage fear and I was filled with self-doubts. I had not read any self-help books or attended any such workshops… This was while I was a teenager and studying in my college. All that had happened, I remember, was this: Prof. B . S. Raman had come to teach our big class (more than 100 students… all boys). I sat somewhere in the middle and got inspired by him. Next thing that happened was this: I was burning with the desire to become like him – a fine teacher and writer, and, of course, an idealist. He as that… and, I wanted to be that. So, for sitting in Prof. Raman’s classroom for three years during my degree college - and without talking to him, one-on-one, even a sentence – I had a...

  “It’s not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.” Edmund Hillary   I started a little late for work, this morning. I wanted to take a long walk through the pleasant winter-sun… I love the winter sun. On my way, I met a man (who’s in his mid-forties). He, too, was sitting on a bench and soaking in the pleasant rays of the winter sun. As I hadn’t seen him for a very long time, I said, “Seeing you after a long time… Were you out of town?” I sat next to him on the bench. The man said, “I was very much in town; in fact, I was inside my house for more than three months, now.” He lived on the 3 rd floor of a   building which had no lift. “I find difficulty while walking, particularly while climbing the stairs,” he said, “Today, I, literally, forced myself to step out of the house.” “How do you feel about it?” I asked. “Good… Very Good,” the man said. Then, the man added, “There was a time when I thought ‘Success’ meant accumulating wealth. I never thought ...

    “Why does life keep teaching me lessons I have no desire to learn?” Unknown W ell, it feels nice when we hear someone say, “We come with empty hands, and we go with empty hands.” Nice thought… Reality of life… Nobody is exempted from this reality… Yes, we all know this. Still, none of us seems willing to let go easily…   leave behind our possessions when we go. The question seems to surface: “What’s the use of slogging so hard, all my life? What is the use of all the sacrifices? Why should I return empty-handed?” Last afternoon, a gentleman was asking me the same question: “It’s hard to return, leaving behind the very thing I had come here for,” he was telling me with pain. He and his wife had settled for several years in one of the Middle East countries. Both had jobs there. Their only son is expected to write his 12 th Standard Board-exams, soon. The wife passed away some months ago leaving her husband and son in deep sorrow. They know, that life has to...

  “There really are places in the heart you don’t even know exist until you love a child.” Anne Lamott   F rom the point where I stand today, I can see in these two directions – towards my dad and towards my son – and ask this question: “How much of dad’s bright or dark qualities have I inherited in my own life?” My dad was a born extrovert; he loved singing Konkani folk songs at every available venue – be it a wedding, parish feast or birthday celebration.   I, the same father’s son, was a born introvert… I, always, hid myself from showing up before a group of people, leave alone being blessed with a singing talent. On the darker side, my dad drank like a fish and smoked like a chimney… and died early in life. I had seen the effect it had on our family, and I chose to stay off completely from booze and smoke. But, I have never been able to stay off my love for non-veg food – meat and fish. On the other side, our only son has, always, been a vegetarian. De...

  “When things change inside you, things change around you.” Unknown     A t hindsight, the very things, which I once thought were responsible for my inner turmoil, now seem are responsible for so many fine virtues, such as patience, empathy, resilience, forgiveness, self-reliance etc. Yes, many years ago, I thought the behaviour of others affected me, that they had to change their behaviour. But, as years passed by, slowly and steadily, wisdom came to settle in me… Others behave as per their level of awareness and wisdom. I behave as per mine. There will, always, be this gap between our respective levels of awareness and wisdom… So, what is easier? What’s within my hands? “Peace be with you.” This is how the Priest reminds all of us towards the end of every mass in the church. Then, he reminds us to “Offer peace to each other.” True… How can we offer peace to others unless and until we experience it within us? Let me tell you this: We can experience p...

  “If you try to do your best, there is no failure.” Mike Farrell   T hroughout my school and college years, my marks had been very poor… Just like Raju Rastogi’s (Sharman Joshi) in the popular Hindi film, ‘3 Idiots’. Long before this film had come, (2009), I was asked the same question by my interviewer when I had gone for my first teaching job at the Atomic Energy Junior College (1981): “Your marks have been consistently low – any reason?” Raju had a clear and composed answer to this question: “Fear, Sir.” Somehow, I was picked for the ‘temporary’ job… and, like the new Raju, who had come there not with a begging mindset, but with the confidence, that even if he was rejected, he would not be disappointed and afraid, as he would certainly figure out what to do with his life – yes, I was telling the same thing to my own interviewer, :”Sir, I am passionate about teaching… That’s the only thing I will be doing in my life.” I got that temporary job at the junior Colle...

  “Hey, it’s good to be back home again Sometimes, this old farm feels like a long-lost friend Yes, and hey, it’s good to be back home again.” From the country song ‘Be Back Home; by John Denver   T his is the month of December. Personally, this is my favourite month… The weather is very pleasant, with its cool breeze playing over our shoulders… It’s very inspiring, inviting… romantic. No wonder, why so many young couples line up to tie their wedding knots during this month. And, because most of the weddings take place in this month, the wedding anniversaries, too, fall in this month. In our family and friend-circle, there are so many wedding anniversaries – most of them fall either a few days before Christmas or a few days after… And what about fresh weddings? Maanvi (my dear ex-student) and her sweetheart Varun, came down from London to get married, early this December. Benson (my wife’s nephew) and his sweetheart Shivangi, tied their wedding knot yesterday. ...

“Service to others is the rent you pay  for your room here on earth.” Muhammad Ali H ow do we define the word ‘Legacy’? I think, a simple definition can be: “Everything good that we leave behind when we die.”  Lots of wealth and property that we leave behind for charity is definitely our Legacy. But, then, not many of us are in a position to do that. The noble deeds  we do when we are alive -  our selfless service to society – is surely counted as our Legacy. I, often, think about my relentless blogging, publications and other work towards young kids and quietly tell myself, “Hey, that will be your Legacy.” Feels good? Oh, yes… It does. I am a human after all, you see… Even in our so-called ‘noble, selfless deeds’, we do conceal some amount of our selfishness… Well, at least, I do, Sir. And, be that as it may… I would like to mention here a very thoughtful, noble and progressive deed my friend Hitesh Rupani and his family chose to do, two days ago, when ...