Gerald D'Cunha

  “Nobody cares how much you know,   until they know how much you care.” Theodore Roosevelt   I have been in the field of ‘education’ since the age of 17-18. That’s the time – when I was a F.Y. B.Com student, I had started teaching my friends the subject of Accountancy… Not because I wanted to earn some income (which was badly needed at home)… I was teaching for two reasons… One: It helped me feel good about what I was doing (It was helping me feel worthwhile, self-confident)… Two: I was helping my friends, who needed help in that subject… Was it not the ‘right thing to do’? The ‘right things’, which we choose to do in our daily lives, are seldom the things ‘agreed upon’ between us… In other words, they are not expected to be performed by us… They are performed by us, because, in the heart of our hearts, we know, that they are the ‘right things to do’… Those actions are more guided by our heart, the conscience… and our heads have no role to play there… L ...

  “Being a champion is all well and   good; but, you can’t eat a crown.” Althea Gibson   L ate last night, I received a message from Mrs. Geeta Kulkarni, who presently lives in Pune: “Hi Gerry, how are you? How’s Anima and your son? I had a long chat with Kamala Parthasarathy… She said, that she reads your blogs and loves them lots and lots. She is in USA with her daughter. She is 80-plus. She has asked your number, and I have given it to her.” It was 1980 June-July months. I had come to this big city in October of earlier year… My dad’s brother, who was a small man in BARC, was gracious enough to accommodate me as his own son (I went on to live with his family for seven long years after that). My heart was longing to be a teacher. But, I wasn’t qualified enough to take up a conventional lecturer’s job in a junior or degree college… My only qualification was, that I was hugely inspired by my own idol, my degree-college professor – Mr. B. S Raman… I wanted to...

  “The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation for goodness.” Dalai Lama   T here are a thousand rituals, which, as a Roman Catholic, I have followed all my life. Those of you, who do not know who Roman Catholics are, let me tell you this: They are not Romans… It only means, the Pope and our Religious HQ, are situated in Rome… Yes, it’s unbelievable to think, that the same Roman empire ruled over many countries, including Israel, while Jesus Christ was alive… Pontius Pilate, who ordered of Jesus’s nailing on the cross, was a Roman Governor… The soldiers, who brutally tortured Jesus, were Roman soldiers, the infamous ‘persecution’ of the first-century Christians was unleashed by Roman emperor, who had vowed to nip the Christianity in the bud… And, that’s why, when you see, how Rome, in time, became the epicenter of Christian faith and its followers came to be called ‘Roman Catholics’ – yes, it sounds stranger than fiction! I was trying to tell you, tha...

  “Tears are words that need to be written.” Paulo Coelho   A while ago, I happened to meet this woman, who asked me, “How’s your health?” “Good… No complaints,” I responded without even blinking. The woman smiled as though to tell: “You are right… After all, complain to whom?” All is seldom good in life… There are a thousand problems to complain about… But, then, who do you complain to? I find myself, particularly since last night, saying repeatedly this simple prayer: “Thank you Lord… Help me Lord… Sorry Lord.” The woman, who asked me, ‘How’s your health?”, I am sure, has several challenges in life, including her own health issues or of those near and dear to her. Still, she asked me, with all her sincerity, “How’s your health?” (She knew about my health crisis and major surgeries I had undergone seven years ago.) “Why me?”… This comes from sadness - our self-pity and blame… I have asked this enough number of times, and, now, stopped asking it… “Thy w...

  “There are, obviously, two educations: One should teach us how to make a living, and the other, how to live.” James T. Adama   I   see, both, respect for time and respect for food, are correlated. To go even further – many other things are correlated, too… There are these two young boys in my class. Their academic year is almost over. But, I have never been able to make them come ‘on time’, leave alone ‘before time’. I have used all possible motivational tricks in my arsenal… gentle words, harsh words, love and anger… No. Nothing has worked. Their favorite excuse for reaching late is - ‘stuck in the traffic’. First time, one can understand… But, every time ‘stuck in the traffic’? “Will they accept this reason at the airport? Will the airplane wait for Your Majesty?” “Will they accept this reason on the day of your Board exam? Will they wait for you, or give extra time to complete your paper?” “Will the surgeon and his team wait for you on the operati...

  “The best security is invisible.” Bruce Schneier   I n Feb., 1991, I was 32 and still single. Though I was at the peak of my career, and though I taught my students ‘Commerce’ subjects, I was poor in managing my own finances. I had started The Dawn Club barely two years earlier, and I spent my earnings gladly on activities, which others would chide as unprofitable and unwise… I still remember the face, though not the name,   of this particular T.Y. B. Com student of mine. One day, after the class, he approached me and pleaded: “Sir, I have just become a LIC agent… Please take a small policy to help me complete my minimum target.” The young boy made me buy this ‘Jeevan Dhara’ policy with an annual premium of Rs. 3,000. I had to pay it for 17 years. At the end of its term, I had the option to withdraw the ‘Give Amount’ (approx. 1,45,500) or opt for a monthly pension of Rs, 1,455 for my entire life. I opted for monthly pension… which came to a savings account I had...

  “A river cuts through rock not because of its power, but because of its persistence.” Jim Watkins   I love rivers… They are very, very inspiring. Whenever we see a deep, serene river, we, often, forget how, hundreds of miles away, they originate. Invariably, they originate as violent, fierce waterfalls somewhere in mighty mountains…   and, from there,   they flow down, making their way all through, till they join the oceans. If you try to stop them, they make new way to reach their destinations. But, river being a river, it has to flow constantly; it has to persist… It has to join the ocean… I love this story about every river. You and I – generations after generations – may come and go… while these rivers keep flowing. “D id you go for the Maha Kumbh at Prayagraj?”         No, I didn’t. But, several of my friends did. Almost all of them are back and have resumed their daily grind… What about the ‘change’? I mean...