Gerald D'Cunha

  "Life doesn’t come with a manual; it comes with a mother." -      Unknown   T oday is the second death anniversary of my Mom. We called her ‘Mai’. The last two years or so, before Mom passed away, we saw the rapid decile of her health. She was unable to walk, talk, eat, or remember anything. But, through this ordeal, my elder brother Franklin, and his wife Merlyn, took exceptional care of Mom. Mom was 48 when our Dad (we called him ‘Baab’) died of a sudden heart attack. He was in his mid-fifties. We were five brothers. When Dad died, Franklin, the eldest of us, was 27, I was 25, Harry, the third of us was 23. Rony, the fourth and Vivek, the fifth -– they both were too young when Dad passed away. Imagine, our Mom’s situation… Her life had been full of struggle till then. Dad was a local mechanic, with his huge flaws -– excessive drinking and smoking. Mom endlessly guggled to make the two ends meet… Struggle continued till all her five boys could ...

  “People look for greatness only in the extraordinary and completely overlook the wonder of the ordinary.” Ann Tatlock Quotes   T his young man –- let me name him Sahil* –- is an MBA aspirant. He was expected to come to me for a ‘grooming’ session at 11, this morning. Sapna*, his mother, who was my student several years ago, had requested me to ‘polish’ her boy to a join a good business school. Grooming, polishing, finishing, and business schools -- I, often, find them a lot hyped up. “Why do you search for goodness outside, while it lies right inside you?” I ask parents and their young kids, “Why don’t you start with small things, which are right within your reach?” “Good evening Sahil. Hope, you will be there at 11, tomorrow morning. Please confirm,” I messaged the young MBA aspirant, last evening. As he did not respond to my message even after two hours, I forwarded the message to Sapna, asking her to check with Sahil. She instantly replied: “Good evening Sir. ...

  A fter nine years, I am reposting this Blog, today. I fondly remembered it yesterday. I am sure, the story will make your hearts smile… GURU, EK BAAT PUCHNA THA AAPSE... October 16, 2017 “Guru, kaise ho?” It is Shripad, checking about my well-being? “Mein teek hun chela… Tum kaise ho?” “Ek baat puchna tha, Guru…” “Puchlo chela…” This is how our typical conversation goes… S hripad Ragunathan came in my life the way Raghav (Nana Patekar) came in the life of Jay (John Abraham) in the heart-warming movie ---- ‘Taxi No 9211’! It was 2006, the start of academic year. Shripad was about to start his T.Y. B.Com. One morning, his mother called me up and said, “Sir, I want my son, Shripad, to join your class. Can my husband and I come and talk to you?” The next morning, Shripad’s parents came to meet me. I learnt, that Shripad was their only child and was a ‘differently-abled special-child.’… that, he was excellent in his self-confidence and speech, but had difficult...

  “The illiterate of the future are not those who can’t read or write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.” Alvin Toffler   O ne of my favourite songs is from the movie –- ‘The Greatest Showman’. The movie is a beautiful musical, in which each song is mesmerising, inspiring. But, the song I remember today, in the context of today’s blog, is –- ‘A million Dreams’. Here are a few lines… 'Cause every night I lie in bed The brightest colors fill my head A million dreams are keeping me awake’ Well, I remember this song, today, because, my head, too, is filled with a hundred little stories, even though they aren’t made of the brightest colours. Nevertheless, as the lyrics go, I, too, can sing: “They keep me awake.” In these ten days, when I did not share a single post, I could relate to the song… There were a hundred stories I wanted to share; but, strangely, I decided not to… “Gerry, are you there?” one of my ardent cheerleaders asked. “Yes, I a...

  “In prayer, it is better to have a heart without words, than words without a heart. ” ― John Bunyan   Y esterday was the last day of Ganeshotsav , the day of final visarjan . I had taken a day off and decided to rest -- do nothing of my routine things… no teaching, no writing, no cribbing… It may surprise you to see ‘cribbing’ in the list of my ‘routine things’… Yes Sir, even though I know gratitude is the best medicine for cribbing and complaining, I haven’t fully done with my deeply-rooted tendency to crib… Perhaps, I am not alone in this. And, perhaps, that’s why Bappa keeps returning to this manavlok, every year. This time, He even stayed for a day more, so that He would provide an extra day for a person like me to crib a little less, if not stop it completely… B appa’s blessings had reached our household, decades ago… More than fifty years ago, a family in our immediate neighbourhood was from GSB community. In our hometown (Mangalore) the GSB community...

  “I’ve wandered far away from God, Now I’m coming home; The paths of sin too long I’ve trod, Lord, I’m coming home.” (From the hymn ‘Lord, I am Coming Home’)   T wo days ago, Mrs. Vaz (We fondly called her Vaz aunty) passed away at 88. Vaz family was very close to my in-laws’ family when, years ago, they lived in the same building and the same entrance of one of the buildings in Anushakti Nagar (BARC Colony). Then, they shifted to their own house in a nearby private colony, where, I, too, as a bachelor, moved to live along with my younger brother, Harry. I got married and, my wife came to live in this house. For seven years, we were destined to be the neighbours of Vaz family, and I was destined to teach their only son, Joywin, soon after. Eventually, my wife and I moved to different places; but, we continued to stay in touch with Vaz family… Let me correct myself, here: My father-in-law considered Vaz aunty as his sister. Till he died, five years ago, he and Vaz a...

  “If you want to leave your footprints on the sands of time, do not drag your feet.” Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam   T hree of my favourite people – who I, always, admired -- and even idolised –- come before me, today. And, all three of them are no more now. Let me talk a bit about each one of them… R . K. Laxman, kept us all enthralled and inspired for long decades as a gifted cartoonist. Like millions of people in this country, I, too, would eagerly look forward to each morning to see his everyday political satire, and, yes, his famous ‘Common man’ saying so much without uttering a single word… What a genius R. K. Laxman was! The legend has it, that the famed ‘J. J. School of Art’ of Bombay rejected him as a student, saying, that he lacked talent. In other words, according to the selection panel, he wasn’t worthy to be a student of this ‘coveted’ institution. Ironically, today, you walk into this very college campus to witness a statue of this ‘rejected’ student’s fine...