Gerald D'Cunha

“Many think that assigning blame settles matters.” Mason Cooley A s a human race, we have been preloaded with this one unique trait: We all want, desperately, someone to place our blame on! I mean, the moment we face a problem, we instantaneously look for someone who is responsible for that problem… and, once we find one - there we go after him/her/them – all hammer and tongs! Whether we accept it or not, we strangely believe, that when we find who is responsible for our problems, our problems go… Like this Corona! Who is responsible for it, by the way? China… Muslims… Meat-eaters… Fake News, Godi Media… Presstitutes… Government… Opposition… Foreign nationals… Migrating labourers…   Nehru… Gandhi Family… Vadras… Dharavi… Yogi… Modi… Trump… Doctors, Nurses, Delivery Boys… Currency Notes ... Who? Just imagine this: how relieved the mind feels the moment we place the blame on one of these… and, vehemently remain convinced about...

A round 12 in the noon, today, I received a call from my brother, Rony. He has come home (Mangalore) on a short vacation from Kuwait where he works. My parents had five children – all sons, and they were called Pandavas! I was the second son, Bheem (Not as strong as the mighty son of Pandu, though!). Rony was the fourth son, Nakul. Pandu, our dad, is no more… Mom, at 84, is still around (She lives with my eldest brother, Fanky’s family); and, she is very alert and alive as she always used to be. Her physical health is a lot better than many other mothers of her age (Touch wood!). She is extremely pious; and, she is very fond of her immediate and extended families. Whenever I call her from Mumbai to enquire about her, before I ask, “How are you, mom”, I end up hearing from the other end, “Koso asai putha ”…. Translated from Konkani, “How are you, son?” Though our mom is fond of all her five sons, she, always, had an extra soft-corner for me and Rony. I th...

“We didn’t have generation gap; we had a generation Grand Canyon!” - Mary Brave Bird : I called up a friend of mine, yesterday, to wish him on his 49 th birthday. This friend loves to enjoy life to the fullest – good food, good drinks, good friends and all that keeps him young. “So, 49 Not Out?” I teased him, “my wife and I will be watching ‘102 Not Out’, today.” “That must be a good movie,” my friend exclaimed, “Do tell me how you liked it.” “Did you watch any movie, lately?” I asked my friend. “Don’t ask me that!” my friend quickly said. “Why, what happened?” I was curious. “My kids ‘forced’ me to take them to watch ‘Avengers: Infinity War’,” my friend said, “I slept through the entire movie!” I laughed loudly!   “For once I was convinced, that the generation gap actually exists,” my friend concluded. E xactly two years ago, one late night, my wife and I wanted to watch the Marathi blockbuster...