Gerald D'Cunha

Pic.: Shoba N. Krishnan “How glorious a greeting the sun gives the mountains!” -        John Muir T oday is the main day of Diwali and I haven’t, yet, sent a single greeting to anyone. But, I have already received ship-loads of them… They are still coming and will continue to come, maybe, for the next couple of days. But, if you ask me, “Who has sent you the Diwali greetings?” or “Do you remember any wordings?”  you will get only my blank stare! There is nothing ‘exclusive’ or ‘special’ about greetings we send or receive, anymore… They are mechanical, impersonal and bereft of true feelings – affection and care. Am I generalizing? No, I am not. To me, the biggest concern, today on this auspicious day of Diwali, is this: “Will my greetings be noticed at all? Or, will they pass like ships that pass in the night?” Well, on the upside, I have, suddenly, become ‘conscio...

Pic.: Vivek D'Cunha “E ver since I was born, there's been one person who has fed me, loved me, taken care of me and mostly guided me. It's you – my one-and-only granny!  And, today is your 80 th birthday…  Happy birthday Mai… I miss you loads. Come back soon. Much love. Muwahhhhh !” Well, the grandson, who is saying “I miss you… Come back soon” and who is blowing his ‘Muwahhhh’, is my 22-year-old nephew, Sherwin, who lives in Mangalore. You can see him in the picture with his dashing granny, my mom! She turns 80 today. She has gone to Kuwait, my bother Rony’s place, on a holiday. I called, a while ago, to wish her… and learnt that they were in church. So, I am yet to say to her, “Happy b’day mom.” This Post is for all my young nephews and nieces. When we, the five sons of our mom, were of the age of our nephews and nieces, our mom was young – in her early forties. She was energetic, optimistic, hardworking (back-breaking is...

Pic.: Anand Ashokan “Courtesy is the one coin you can never have too much of or be stingy with.” - John Wanamaker   A couple of days ago, Ekta, a dear student of mine, who presently pursues MBA through a reputed institution in Mumbai , had posted a picture: “She is holding ma hand, you see!” Ekta had given the caption, filled with pride and excitement... The present Union HRD-minister, Ms. Smriti Irani, had visited Ekta’s college. The picture captured the moment when Ms. Irani had held Ekta’s hand as she was stepping out of the car. “Ekta, please don’t wash that hand... yes, till you hold mine!  What say????” I sent my teaser to Ekta, indicating that it was a precious moment, and she had to cherish it for a long, long time. “Till you hold mine” was to convey that I, too, being Ms. Irani’s great admirer, would love to feel the fragrance of her hand, of course, via Ekta’s hand! “Hehe...Okay sir....not yet washed m comin sir...”...

My son had come for just two days from Pune (where he studies).  He had specially come to meet his grand-parents, who were to leave for Mangalore, this morning. So, as my wife’s parents were leaving for the airport, our son left for Pune. We had to bid farewell to both… our parents as well as our son! “Take care.”… “Have a safe journey.”… “We will call you, once you reach,”… this is for our parents. “Please call, once you reach,” this is to our son… And, all these things had to be conveyed through the warmth of our hugs. Hello, it is evening now… and, the warmth of our morning-hugs, I can still feel! We have already called our parents… and, they have reached safely… We did not wait for our son to call… We called him before he did. He, too, has reached safely… We miss them… There is this familiar vacuum… Hearts alone know what it is, how it is… and, why it is! Incidentally, today is the festive day of Diwali… Like ever...

Haresh was born and brought up here – in this very building where I have my classes. After his graduation, their family moved to another place. It must be about five to six years ago. He had completed his MBA and joined a multinational. So, he was too tied-up with his schedule to visit his old place.  Last week, Haresh happened to visit our building; and, on his way, he came to say ‘hello’ to me. I was delighted to see this young man, who now looked well-polished in the Corporate culture. More than me, it was Buzzo, our Society dog – who, too, was born, brought up and still lives here – who was thrilled to see Haresh. As Haresh was talking to me, Buzzo began to rub his golden body against Haresh; he kept wagging his tail with happiness... kept jumping… kept drawing Haresh’s attention and he wanted Haresh to reciprocate: “Honey how I missed you! I am sooo glad to see you! I really, really love you!” Buzzo said this all as Haresh showed his affection by caressing the ...

  Some days ago, a parent had come to me to enroll her young son in my class.  “Ma’am where is your son?” I asked her, “I wanted to talk to him.” “Sir, he doesn’t listen to me," the lady told me sounding a lot irritated.  She continued,"For the last one week, I have been asking him to come along with me; but, he is simply not bothered... Finally, I came today."  She declared, almost defeated, "I have given up on him!” I smiled and consoled the lady, “Don’t worry, ma’am... he will do well in life.” “I hope so,” the mother took her handkerchief to her welling eyes, “I am sorry sir.” Has the mother really ‘given up’ on her young rebel? No… Definitely not. Will the young rebel really ‘do well in life’? Oh yes! He will…  Who says so? I do. How am I so sure? Well, I am sure, because: every mom had, has and will have a rebel son or daughter! ...

On a hot summer noon, if you offer me a choice: “Pepsi or Coke?”, I would say, “Coke, anytime.” Now, you may shout, “Pepsi. Only Pepsi.” Well, before you get it wrong, let me clarify, here itself… that, I am not trying to promote Coke in my blog. Certainly, Coca-Cola Company doesn’t need my favour in this respect. I love Coke, because, I love the Coke stories… The legends of Coca-Cola! One of the legends around this drink is still alive: The secret formula. That, nobody knows what goes into making it other than the Coca leaves and the Kola nuts… No one knows what is that ‘magic something’ they add to taste it so romantic…  I was very small when I had first heard about this folklore. The mystery had captivated my imagination… and, ever since then, I had loved this drink just because I had loved the mystery, the secret, the suspense… “What is that ‘secret something’ they add to create the magic of Coca-Cola?” “What is the inv...