Gerald D'Cunha

“People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within." ― Elisabeth Kübler-Ross M y earliest memories of watching Imran Khan was sometime in 1980. I had just come to Mumbai from Mangalore. It was, also, the first time I was watching something on TV. Back home, in Mangalore, TV. hadn’t still arrived. Here, at a cousin’s house, there was a B & W TV, and, one day, while a cricket match (India-Pakistan) was being relayed, I happened to see Imran Khan for the first time on TV… He was so dashing, so full of allure, that I asked my cousin “What’s his name?” “He is Imran Khan,” my cousin said, “Girls go crazy over him!” Well, ever since then, even though, like all Indians, I, too, rooted for Indian team, as a player, I just went crazy over Imran Khan… Though I was not a ‘girl’! Yes, Imran K...

“Beauty is truth's smile when she beholds her own face in a perfect mirror.” - Rabindranath Tagore I n life, just as we tend to hear what we want to hear, we tend to see, too, what we want to see. This happens all the time, everywhere, for all of us. That’s the main reason why I get inspired to blog every day… on very mundane things, which mostly escape our attention. I call them the wayside flowers. Frankly, there is extraordinary beauty in these wild ordinary flowers… If only we pause to ‘see’ their extraordinary beauty! The innocence of little babies and pets, for example, needs our tender eyes to rejoice over. Similarly, the untimely death of a beloved one and the horrific devastation due to an earthquake or hurricane – yes, no matter how harrowing the experience may be - they need an equally awe-struck eyes to behold them. Likewise, cruelly and heartlessness around us can crush us… but, they do contain a sublime strength...

Pic.: Internet I was in tenth standard. In the vast corridors of our school, we had a huge glass fish-tank. It was really huge and housed verities of big and small fishes… beautiful ones. During our free time, spending time watching those fishes move inside the tank so gently… and, luring them to come and kiss our finger tips… was a great delight… But, then, many of us would spend a lot of time there for another reason… That glass tank, surprisingly, provided us with our own image… just as a mirror did. We would stand there, look at our own ‘lovely’ reflections… comb our hair, adjust our shirts… and, yes, kiss our own lips… and smile... Fishes must have wondered, “What a strange creatures are these… yes, as each one of us peeped inside their home! One day, during our English period, our teacher told us an interesting story. The story of someone called Narcissus. L egend has it that Narcissus was born with a stunning beauty. His mother was Leiriop...

Pic.: Malabika Ganguly “F rom where do you get such profound themes for your daily Blog?”  Some time back, a dear friend of mine had asked me. “From where do you get such amazing pictures for your random clicks?” I had replied without even blinking. My friend was taken aback and admitted to me: “I am amazed to see that there is so much there in the ‘thin air’ for each one of us – the writers, photographers, painters, poets, singers, music-composers and chefs… the dancers, choreographers, DJ’s, RJs and VJs… the designers, architects, scientists, thinkers, teachers, preachers and trainers… the consultants and counselors the inventors, sportsmen and businessmen, all… We just need to have eyes that ‘see’ and a heart that ‘feels’.” “And a mind that believes,” I added. A s so many of my friends share their random clicks on FB and WhatsApp, I share my random notes on my Blog and root it through FB. I love the beauty my friends’ wayside- clicks bea...

There is a beauty beyond this skin, There is a security beyond this wealth, There is a hope beyond this struggle… There is a life beyond this hope. I am   beautiful even in my sorrows, I am secure even in my bare existence, I am hopeful even when the tempests don’t cease… I ‘live’ even when my hopes let me down. Grace is my beauty, Acceptance is my security, Trust is my hope… And, zest is my Life.   GERALD D’CUNHA Pic.: Gloria Pinto

M ountains fascinate me… I find them stunningly beautiful, glorious! They inspire awe in my soul… romance in my heart… And cause goose bumps all over my body. But, that is when I observe the mountains Standing far, far away from them. Yes, the mountains look majestic only from a distance! People in my life are no different from the mountains. No matter how significant they are in my life, I need that distance To see, value and appreciate their beauty, their glory. I do not like to be intimidated by the mountains… And, when I try to get too close to them, I end up feeling intimidated… even threatened and hurt. I do not like to be intimidated by people in my life, either… Oh yes, they are so wonderful… They are so precious in my life! Still, still… I need that distance – That space – to feel and value... The warmth of their hearts… I have to come out of their embrace To realize how magical that moment was… Yes, only the dis...

A ll that I need to do is To watch the beauty of these wayside flowers… And move on. One day, I stopped and watched a wild marsh marigold… And, I envied the bees feasting on its nectar… “So sweet you are, so giving… so loving,” I said to the yellow beauty. The bees did not understand why I said what I said… They kept sucking the sweetness out of the golden girl’s heart… And, I kept telling her, “You are so sweet, so giving… and so loving.” I was a traveler… I should have moved on... Leaving the marigold and the bees behind to the wild wayside. But then, I had stopped to watch someone, Who, by now, was no more belonged to the wayside! The bees saw me, now, And understood what I was saying and why… “Get lost,” they buzzed with anger, “Do not rob us of our happiness.” I realized, I had to move on… “I know, you can be so sweet, so giving and loving, my dear, Only where you truly belong,” I said in my heart with a silent pain. “Come to ...