Gerald D'Cunha

  “Ek baar maine commitment kar di, toh phir mein apne aap ki bhi nahin sunta.” Salman Bhai     O ne of my dear-old students, Sumeet, has been a die-hard fan of Salman Khan. He loves to flaunt his body, looks, clothes, style, speech and, almost, everything like Salman bhai … So, ever since bhai’s ‘Radhe’ was released on Eid day, amidst all the hilarious memes and reviews from all and sundry, Sumeet, the Salman bhakt, posted his latest bhaiwala selfie: Instantly, I saw the reaction from Prashant, one of Sumeet’s FB friends: “Bas kar bhai, ‘Radhe’ flop ho gayi’!   Knowing my dear-old student’s dear-old devotion to Salman bhai, I am sure, woh bas nahi karega, flop or super flop. Just as bhai famously declared – and repeats it in ‘Radhe’ - “Ek baar maine commitment kar di, toh phir mein apne aap ki bhi nahin sunta.” And, we may be fools… Salman is not. He has already made his bucks even before this movie was made. He has enough fans – call them ...

  “Ninety percent of people who lose weight, gain it back. It’s very sad!” Richard Simmons   T his Post is not on ‘How to Lose Weight’. I am still reading many, many Posts on this subject, and, still wondering how to dissolve some of my belly fat… Eat sensibly. Exercise moderately. Walk regularly. And, above all, be cheerful… The last bit should be placed first… I seriously think so. Cheerfulness is an antidote to anxiety and worry. Anxiety and worry add their own weight. They make the mind tensed…   So, in a tensed state of mind, we cannot expect to develop a light-weight body. Therefore, every crash diet, or aggressive exercise regimen, without accompanied by a cheerful state of mind, are only going to bring back our lost weight… A couple of days ago, I met this 44-year-old gentleman. He had put on quiet a load around his belly. “What is this?” I asked him, but rubbing my own belly! “It’s the weight of my worries,” the gentleman said concealing the ...

“Sustainable diet has no name.” -       Rutuja Diwekar A fter my health crisis, last year, I had been advised by my doctors – the Onco, the Nephro, the Uro and my surgeon – that I should see them every three months along with various reports… Yes, just to keep monitoring! For sixty years, I had never been hospitalized, ever.   Like everyone else around me, I had some health issues, now and then; but, I was never advised to be hospitalized. Though dad’s side, diabetes had been hereditary, I only remained a ‘borderline case’… So, it’s fine. My BP, considering my age, has been consistently ‘reasonable’. A mild pill has been prescribed… That’s about it. I do not drink or smoke… I do have a weakness for non-veg food and some sweets; but, I never over indulge in them… I do not party or have any erratic lifestyle or eating habits… Sleep has been quite sound and sufficient… So, a year ago, when a canc...

Pic.: Azriel D'Souza Y ears ago, when I had decided to do something about my poor English, one of the things I did – and found very effective – was telling a nice story in two tenses… the Present and the Past. Over the years, I have helped hundreds of people, who were earnest about improving their English, with the same method… Yes, write a nice story down in both the tenses… and, then, tell it to someone… I have come across this story in its several avatars… In the first avatar, there was Henry Ford 1,  the richest man on Earth of his times, having this kind of dialogue with a roadside florist… The story helps me remain firmly planted on the ground every time I am tempted to ‘push’ myself to achieve that elusive something called ‘Success’. Yes, which is a romantic fairy-tale we all go to bed with… THE FAIRY TALE OF SUCCESS PAST: O ne mid-morning, a famous business-tycoon saw a fisherman sorting his daily catch. Curious to know abo...

Pic.: Azriel D'Souza     “Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked… There is no reason not to follow your heart.” -        Steve Jobs I had first met Vasanta ma’am ( also known as Narayani ma'am) more than twelve years ago. She was the Head Mistress, then, of one of the well-known schools in the city. But, being an English teacher, essentially, she was fond of good books. We, at The Dawn Club, had a great collection of books. Vasanta ma’am had come in search of those books… I remember gifting Vasanta ma’am a couple of books written by me. She was impressed. “I have been nursing in me this dream of being a writer,” she told me, “Hope to start writing, soon.” We did not meet after that. Just a year ago, I had the privilege of meeting Vasanta ma’am, once again, in our Tai Chi class. “Do ...

Pic.: Internet “One must ask children and birds how cherries and strawberries taste.” - Johann W. Goethe T he youth of our housing society have planned night cricket (under-arm) for three days, starting from tonight They want all of us – the old and the young, the ladies and the gents… and the little-ones all – to take part in it…. Yes, just for the fun of it… Just to let our hair down on these three nights, at least… Life can be as serious, as grim as we want it to be. And, the same Life can be as fun-filled, as playful as we want it to be… Yes, I know that I haven’t held a cricket bat in my hand for over forty years now… I was 17 when I played some gully cricket, back in our village… So what? Yes, so what… These young-guns are telling me: “So what, sir… You can hold the bat now, at 57!” Sandeep, who works as a senior executive with an Insurance Major - and who has two lovely school-going kids - posted this on our community group, late la...

Pic.: Vincent D'Souza I believe, that, to speak about fear, anxiety, worry, guilt, regret, insecurity, sorrow, anger, hatred, jealousy, revenge - add to this list any number of, the so-called, negative feelings in life - yes, I think, to speak about any of these, you must first experience them. In other words, they must be ‘there’… as a reality in your life. That’s the one and only reason why I am able to write everyday on these feelings… They are very, very, very real to me… They dominate my consciousness… make me confused, make me scared, anxious, regretful, angry, sad… And, yes, yes, yes, I do not like their presence in me… What they do to me… Yes, yes, yes, I yearn my life to be free from them… I struggle, I grapple, I look up, throw my hands up and cry… “Oh No… Not again!” Or, simply, “OMG!” Writing about my problems – and the negative feelings that weigh me down every day – is my way of liberating myself from them… It is just like taking a nice shower…...