Gerald D'Cunha

  “Dhuki jan ko dheeraj do Haare nahin woh kabhi   duhk se Tum nirbal ko raksha do Reh paaye nirbal sukh se Bhakti ko shakti do Bhakti ko shakti do.” (From the song ‘O Paalanhaare’ Film ‘Lagaan’)   I have watched the film ‘Lagaan’ many times over. I am watching it again, now; and I needn’t tell you why… ‘Lagaan’ is a story of resilience. It’s also a story of trust, faith, hope, integrity, teamwork, leadership and, above all, love. Human resolve – what is, commonly called ‘Determination - yes, this goes without saying. And, as Life is, the story is incomplete without betrayal and discrimination… and triumph of earnestness. The simple village folks of   Champaner are staring at a blank sky… Rains have cheated them… Drought has crushed them… They are unable to pull along… They are gripped with anxiety as they are unable to pay the harsh tax from their British masters…   They are praying… ‘O Paalanhaare, nirgun aur nyaare (2) Tumre bin hum...

"Two men looked out from prison bars; one saw the mud, the other saw stars.” Dale Carnegie in ‘How to Stop Worrying and Start Living. A ttitude is, often, called ‘outlook’. Shall I say, it is “How we look outside?” Whatever that is and however you define it, in every situation we have the same two options: to see the brighter side or to see the darker one! This lockdown time is not something we have chosen for ourselves; it is something that has been forced upon us… yes, for our own good. So, it’s called ‘quarantine’ and not ‘imprisonment’. It’s like the ‘house arrest’… Right? Whatever… The point I want to make, today, is this: All of us are, presently, looking out from our ‘prison bars’… Some of us see the mud, and some of us see stars… What else is there to see? I have been teaching some of my students online ever since this lockdown started. My students, mercifully, are not the children of those migrant ...

I loved what our Chief Minister, Uddhav Thackeray, said in his message, yesterday. In his composed tone, he advised the citizens of his state, Maharashtra – and, particularly of this mega city of Mumbai – to focus on what we could do, in a positive manner, from inside our doors. For, that’s within our control. What’s outside our doors was outside our control… Yes, we all are concerned about the situation outside, today…   We all are anxious, worried and scared. Yes, we all are… and, it’s understandable. But, let’s be a little rational and ask: “Do we have control on things outside our doors? Can we really control them?” If not – and, it is not – why do we spend so much time and energy focusing on such things? Are we not losing our own power apart from our sleep? Are we not ruining others’ sleep and diminishing their power as well? Stephen covey illustrated this phenomenon through two circles. He named the inner circle as the circle ...

I do not like party politics… But, I do keep in touch with what is happening in and around our country as far as politics goes. I do not know about others, but, I speak for myself: I started liking a particular political party or a particular political leader by watching my dad. My initial political view was, therefore, shaped by my immediate influence. But, as I grew older, I began to examine my mental conditioning… how much of it was subjective and how much of it was objective. So, slowly, I saw myself stepping back and watch things around me… holding back my instinctive reactions… Stopped branding a particular political party as totally corrupt or totally clean… ditto for a particular political leader… I became more and more aware of the way I would be influenced by the media and its endless debates… I could see how my own close friends were found taking their extreme hardliner-stand… Even, today, I find my friends reacting strongly without realizing the truth ...

W hat is happening in Kashmir concerns me… The menace of terrorism concerns me… The attack on our soldiers in Uri and the consequent surgical strike by the Indian Army on terror camps across the Line of Control really concerns me… But, then, how much can I do about these events? Well, as an Indian, I can’t be indifferent and insensitive to matters concerning my county… I must read and listen to the news… I must wonder… feel anxious… fear and worry when times are bad… feel elated and jubilant when times are good… But, then, if I keep focusing on this area – which Stephen Covey famously called our ‘Circle of Concern’ - the Circle which is not within our immediate and direct control - Yes, what happens if we focus too much on such events and calamities (negative energy) is: we become more and more reactive people… and our Circle of Concern expands, while tour ‘Circle of our Influence’ – which contains those eve...

A   friend of mine has a favorite line, and he recites it in his chaste Marathi. I wish, I could reproduce it here with the same effect. Nevertheless, what he wants to convey through it is: ”Everyone wants Shivaji to be born… but, in someone-else’s home!” M ost of us are cribbers of the first order. We complain about everything and everyone, and we do it everywhere and everytime… Why something or someone is wrong, we are first to point out. Why can’t it be done this way or that way… Why can’t he do it this or do that… Yes, cribbing and complaining comes to us, so effortlessly! My friend puts these guys – the habitual cribbers – to a simple test… He asks them to come forward… take up the responsibility to lead and manage. If they are genuinely interested in the progress of the place – organization or community – if they are sincere, if their intentions are good, then, they will surely take it up. If not, they will give a hundred reasons why they ca...

Presently, there is terrible turmoil in Assam. The state is in a mess. Yes, I read the news reports… watch the endless stories and gory images on television… and, start reacting in my mind.  What is happening out there in Assam… I do not like. It disturbs me… But, what can I – an ordinary citizen from one corner of far-away Mumbai - do about it? It is just like watching on the television the horrifying images of the Twin-towers of New York City collapsing! It is just like watching the frightening scenes of tsunami or earthquakes somewhere out there in the world… It is just like watching the American fighters bombing the cities in Iraq or Afghanistan… It is just like watching the chilling sight of a gunman shooting down dozens of innocent children in a school… The mob goes on a rampage at Azad Maidan… The terrorists storm luxury hotels and hold the nation at ransom… A desperate young watchman sneaks,...