Gerald D'Cunha

  “I raise my hands to the sky On my knees I pray I’m not afraid anymore I will walk through that door Walk, dance, rise Walk, dance, rise.” (From the album – ‘Break the Chain’)   E arly in the morning, two days ago, I saw a post from a member of one of our WhatsApp groups. He had shared a disturbing image of crematorium, scores of burning pyres. What was even more disturbing was the line he had added: ‘Modi hai toh mumkin hai!’ Instantly, another member, who has been a die-hard Modi- bhakt , retaliated… “It’s not collapse of   the system,” he shared a forward, “It’s collapse of the so-called seventy-year-old system.” I started shaking my head… Someone, who had some sense, quickly posted this one: “Protect yourself from Covid-19. “If BJP was capable, it wouldn’t be spreading in Madhya Pradesh. If Congress was capable, it wouldn’t be spreading in Chhattisgarh. If Shiv Sena was capable, it wouldn’t be spreading in Maharashtra. If Kejriwal was cap...

Pic.: Sherry Haridas I n my ninth-standard English text-book, there was a lesson on John F. Kennedy. And, that was the first time, I heard about the famous line from his inaugural speech: “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” Much later in life, when I came across the management jargon, ‘Being Proactive’, I thought of Kennedy’s famous words and realized, that when we all start blaming the country or the government for our miseries, we come about as  the worst lot to live in this country! Let me tell you this:  no matter how much I pay in taxes and no matter how much I am made to believe that the elected representatives of our country are callous, corrupt etc... I have refused to buy the argument that all our problems can be solved by the government we vote to power... True, the government has to be accountable... transparent, honest and committed. True, we expect our representatives to deliver what they pro...

I know a gentleman. Whenever I meet him, I enjoy asking him the routine question, “How’s life?” For, his answer - very typical of how he goes about his life – charges me: “Great! No complaints!” Imagine, if we start greeting each day with such an expression, and really, really mean it… how will our day be? “Life is great”!” is not just another statement… It is, indeed, the greatest ‘Thank-you’ we can ever say to God… “My life is blessed… Halleluiah!” Paulo Coelho has a famous line: “Every blessing ignored becomes a curse!” Now, let’s read it again… When our day starts, if we do not choose to see the blessings in our lives - scores of them… small ones and big ones - yes, if we ignore these blessings which abound all around in our lives, that very act of ignorance, that very choice we make not to acknowledge and feel grateful for our blessings – most certainly, becomes our curse! It is bound to rob us of our da...