Gerald D'Cunha

Pic.: Natrajan Ramsubramani A s I write this Post, I can hear continuous devotional songs. Just outside our window, there is a temple dedicated to Datta Guruji. They were cleaning and decorating it for a week almost. Sharp at 12 in the night, we heard crackers cheering the Guru’s jaynthi… the soft devotional songs began to be played right before the dawn… They are so soft and pleasant! In the night yesterday, I, also, saw a procession on the occasion of Eid-e-Milad… Prophet Mohammad’s birthday… And, here, inside our housing complex, we have lit up the whole complex with bright stars, lanterns, Christmas tree and the crib. Tomorrow, the children and the ladies will be celebrating Christmas… Out of the total 140 flats in our complex, hardly five of us are Christians, another five are Muslims, four are Sikhs… and the rest – 126 of us – are Hindus! Milind, one of our residents, shared on our society’s Whatsapp group, last night: “Amar, Akbar and Anthony is b...

Pic.: Divesh Shah “Humility is not thinking less of yourself…I t's thinking of yourself less.” C. S. Lewis C hristmas is barely a week away. All the pomp and glamour associated with this festival aside, one lesson Jesus has left for us… He taught us right as He was born… He is ‘King of all Kings’, I, as a Christian believe… He is the Son of God… the Messiah… The Salvador… God Himself. Now, all these are my beliefs as His follower, a Christian… But, then, what is there for me to learn from Jesus’ birth in the manger… amidst the cows? The day before His death, Jesus had held His last supper. But, just before the supper, He had surprised His twelve disciples by washing their feet… What lesson was that? Sometimes, when I think of these two episodes in the life of Jesus, I seriously think, I do not have to learn any more lessons in life… The lesson taught, through these two episodes, is enough to make me – and anyone else, for tha...

Pic.: Amrita Jeurkar S ome things about Christmas shall, eternally, remain childlike: The Christmas carols, the Santa, the Christmas Tree, the snow, the bells, the gifts, the mid-night mass, the Christmas-best attire, the party, the dance, the Christmas sweets and never to miss the lovely plum-cake… And those star-eyed kids… which means: ALL OF US! The Santa hasn’t grown any older ever since I met him when I was a little baby… Nor has the Christmas Tree… The carols make me dreamy even now as they did when I first heard them some fifty-six years ago… The sweets and plum-cake have not changed their taste… The mid-night mass was, is and will, always, be special… The baby Jesus shall, always, be born only there – in the humble crib… And, Christmas shall, for ever, be celebrated by all of us – irrespective of our faiths, age, class, color and status… So timeless this special season is… And, so, today, I wish to re-present the Post I...

Pic.:Neerja Panchal “O ne dollar and eighty-seven cents." This is how O. Henry's short story - 'THE GIFT OF MAGI' - begins. I am yet to come across a Christmas tale, as moving as this one. It's simply an ageless classic. Simply immortal! It is a story about the true spirit of gifting and sacrifice. It is about the silent strength of true love ... It is about trust, faith, simplicity and, above all, the true spirit of Christmas: the imitation of the Christ! It is, a true challenge ... for any one. Yes, whether you are a Christ's follower or not! This story can not be retold, here, the way the great author had done. Any attempt to do so - is like desecration of the Sacrament! So precious it is. Suffice this much: Only one day to go. Tomorrow would be Christmas. In a small apartment, Della counts her savings. It is one dollar and eighty-seven cents! All those pennies saved over the months, with small little sacrifices, with love, with the sole ...

Any thing that can bring some simple joy into our hearts… has been our religion. We worship what makes us happy! Whether I am a Christian or a Hindu, and whether I am a Muslim or a Sikh… that’s not the religion I am talking about… I am talking about a religion which brings simple joy into our hearts… very simple joy… A young couple from the interior North has come, lately, to live next door. Last night, our door-bell rang. The young-man said shyly, “Sir, my wife wants to see the Christmas-tree… She loves the way it is decorated.” My heart sank! There wasn’t a Christmas-tree at our place. “Come, please sit,” I made them comfortable, hiding my own discomfort. We spoke about the lovely things about the Christmas-tree, the Crib, the Star and the mid-night Mass (which, these days gets over before it is mid-night due to security regulations!)… The young-lady’s face lit up! She was new to our big city… The young-man asked me, if they could attend the mid-night Mass. ...

"One dollar and eighty-seven cents." This is how O. Henry's short story - 'THE GIFT OF MAGI' - begins. I am yet to come across a Christmas tale, as moving as this one. It's simply an ageless classic. Simply immortal! It is a story about the true spirit of gifting and sacrifice. It is about the silent strength of true love ... It is about trust, faith, simplicity and, above all, the true spirit of Christmas: the imitation of the Christ! It is, a true challenge ... for any one. Yes, whether you are a Christ's follower or not! This story can not be retold, here, the way the great author had done. Any attempt to do so - is like desecration of the Sacrament! So precious it is. Suffice this much: Only one day to go. Tomorrow would be Christmas. In a small apartment, Della counts her savings. It is one dollar and eighty-seven cents! All those pennies saved over the months, with small little sacrifices, with love, with the sole objective of making a Christmas pres...