Gerald D'Cunha

“When admiring other people’s gardens, don’t forget to tend to your own flowers.” Sanober Khan   M y wife had just returned home, late last evening, after making a presentation. One of her seniors, who she always admired, had done the major part of the presentation. “She is too good,” my wife said as she walked into the house, “I wish I could do presentations like her.” I had just finished watching the following video from AGT (America’s Got Talent) … and I had watched it, back-to-back, thrice…  T he goose bumps were still there on my body… The spell hadn’t left me, yet… Inspired, I had, instantaneously, decided to create a blog around it…The quote had been already typed: “When admiring other people’s gardens, don’t forget to tend to your own flowers.” Sanober Khan   “Come here,” I called my wife, “read this.” You see, even in my wildest dreams, I will not be able to sing in my own house, leave alone like Putri Ariani, and leave alone on a gigantic s...

“When you’re angry and frustrated, what comes out? Whatever it is, it’s a good indication of what you’re made of.” H. Jackson Brown C urry leaves – we called them ‘Bevu soppu’ in Kannada – went in every dish prepared in our li’l South-Indian village, Mangalore. Well, almost in every dish! So, just as each house had a Tulsi plant in the front yard, the back yard of every house in our village had a curry leaves plant. Soon, the plant would grow up into quite a big tree. I remember having one in our own back yard. It had grown huge. Some from the neighbourhood, who did not have a curry leaves plant at home, would come to our house. And we gladly and generously let them take away whatever quantity they wished to take. Each one took almost a branch! But, that’s how it was… Giving away a branch of the curry leaves plant was believed to be a ‘good karma’. So, when the beneficiary of this good karma dropped a few curry leaves while cooking, the aroma invariably reached o...

“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...

Pic.: Bhupen Kalyani L ast evening, Vikas, one of the participants of our on-going Public-speaking course, told us a beautiful story. O nce, in a forest, there lived a crow. He had no worries or complaints and was fully content in life. “I am the happiest bird in this forest,” he kept reminding himself. And, then, one day, the crow saw a swan. “She is so white and beautiful; and I am so black and ugly,” the crow was now lamenting. With his saddened heart, he said to the swan, “You have been blessed with such whiteness, beauty and grace, that you must be the happiest bird in this forest.” “My friend, that’s how I would think for a long time;” the swan responded, “Then, one day, I saw a beautiful parrot, and everything changed inside me. The parrot had two colors; he was gifted to speak; humans loved to take him home and raise him like one of their own… So, I think, it is not me, but the parrot who is the happiest bird in this forest.” The cro w, thus...

On the night of this Christmas, I had a strange dream. In the dream, I saw myself in a party. There were about thirty of us. There was music, dance, drinks, food and merriment. Everyone seemed to enjoy it, except me. Because my mind was caught in the web of comparison, that night. Like a video man's camera, my mind kept shifting its focus from one person to another in that room. And, suffered. "I can not dance like Ivan and Betty," my mind complained. "How, spontaneous, how graceful they are!" "Novel and Nora move around in the crowd with elan," my mind noted. "They look so confident." Brian sang and Stany played guitar. "Every one went ga ga over them; they can make even a passive crowd come to life." my mind reasoned. Lancy was the emcee. "Wow, what a vivacious man he is! He can tickle our funny bone, make us smile,laugh and even feel young. I can never do that," I was restless. "Look at these couples - Prem and Pri...