Gerald D'Cunha

I f you do not know where Mangalapuram is, let me help you: it’s Mangalore, now called Mangaluru… Magala Uru , which, in Kannada means ‘Daughter’s place’. Anyway, friends from Kerala, always, called it - and they continue to call it - as ‘Mangalapuram’. We are immediate neighbours… a lot of spill-over! Mangalore is so full of Keralites… They run so many businesses - from hotels to recruitment agencies… They work in every sphere – in hospitals as doctors, nurses and technicians… in offices as mangers and clerks… in schools and colleges as students and teachers. St. Aloysius College, where I studied, had hundreds of Malayalee students and scores of teachers, both in school and college. They belonged to all communities – Hindu, Muslim and Christian. But, the amazing thing about them was: they spoke only one language – Malayalam. The language bound them so much, that their religious affiliation dissolved when it came to observing festivals like Onam, Eid and Christmas. It...

We never know our true potentials unless we are challenged by something beyond us… Mostly an unexpected crisis in life… We fight the best when we are driven to the wall… We try to earn the most, when shame of financial crunch doesn’t allow us to sleep… We learn the most when our ego and arrogance bring us to the isolation of emotional turmoil… We run the fastest when we run for our lives… We love the most when our loved ones are lost… Yes, something has to happen in our soul – some great churning, some emotional upheaval… something has to threaten us, shame us, mock us… humble us… Our best, always, lies dormant within our souls…  The best strength… The best talent… The most-earning capacity… The best-learning capacity… The best speed… The best loving, caring and giving heart… Each one of them needs to be tapped, awakened…  And, it, invariably, takes a massive crisis to do that… Yes, to awaken th...