Gerald D'Cunha

“I'm not always sincere. One can't be in this world, you know.”  ―  Greta Garbo T oday is Eid. While sending greetings to some of my Muslim friends, I became aware of the space from where my greetings came. Was I genuinely feeling for my friends or was I doing it mechanically just to be in their good books? I have no shame to admit this: many times, I wish on festivals, birthdays, anniversaries or some other achievements not because I genuinely feel for the person concerned… but, because, everybody else is doing it and I do not wish to be ‘misunderstood’ or in the ‘bad books’ of the person concerned… In other words, I just want to ‘please’! Well, not always though. Sometimes, many times! So, today, I paused before sending each Eid greetings and asked, “Where is it coming from?” “Am I genuinely feeling for the person?” “Am I rejoicing in his celebration?” “Are there some hidden strings attached to my greetin...

“There are those who give with joy and that joy is their reward. And there are those who give with pain and that pain is their baptism.” -        Kahlil Gibran ( in ‘The Prophet’) T wo days ago, I wanted to gift the copies of our 2 new books to my friend and neighbour, Tabassum. As their house was locked, I left the copies at my place and asked my wife to hand over the same to Tabassum. Meanwhile, I had called Tabassum to inform about it, which she missed. Late last night, she reverted to check why I had called. When she learnt about the reason, she exclaimed, “How sweet of you sir, I will collect the books from Anima (my wife) when I come to your place tomorrow with Sheer Khurma.” Tabassum’s family, being from the Bohra community, celebrates Eid festival a day in advance. So, today is their Eid… the day we get to relish the traditional delicacy, Sheer Khurma! I was to leave home early today. So,...