Gerald D'Cunha

  “It takes an earthquake to remind us, that we walk on the crust of an unfinished planet.” Charles Kuralt   L ast evening , while watching the disturbing images of devastation in Turkey, I remembered one of my dear friends. His sister’s entire family has been living in Turkey for nearly ten years, now. I was quite tensed as I messaged him… “Hope sister’s family is safe in Turkey.” “Mercifully, yes. The tremors haven’t touched Istanbul, yet,” my friend replied. That’s when I realized, that my friend’s statement carried a great irony of our existence… When natural disasters, like earthquakes, tsunamis, cyclones etc., strike, you and I are either caught in them, or spared. “God has been kind,” was my instant conclusion on reading my friend’s reply. But, at hindsight, a question kept haunting me – “Why has not God been kind to the ones caught in the disasters?”… “Why has He been so selective?” But, then, who am I to question God? N ot very far from the epicenter...

  “Extraordinary things are always hiding in places people never think to look.” Jodi Picoult   T his morning, while our teacher was guiding us through the meditative Tai Chi session (online), I suddenly became aware of my breath… my heart… my lungs… my spleen… my liver… and, my kidneys!  I am 63… I have been knowing about the role my breath and these organs played in my life. I have been writing about them – particularly the heart and breath – in my writings, so often. Still, this morning, when our Tai Chi teacher guided us to rub rigorously our palms, and place them gently over each of these important organs of our body –   heart, lungs, spleen, liver and kidneys… to feel their presence, to thank them profusely… to caress them with the smiling, loving and healing energy of the Mother Nature… yes, as I was doing it, this morning, with a striking awareness, I could see an overwhelming feeling in my being… Breath felt anew… Heart felt childlike… Spleen...

  “The tree leaves die in fire, and my people call it autumn.” Zufishan Rahman, Foxfire – A book of Poem   T his morning, I had called up a gentleman who lived in our neighbourhood. Some years ago, he was by my side when I needed it the most. What’s humbling was this: he had reached out to me even though I hadn’t asked him to! For last one week or so, his elderly father and 40-year-old younger brother are battling Covid in a hospital. Today, during the course of our discussion, I expressed my guilt on not being able to reach out to him when he needed it the most. His response was simple and sincere: “Please do not worry about it; it’s perfectly understandable. It’s been a privilege, that they are in a hospital.” While I was on this call, there was another person trying to call me. There were three missed-calls. So, I called back as soon as the call on hand had ended. This middle-aged woman, was calling to enquire about my and my family members' health… She enquired...

  “Dhuki jan ko dheeraj do Haare nahin woh kabhi   duhk se Tum nirbal ko raksha do Reh paaye nirbal sukh se Bhakti ko shakti do Bhakti ko shakti do.” (From the song ‘O Paalanhaare’ Film ‘Lagaan’)   I have watched the film ‘Lagaan’ many times over. I am watching it again, now; and I needn’t tell you why… ‘Lagaan’ is a story of resilience. It’s also a story of trust, faith, hope, integrity, teamwork, leadership and, above all, love. Human resolve – what is, commonly called ‘Determination - yes, this goes without saying. And, as Life is, the story is incomplete without betrayal and discrimination… and triumph of earnestness. The simple village folks of   Champaner are staring at a blank sky… Rains have cheated them… Drought has crushed them… They are unable to pull along… They are gripped with anxiety as they are unable to pay the harsh tax from their British masters…   They are praying… ‘O Paalanhaare, nirgun aur nyaare (2) Tumre bin hum...

  “Those hands are so strong, when life goes wrong, put your faith in the one pair of hands.” (From the song ‘One pair of hands’ by Carroll Roberson)   C arroll Roberson’s song, ‘One pair of hands’, is one of my favourite songs. Like millions of people do, I, too, listen to it to feel empowered by it… “Put your faith in the one pair of hands - which has formed the mountains, the seas, the Sun and the Moon… which has healed the sick, raised the dead and calmed the raging storms… Those hands are so strong, when life goes wrong, put your faith in the one pair of hands…” In other hands, when tough times storm our lives, and we feel overwhelmed by the turmoil, the song urges us to trust the hands of God and say - ‘Thy will be done’. The raging sea of Life calms down and peace comes to settle… when we trust ‘the one pair of hands’ and say – ‘Thy will be done’. But, I have experienced one important thing amidst this turmoil: ‘Thy will be done’ brings in peace ...

“Because of indifference, one dies before one actually dies.” Elie Wiesel M y last post was about why it is important for us – in times like this – to focus positively on things within our control. Aptly, I called it ‘on what is inside our doors’. What happens in the outside world – outside our doors – is beyond our control. Yes, we are concerned about them… Like when we see the heart-wrenching images of mass exodus of poor people… walking hundreds of miles toward their villages, holding their little babies and bags, in this scorching heat with no food, water or shelter… no money… no hope. Watching these images makes us numb… even guilty and ashamed when we eat our food and switch on our fans and air-conditioners… Some of us are unable to sleep and even feel uncomfortable when we close our bathroom doors! Are these not the same people, who till the other day, made our ‘Wheel’ roll? And, suddenly, the fear has taken them over, and the...

“If I were to say, 'God, why me?' about the bad things, then I should have said, 'God, why me?' about the good things that happened in my life.” Arthur Ashe V irat* belongs to an affluent family, which handles large construction and infrastructure projects. I had taught him when he was a F.Y. B. Com student. Ever since then, he has remained in touch with me. He was very fond of reading biographies of successful people. There was a humble and curious side to him, which would make him ask questions and learn from other people. ‘The other people’ – no matter where placed in life – were his open text-books to grow from… And, this was something, I had, always, admired about Virat, my student. This afternoon, Virat had proudly shared with me the images of one of the big projects his team had just completed successfully. I sent my appreciation and wished him and his team more success. I, also, asked him to drop by, one of these days. “I wish ...

O ne of the things I keep reinforcing in my mind and heart both is: this world has more good than bad. For every poisonous soul, there are nine virtuous out there. Despite our sinful nature, we are more aligned to God than to Satan… We all have the capability of committing big crimes – murder, loot and rape… yes, we all do. But, nine out of ten don’t fall to this level…. We don’t commit such crimes… Our personal values, social values, religious values, universal values… Yes, most of us are conscious of them… we are guided and saved by them… One out of ten – that one is one of us – falls. Fails… kills, roots and rapes. It has nothing to do with our religion. For, no religion encourages it... It’s simply a fall from Grace! Saudi Arabia, perhaps, has the most stringent punishment for committing crimes… I understand, they cut your hand and pluck your eyes if you kill, loot and rape... They hang you publicly. That’s the kind of punishment most of us cry...