Gerald D'Cunha

  "Life doesn’t come with a manual; it comes with a mother." -      Unknown   T oday is the second death anniversary of my Mom. We called her ‘Mai’. The last two years or so, before Mom passed away, we saw the rapid decile of her health. She was unable to walk, talk, eat, or remember anything. But, through this ordeal, my elder brother Franklin, and his wife Merlyn, took exceptional care of Mom. Mom was 48 when our Dad (we called him ‘Baab’) died of a sudden heart attack. He was in his mid-fifties. We were five brothers. When Dad died, Franklin, the eldest of us, was 27, I was 25, Harry, the third of us was 23. Rony, the fourth and Vivek, the fifth -– they both were too young when Dad passed away. Imagine, our Mom’s situation… Her life had been full of struggle till then. Dad was a local mechanic, with his huge flaws -– excessive drinking and smoking. Mom endlessly guggled to make the two ends meet… Struggle continued till all her five boys could ...

“What separates privilege from entitlement is gratitude.” Brene Brown R ashi is 23-year-old. She has some health issues - some physical, some mental. She lost her father when she was writing her tenth-standard Board exams. But, she wrote, when asked to write about her strengths, “I can be emotionally strong.” In her short explanation, Rashi described, how, when her dad collapsed and died, everyone at home – her mother, brother, grandmother – broke down uncontrollably, she remained strong and   calmed down everyone around her. Similarly, Rashi wrote about what she was good at and loved to do the most – baking. “She makes excellent cakes,” says her mother with pride… Yet, Rashi’s mother is concerned about her 23-year-old daughter, because of the young one’s certain physical and mental health issues… “Sir, will she be able to communicate clearly and logically? Will she be independent, show self-motivation?”… Concerns like these. I have been helping Rashi for some days no...