Gerald D'Cunha

Last night, I couldn’t watch the full match – India V Sri Lanka finals in West Indies. India had to score 202; and, though it was a small score from Sri Lanka, the pitch and the tight bowling from Lankan bowlers had made the task tough for India. I watched the first ten overs, and, then, went off to sleep. What had happened finally, I learnt through my FB friends, this morning… when everyone was showering praises upon praises on M.S. Dhoni. Yes, that’s the time, I got curious and checked on YouTube as to what had really happened. My admiration for Dhoni grew  hundred notches higher, instantly! What a man… What a player… What a captain… What poise… What clarity… What a die-hard determination! How does this man maintain his cool, his clarity? How does he manage to hold his nerves when everything and anyone around him - the entire world, in deed – is on fire, unable to even breath, see or think? I am really amazed, awe-struck! Not...

The famous phrase ‘Udipi Hotels’ has come from the temple town of Udipi in the Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka. But, the dynamic men, who run these famous signature hotels all over the world, are not necessarily from Udipi. Nor are they from its cousin-city, Mangalore… No, not necessarily. You talk to these men and they will tell you that they come from the interior villages around Mangalore and Udipi… Yes, small, simple villages. Probe these men a little further, and you will be surprised as to how similar their stories are: almost all of them had begun from scratch. When they were small boys, someone – an Hotelier from Mumbai or similar big city – had picked them up from their villages and brought them to the big cities to serve water or clean tables. Lucky ones might start directly as waiters… but, rarely someone would start as a cashier… Leave alone as a manager. The small boys soon become big boys… they work so hard, so loyally and wit...

Most of us know that Amitabh Bachchan was rejected when he had tried to join All-India Radio. The reason given was: He did not possess the ‘right’ voice! We, also, know that till his movie Zanjeer happened, this actor – who has stayed there on top as a Super Star as no other actor in Bollywood history has – was not taken seriously by anyone… They declared him as a ‘misfit’ in every respect… Super-stardom was the remotest of all his dreams! Yes, like the legend of Amitabh Bachchan, his stories of rejection and rising from their ashes, have already become India’s folklore. There are many like him in the film Industry - actors, singers, directors, lyricists, music composers, dance directors, costume designers, cinematographers, sound designers… you name them, they are there. Yes, the ones who were branded and discarded as ‘misfits’! Anil Kapoor could not even clear the entrance exam for the Film Institute at Pune. He not ...

Some days ago, I watched the latest Mani Ratnam movie – ‘Raavan’. I did not like it at all. However, there is a line in the movie, which I liked immensely.  Abhishek Bachchan is Beera, a Robin Hood-like hero who has kidnapped the police officer’s beautiful wife ( Aishwarya Rai) to take revenge on him. The police officer mounts an offensive and pursues this Raavan. Beera is a dreaded criminal for the Establishment, but a cult hero for his tribal folks. He is brute, merciless and highly volatile. Yet, he has failed to intimidate his delicate captive. For fourteen days, in spite of all the hardships he has caused, Beera has not been able to intimidate her. That makes him mad… His head spins… ‘Chaka, chaka, chaka, chaka….’. He admires this beautiful, frail woman … her grace under pressure … and vents out his frustration to his brother, “How can you kill some one who is not afraid to die?” Perhaps, that was the reason why Raavan honored Sita’s modesty. In the movie, Beera has done e...

Often, I wonder: What it takes to keep faith in life, while things around us - our very life - seem crumbling? It is tough to be hopeful, tough to be optimistic when we are faced with terrible personal crisis. Bitterness and cynicism seem to be natural... We tend to give up. Almost a year has passed since the terror attack in Mumbai. The life in Mumbai is the classic example for the 'bounce-back spirit' needed to survive, and move on. It is the collective voice of humanity: "Let nothing bog us down; nothing!" Mr. Kanga, the General Manager of The Taj Hotels and Towers, was 40 when the terror strike took away from him his wife and two little sons... his entire family, that was. On the one side, you see your innocent family being destroyed; on the other hand, you , as the Captain of the ship, have to save others on board... What a dilemma! ... And just thinking about it, sends chills through my spine! That is the true call of duty... That is true faith in life... That i...