Gerald D'Cunha

  “It’s not how much we give, but how much love we put into giving.” Mother Teresa   T wo days ago, a middle-aged man had come to my office on some work. He worked in a housing-society office. As he was talking to me, the man got a call, and from the discussion, I could make out, that it was from his young son… “Don’t hurry, I am telling you… Why can’t you wait till I come home in the evening?” this man was telling his son quite angrily. But, the son seemed adamant, and this man – the father – told his son, “Take from the dibba … But, don’t spend more.” “Any problem?” I asked the man, once the call ended. “For some days, my 18-year-old son has been asking money to buy a (pair of) jeans for this Diwali…” Then, the words got choked… “Children don’t understand their parents’ problems… I told him to use some loose cash his mother has saved in her dibba .” A re we in the midst of giving and receiving Diwali gifts to our near and dear ones? Is the shopping over, or sti...

I was talking to a very elderly woman, who I call aunty. I have always admired her for her grace and wit. Every Diwali, she would send to our place a small box containing homemade Diwali sweets and snacks. We always felt special warmth when we opened that box… Simplicity, sincerity, love and blessings always came packed in it…  Yesterday, when I met her, she was very apologetic… “I have not been keeping well for some months… I won’t’ be able to send you Diwali box this time,” she said, “This is my age of no choice, no voice!” I pulled aunty close to me and said, “Aunty, don’t bother about the sweet box… You did it for so many years… Now, you take some break. Wishes and prayers are enough… You give us yours and we give you ours.” “I feel bad,” aunty said, almost choked with emotions! Later, at noon, I had been to the station area to pick some simple Diwali gifts to ‘a couple of people’. I saw a white, posh, chauffeur-driven Audi. I was curious to se...

Pic.: Shoba N. Krishnan “How glorious a greeting the sun gives the mountains!” -        John Muir T oday is the main day of Diwali and I haven’t, yet, sent a single greeting to anyone. But, I have already received ship-loads of them… They are still coming and will continue to come, maybe, for the next couple of days. But, if you ask me, “Who has sent you the Diwali greetings?” or “Do you remember any wordings?”  you will get only my blank stare! There is nothing ‘exclusive’ or ‘special’ about greetings we send or receive, anymore… They are mechanical, impersonal and bereft of true feelings – affection and care. Am I generalizing? No, I am not. To me, the biggest concern, today on this auspicious day of Diwali, is this: “Will my greetings be noticed at all? Or, will they pass like ships that pass in the night?” Well, on the upside, I have, suddenly, become ‘conscio...