Gerald D'Cunha

“Listen. People start to heal the moment they feel heard.” – Cheryl Richardson “G ood Moring Sir. Thank you so much for all the emotional support you have given me each time… You have always given me the strength whenever I have felt low.” “Good Morning Disha*.   We all need support when we feel low… Nobody is an exception… I was just there, incidentally, as destiny would have it. Don’t become disheartened or bitter about any experiences along your way. Best wishes and love.” Late, the night before yesterday, Disha had called me seeking some help, and she had turned up, yesterday, early in the next morning, in my office to discuss her ‘problem’… What kind of emotional support Disha claims I have given her? What are the ‘Low feelings’ she was going through? The gravity of the problem is not the issue here. The issue is: we all go through problems in our daily life… the big problems and small problems; and, all of us are humans… we ...

“Touch has a memory.”  ―  John Keats L ast evening, my wife and I had been to the residence of one of my friends. His father has been bedridden for nearly five years with multiple health issues, including chronic kidney-failure. He doesn’t recognize people or remember events. Occasionally, for a fleeting moment, he does remember people and events… Then, that moment passes, and he slips, once again, into his world of dementia. I was lucky, last evening. My friend’s father recognized me and my wife. He held our hands and, through his touch, communicated a lot. During an hour or so, while we were at my friend’s place, I saw the same ‘touching’ scene: My friend held his father’s hand, even though the father was not in a state of recognizing what was happening around him. I saw the clasped hands closely… the touch… the gently-caressing fingers of both, the father and the son… just the way the lovers communicate in their intim...

L ike everyone around me, I, too, have an opinion on almost everything that happens around me… from crisis in Kashmir to the ongoing cash-crisis… from crisis in Syria to Donald Trump’s surprise – rather shocking – Presidential victory. Yes, from the most mundane to the most vital issues, everything seems to have the stamp of my opinion… Our newspaper vendor is one of the most enthusiastic and positive persons I have come across. I don’t think he reads the newspapers he supplies to hundreds of homes everyday… But, then, he is informed about the events around the world… if not world, at least our own country. This morning, I asked him about how he was coping-up with the current cash-crisis. I did not find even an iota of decline in his enthusiasm about life. When he learnt that I had difficulty using 2,000-rupee note, he was more than willing to offer me hundreds in exchange. “Any further help, please let me know sir,” he assured. These kinds of guys leave home, every morning,...

Pic.: Shankar Ramchandran T wo days ago, I watched the latest Hindi movie, ‘Kapoor & Sons’ with my wife. We both loved the movie… The story was simple and relate-able. Yes, as most of the viewers had done, we, too, laughed and cried as we watched the movie… The scene that moved me the most was the car accident. As many of my readers are yet to watch the movie, I wouldn’t tell, here, what happens in this car accident. To me, that scene was one of the brilliantly captured scenes of Hindi or any movies. There was no warning before the accident or any melodrama after it… Only this song in the background: “Saathi re thoda thehar jaa Abhi raastein kuch badal se jayenge O saathi re thoda thehar jaa Yeh paanv bhi ab sambhal se jayenge” I went numb while I was listening to this song … “Why do we make such a big deal about the other persons’ behavior – be it our spouses, sons, daughters, sons-in-law or daughters-in-law, uncles and aunts, nieces ...

Mike Tyson is completely a changed man! Yes, this once mean, mad and unpredictable man… Heartless Cannibal would be more appropriate! A couple of days back, I saw this picture of Tyson tightly hugging Evander Holyfield… When I saw the closed eyes and childlike smile on Tyson’s face, I called my wife and said, “Look at this… Can you believe this? Sixteen years ago, in the boxing ring at Las Vegas, they were locked in a boxing-hug – a blood-soaked, merciless and devastating one – and, this very man, Mike Tyson, had eaten off Holyfield’s ear!” Sixteen years looked like an eternity! Now, this hug evoked in me the softness of a baby cradle, the hope of God’s heaven… Where the Past, as they say, is just a history… the Future is an awe-filled mystery… and   the Present is an amazing gift as this baby-hug is… To come to terms with your bloody, reckless past… To be hopeful and trusting as a wonder-struck little-child about your future… and, ...

"Someone is waiting for you, somewhere," this man tells me. "He needs your goodness... your helping hand... your healing touch." Well, I know my fallible human state. I know how selfish I can be, at times. I know the kind of thoughts that dominate my mind... I know, how impatient and how harsh I act with my nearest and dearest ones, sometimes... In fact, most of the times. And still, here is this man - a man I look up to in my life - telling me that I am good... and someone out there - somewhere - is waiting for my goodness, my helping hand, my healing touch! Without an iota of arrogance, I did feel he was being sincere... that he was not trying to flatter me, give me a 'high'. My self-doubts did surface... I did feel for a while that I did not deserve such a fine compliment. But, within a few fleeting seconds, I was there savouring the power of this gentleman's words: "Someone is waiting for you, somewhere." Why am I writing these blog article...