Gerald D'Cunha

  “Be such a student that when you go to a teacher, the teacher will feel himself like a student.” Mehmet Murat ildan   I t’s almost two months since I posted my last Blog. The last Blog was on the eve of my birthday. It was titled after Jim Reeves' popular song – ‘Where Do I go from Here’. Frankly, this question keeps haunting me for long... “Should I keep doing what I have been doing for years?”… Or, “Is there something new, something fresh I need to do through my years ahead?”… “If teaching, training and writing – including blogging – have given me the maximum joy in life, will they still continue to give me the same kind of joy and fulfilment?” … And this: "Am I doing all these things just to keep my kitchen fire burning – that is, for my survival?” Yes, these questions ceaselessly haunt me… I think, they should. Else, ‘freshness’ doesn’t come in life… Else, Life becomes a  drudgery… a survival game. Thus, even though my head and heart did come acr...

  “Nothing ever goes away until it teaches us what we need to know.” Pema Chodron I n my hometown, Mangalore, there is a famous bakery  by the name ‘Cochin Bakery’. They have several outlets in the city and some fantastic delicacies. The one many people like is their ghee cake… It’s a simple, delicious cake that goes extremely well with the evening tea… I simply love it. So, while returning from Mangalore, some days ago, I had picked a couple of packets of this favourite cake of mine just to pass on to some close ones. One of my dear ones sent this message to me the next day: “I had the ghee cake you had sent over yesterday and I have absolutely loved it. Thank you for sending it over. I just have one request: if it’s possible for you, and if you do have another, could you please send it over , too? I did not get to eat much of the previous cake that was sent.” And, I absolutely love this kind of honesty and childlike attitude in life. The dear one, who sent this...

  “It’s not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are.” Roy Disney   S ometime before the pandemic broke out, my wife and I had been for our annual Tai Chi camp at Lonavala. As it happens at every such camp, this time, too, we got to meet and become friends with many wonderful fellow-learners. One such person was a senior faculty in an engineering college in Mumbai. During the course of our discussion, she narrated to some of us an incident in her teaching career. Apparently, one of the students of our new friend was caught indulging in unfair practice during his exams. Consequently, he was failed. Being the faculty directly in charge, one night, she found at her door the student accompanied by his father. It seemed, that the family was well-placed financially and fairly educated, too. The house visit was to persuade the faculty-in-charge to ‘do something’ and promote the young man. But, our professor-friend, tried her best to explain to the son and t...

“How can people trust the harvest unless they see it sown?” -       Lifehack s.io I had left home this morning, as usual at 7.30. I was carrying my office bag and the breakfast and lunch packed and given by my wife. I got inside a waiting auto. The young auto driver was a new face to me. When he stopped the auto near my classes, I suddenly realized that I had not carried any money with me… For a moment, my face fell, and I meekly whispered to the young auto driver that I had not carried any money with me… For a while, he became silent. As my class was to start at 8, students had not come yet… I thought of ringing a neighbor’s door-bell… but, hesitated a bit… It was too early to disturb them, I thought… By then, the auto driver said, “Sir, koi baat nahi; hota hai kabhi kabhi.” I was feeling bad… “Aap ka pehla baada hai; accha nahin lagta hai.” “Koi baat nahin Sir ,” he calmed me down, “Aur kabhi loonga.” But, I wasn’t at ...

“N ine tenths of education is encouragement,” said Anatole France. Just read those words again! We knew Lobo family for many years. They belonged to the same Parish (the local Catholic Church) as we did, and they hailed from the same native village as we did – Mangalore. There was one more common factor between Mr. Lobo and me: we both came here from utterly humble roots as migrants. Yes, Mr. Lobo, who expired a month ago, at the age of 71, served in Air Force and retired as a Director in BPCL… has left behind a much greater legacy of encouragement and mentor-ship than a person like me can ever think of… It was evident, today, when I was listening to several people who were fondly and gratefully remembering Mr. Lobo’s gentle and generous encouragement in their lives when they needed it the most… Today* was the Month’s Mind Mass of Mr. Lobo, which my wife and I had attended. Lobos lived a full life, with no regrets or baggage whatsoever… Theirs...

Pic.: Mini Milind Y ears ago, when I had decided to do something about my poor English, one of the things I did – and found it very useful – was telling a nice story in two tenses… Past and Present. Over the years, I have helped hundreds of people who were earnest to improve their English with the same method… Yes, write a nice story down in both the tenses… and tell it to someone. I like this little story immensely. It helps me remain aligned to some of the values I believe in. When everyone around keeps telling me, certain people cannot be trusted, when everyone around me keeps telling me to make a ‘fast kill’… I remember this story… My sweet first-standard teacher had dramatized it as a musical… Incidentally, my teacher’s name was Mrs. Satyawati… The truthful one. THE TIGER AND THE COW PAST: O ne late evening, a cow was returning to her home through a jungle. A hungry tiger came to attack her. She was the ideal dinner for the hu...

Pic.: Anima D'Cunha Y ears ago, when I had decided to do something about my poor English, one of the things I did – and found very effective – was telling a nice story in two tenses… the Present and the Past. Over the years, I have helped hundreds of people, who were earnest about improving their English, with the same method… Yes, write a nice story down in both the tenses… and, then, tell it to someone! Every time the thoughts of my future uncertainty come to haunt me, this childhood fable comes to my rescue… YOU TAKE HOME ONLY WHAT YOUR ‘DESERVE’ PAST: I n a village, there lived a milkman. Every day, he walked near and far to sell milk in the village. With whatever money he earned, he was content and lived a simple yet happy life with his family. And, as years passed by, a thought began to trouble him: “I am getting older and tired… I won’t be able to go around the village like this for long… The family needs are increasing… my daughters...