Gerald D'Cunha

  “Technology is a useful servant, but a dangerous master.” Christian Lous Lange (Noble Peace Laureate)     T his man lives in our housing complex. And, I have been seeing him leaving for his small, retail shop every morning and returning late in the evening. This morning, we bumped into each other on our way to our respective work places. “Good morning Sir,” I greeted him, and asked, “How old is your shop?” “Forty years,” he replied. “And, how old are you?” I asked with a smile. “Seventy-three,” he said with an equally clean smile. “Wow! You were 33 when you stared it; and, you have maintained your daily routine of leaving for the shop and returning?” “Yes, I come home in the afternoon for lunch... Rest for an hour and go back to work only to come home late in the evening.” “What were you doing, before you started this shop?” I asked. “I worked in Dubai for thirteen years,” he said, “I went to Dubai for work when I was 20.” “That makes a maratho...

“People don't choose their calling, it chooses them.” -  Richard Leider W hy do so many people run the Marathon? I have been asking this question for several years.  Yesterday was the 15 th edition of the Mumbai Marathon (Tata Mumbai Marathon). About 44,407 men and women – young and old – took part in it… And, why? Each one has his or her own reason. And, that reason, invariably, is compelling. No one runs the Marathon for a skin-deep reason… There is something very personal and bigger that calls a man and a woman to run the Marathon… A dear friend of mine, who lives in America, had posted a very vibrant picture of her after her Marathon participation in her state in America. She is in her forties and has college-going children. Last few years have been very traumatic for her with some major family problems. She had been sharing some of these problems with me and we were constantly in touch with each other. However, I did not hear from her f...

Pic.: Natrajan Ramsubrmani I generally get into the waiting auto right outside our Tai Chi classes. But, this Sunday, I decided to walk some distance – half a kilometer at least – and then take an auto. On my way, I bumped into Dhiren Shah – we call him Dhirenbhai. “How do you keep yourself like this Dhirenbhai,” I couldn’t resist asking him, “I know you for the last thirty years, you are 50, got two marriageable children… but, you haven’t put on a single centimeter around your waist… What is the secret, tell me.” I asked this moving my hands around my well-blown belly. “No secret sir,” Dhrienbhai chuckled, “For the past thirty years, I have been taking only the 11-number bus.”  “What?”  I asked surprised, “ The 11-number bus doesn’t ply through our area.” “It does,” Dhirenbhai showed me his two lean legs! Well, I know, in Dhirenbhai’s  Jain family, almost all men are lean and agile. It is a lot hereditary… But, that apart, there is a...