Gerald D'Cunha

“The future has a way of arriving  unannounced.” George F. Will Y ears ago, during our Public-speaking sessions, Mr. T.R. Ramakrishnan, our senior-most instructor, would motivate young ones not to give up trying. He would emphatically tell them: “My dear young friends, some flowers, always, boom late; but, remember, they give the finest fragrance.” Sitting amongst our young ones, I would feel so optimistic about my own life… I had been a late bloomer myself. So, I knew how true that statement was! Soon, I wrote and published a small book by the title – ‘THE LATE BLOOMER’. It was loved by so many readers, both young and old alike. REFLECTION : In life, there is no need to be anxious about our growth or development, looking at people around us. All of us, here, are supposed to grow in our own gardens, and at our own time. And, yes, when we do, we all spread our own special fragrance in this world. Mr. Ramakrishnan, our Sir, would call that fragrance – ‘The Finest Fragr...

  “Maturity is not when we start speaking big things; It is when we start understanding small things.” Anonymous   F or quite some time, I have been getting a bit irritated with one of my junior-college students. The reasons can make you think how ‘silly’ I could be… to get irritated with this young man. Look at this one – the latest one. I had sent a message about today’s (8 a.m.) class to a group of students, including our young man. While all others in the group replied, “Yes Sir”, this young man, as usual, did not respond. I was concerned whether he had read my message or not (He had told me earlier, that he had deactivated the ‘blue-tick sign). So, before I went to bed, I sent one more message, “Beta , did you read my message?”… He instantly replied with a ‘Thumbs-up’! “What a busy man!” I grumbled aloud in irritation… “Who?” my wife asked me. I told her who it was, and why was I yelling – “What a busy man!” “Silly,” my wife tried to awaken me, “such a sma...

  “I take rejection as someone blowing a bugle in my ear to wake me up and get going, rather than retreat.” Sylvester Stallone   S teve Jobs, in his inspiring speech at the Stanford University’s graduation ceremony said, “You cannot connect the dots looking forward; we can only connect them looking backward.” He was talking about some of the lowest moments in his life – the times, when he felt rejected, defeated, betrayed and lost. He was encouraging the young graduates not to look for instant success in life… to believe in their dreams, pursue them and learn from all the painful moments – and, yes, look back at those ‘dots’ and connect them in order to move forward in life. That advise makes lots of sense to every aspiring soul on this planet. It’s priceless! Success seldom comes – and should not come - to any of us on a ready platter. Getting rejected ought to be a prerequisite for success. Rejection from others is the true test of our claim to success:   Ar...

  “Maturity comes not with age, but with acceptance  of responsibility. You are only young once;  but immaturity can last a life time.” Edwin Louis Cole   N irav* is a bright kid. Why did I call this 17-year-old, who has joined one of the ‘best’ Commerce colleges in South Mumbai, a ‘kid’? Well, the ‘kidhood’ – I mean the ‘childhood’ – as Edwin Louis Cole says has nothing to do with our age… Some of us stay ‘kids’ for our entire lifetime, you see! Poets and spiritual teachers sing praises about ‘being childlike’. Hope, we never hear it - ‘Being childish’! So, our smart kid from one of the ‘best colleges’ in South Mumbai, is not the one the poets and spiritual teachers sing praises about… He is ‘Childish’, plain lazy. Laidback! Am I making a big deal about it? Weren’t we all been there, done that? We are lying, if we say ‘No’! We all loved to sleep like logs when Sun was almost halfway to mid-noon. I am talking about the days when there weren’t any ga...

  “Growing old is mandatory. Growing up is optional.” Chili Davis   W hat would you call this: When my son was a little boy, I shouted and he shut his mouth; and, today, when he is a young man, he shouts and I shut my mouth? And, what would you call this: When, as a little boy, I screamed and woke up through my nightmares, my mom would put a holy rosary around my neck; today, at 62, when I still scream and wake up in my nightmares, I feel ashamed to talk about it? And, when that happens inside me, if my heart still feels the gentle comfort of my mom’s hands, even though, she is no more around me… Yes, what would you call it? D o we ever ‘grow up’ in life, or we simply claim we do? Or, as Chili Davis says, do we all ‘grow old’, by default, compulsorily, and choose to ‘grow up’ or not? I am confused, Sir! The child in me should never grow up, I feel. I don’t want to feel numb when there is a gentle touch, and, I don’t want to feel like a stone when the Sun goes...

  “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” Popular English proverb   N obody, in his senses, will ask God for tough times in life. The prayer to God will, always, be: ‘God, keep us away from tough times.” Even the Son of God went down on His knees and prayed, “My Father, if it’s possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me.” But, then, He, being an evolved human, concluded His heart-wrenching prayer at Gethsemane: “But, thy will be done, not mine.” In Life, tough times come to test us - to make us stronger, wiser and kinder human beings… That’s my steadfast belief. While everyone’s life has tough times, some of us have tougher times than the rest. I, mercifully, have belonged to the ‘rest’, so far! Thank you, God; thank you for the mercy! T he family of Shilpa*, my eleventh standard student, has been going through very tough times, of late. She, along with her parents and younger sister (7 th std.) had tested Covid-positive. Only her 3-year-o...

W hen we are in a position of power, we can scream angrily, suppress others with our caustic, sarcastic, angry words… and, yes, we can easily get away with it. But, the one place from where we cannot get away is: from our own ‘conscience’. But, what if our conscience is dead? When I said, ‘position of power’, I never meant the position of the Prime Minister or the Chief Justice of India or the Army General… I meant: as a parent of my children, as a teacher of my students, as the Principal of my school etc. Angry words and screaming, sure, get us the attention. We learnt it as little babies… Remember the old saying: “The wheel that squeaks the loudest is the one that gets the grease”? I haven’t been in high power zones… My zones are the commonplace ones… I am a parent, a husband, a brother, an uncle, a teacher etc.… and my world revolves around it. But, in this limited zone itself, I am able to realize how much I ‘misuse’ my position ...

W hen we are in a position of power, we can scream angrily, suppress others with our caustic, sarcastic, angry words… and, yes, we can easily get away with it. But, the one place from where we cannot get away is: from our own ‘conscience’. But, what if our conscience is dead? When I said, ‘position of power’, I never meant the position of the Prime Minister or the Chief Justice of India or the Army General… I meant: as a parent of my children, as a teacher of my students, as the Principal of my school etc. Angry words and screaming, sure, get us the attention. We learnt it as little babies… Remember the old saying: “The wheel that squeaks the loudest is the one that gets the grease”? I haven’t been in high power zones… My zones are the commonplace ones… I am a parent, a husband, a brother, an uncle, a teacher etc.… and my world revolves around it. But, in this limited zone itself, I am able to realize how much I ‘misuse’ my position to have my way. But...

I have not done any research on it… But, I am sure, more than ninety percent of songs in all the countries and languages of this world are about romantic Love. Yes, all happy, sad and insane songs are written and sung based on romantic Love… either as a winner or a loser in it! It means the feeling of romantic love is universal! The story of a boy and a girl falling in love is a very, very old story about growing up in Life. It dates back to the earliest days of civilized society. All of us have gone through this phase of ‘attraction’. Some of us, who have been conservative and cautious, chose not to commit…while some of us, who have been more open and bold, chose to commit. So, whenever I see around me a young boy and girl in love, I feel happy for them. Many of them are able to handle it sensibly and many mess it up. Yes, it is not easy, at that age, to have a smooth ride, all the way… The road is, often, bumpy… A lot of heat gets generated along the way. ...