Gerald D'Cunha

“Out of the sighs of one generation are kneaded the hopes of the next.” Machado de Assis T he world always belongs to the Generation Next… That’s why, it’s said – ‘Life Beckons’ … Meaning, ‘Life Calls’! One of the things, I have been ‘consciously’ trying to do, is to keep quiet and actively listen to my 27-year-old son as he speaks. It doesn’t mean, that I know nothing, or much less than him. It simply means, that the future no more belongs to my generation… I may live in a denial, I may suffer from my inflated ego… but, if I am honest enough, I would realize, that my time is over… and, it’s over to the Generation Next… A defeatist attitude? No, a realistic one, Sir! The child will always be the father of the Man… Remember writing your school essay? Most of us never understood what that saying meant. I think, we still do not have a clue! 2020 – on whose eve Amitabh Bachchan had tweeted urging us not to get too excited about as there was only ...

\“What if the kid you bullied at school, grew up, and turned out to be the only surgeon who could save your life?” ―  Lynette Mather A couple of years ago, when Danish* was a little boy, his mother was a worried soul. “Sir, my biggest worry is about Danish being too timid… He gets bullied; at times, beaten up by some of his playmates… but, he doesn’t give them back… He comes home and complains… I want him to be tough… be able to stand up to the bullies… Give them back.” This was when Danish was in class six and seven. Yesterday, he was in my office with his parents. He is all set to clear his tenth-standard boards and walk into a college. I was impressed when I saw Danish, yesterday… He sat before me and spoke very confidently… He was clear in his thoughts and displayed a mature body-language… Whatever happened to those fears and worries of Danish’s mother? She was a relived soul, and said to me, laughing at her ...

I am a massive fan of Michelle Obama. I have blogged about her, a couple of times, before, while she was the First Lady and lived in the White House. I have played the videos of her speeches, for our young boys and girls, so often, in our Public Speaking and Personality Development sessions. And, above all, her story – from a typical ordinary black girl, who lived in a crammed Chicago house with her hard-working and barely educated parents – yes, her story from ordinary to extra-ordinary is truly inspiring. I have always considered her to be a true icon for ordinary young boys and girls. I have always held her to be a fine role model for couples, who struggled with issues about their relationships and marriages, about raising their children and families, about parents, education and finances, about careers and friendships, and, above all, about ‘Success’ and ‘Happiness’ in life. Last evening, my wife and I were at the Crossword bookstore at Kemps Corner. Melv...

S everal years ago, when I was barely a few years into teaching, I was teaching a group of final-year B.Com students in the residence of one of those students. All boys were smart and fun-loving and they hailed from affluent Punjabi/Sindhi families. I was yet to become acquainted to the life-styles, culture, language and daily vocabulary… the ethos and even the routine slang that young boys – if not girls – of various communities in Mumbai used. I was a young man in mid twenties and the boys in this particular group, probably, were a couple of years younger than me. So, while teaching them, the boys would use a lot of colourful slang and swear words. The fact that I was young and open made it easy for them to take liberty, often. One night, when the young man, in whose house I was teaching, used a swear word (not referring to me, of course). I was in a foul mood, that night and I did not approve the boy’s reference to one’s sister in that swear world… “Do you know you ha...