Gerald D'Cunha

  “In prayer, it is better to have a heart without words, than words without a heart. ” ― John Bunyan   Y esterday was the last day of Ganeshotsav , the day of final visarjan . I had taken a day off and decided to rest -- do nothing of my routine things… no teaching, no writing, no cribbing… It may surprise you to see ‘cribbing’ in the list of my ‘routine things’… Yes Sir, even though I know gratitude is the best medicine for cribbing and complaining, I haven’t fully done with my deeply-rooted tendency to crib… Perhaps, I am not alone in this. And, perhaps, that’s why Bappa keeps returning to this manavlok, every year. This time, He even stayed for a day more, so that He would provide an extra day for a person like me to crib a little less, if not stop it completely… B appa’s blessings had reached our household, decades ago… More than fifty years ago, a family in our immediate neighbourhood was from GSB community. In our hometown (Mangalore) the GSB community...

  “We must live together as brothers or perish together as fools.” Martin Luther King Jr. M ost of us have two faces: One reflects our inherent selves as gentle humans. The other reflects our superimposed selves as ‘politicians’. I think, this is true for all of us. It means, that I am no exception. In the heart of my hearts, I know everyone around me is just like me – a human being, my brother or sister, as we all are children of the same God. So, there is no difference at all between ‘them’ and ‘us’… What they eat, wear and pray to and what we eat, wear and pray to – yes, for the gentle soul in me, it never matters. My ideals spring from this space – It’s so beautiful… so Life-enriching! But, the moment I become a ‘politician’, I am compelled to walk around wearing the other face… the superimposed, dishonest, false face. I am compelled to hide my true feelings of love brotherhood… I am compelled to take hard stands… I am compelled to express my divisive and hateful word...