Gerald D'Cunha

  “The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today.” ― H. Jackson Brown Jr.     W hile Jesus was dying on the cross, in pain and sorrow, the High Priests, the teachers of religious (Jewish) law, mocked him.   “He saved others; but, he can’t save himself… Didn’t he claim, that he was the king of Israel? Let him come down from the cross right now, and we will believe in him…   He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’    S o, let his God rescue him now, if his God wants him.” As a Christian, I am told in the Gospels, that Jesus knew of his painful end, and he, also, had foretold about his resurrection after three days of his crucifixion. Because, I was born in Christian faith, it’s easy for me to accept that fact.  But, if I am not a believer in Christ, perhaps, I might scoff him saying the same thing that the High Priests did: “Hello, you saved others; why can’t you save yourself now… If you are the Son of God, come down from the cros...

B efore Jaya Bachchan assumed her husband’s famous surname, she was already a superstar. Her husband was nowhere near the superstardom. But, once she married to him, she chose to focus on her family… “That’s where I am needed now,” she said, “That’s where I belong.” Well, those were not the days of Twitter and social media. Even TV was just a toddler in India. So, mostly through some film magazines and the word of mouth, we all came to know that our favourite ‘Guddi’ would not be seen in the films anymore… at least, not in the near future. It took some eighteen long years for Jaya Bachchan to come back to films. By now, of course, she couldn’t be a heroine. But, she acted in a movie here and a movie there… M eanwhile, her famous husband was going through his own inner churning… Following Mrs. Indira Gandhi’s assassination, her son, Rajiv Gandhi, had become our Prime Minister. It was an emotional moment for Amitabh Bachchan. Who was a close friend ...

Pic.: Anima D'Cunha T wo weeks ago, my wife and I had been to Kashmir on a holiday. On one side of the gigantic Dal lake stood the magnificent Hazratbal shrine. We had a strong desire in our hearts to visit this shrine… Once there, we spent a great deal of time being just there… As women were not allowed to enter the main shrine, I walked in alone covering my head, barefooted… All that I did inside was to stand in silence… I had no prayer to pray… no idol to worship… no Holy book to recite from… All that I did was to stand there and watch my heaviness fall around me… and tears roll down my cheeks… I came out deeply moved, and humbled… and, yes, feeling immensely peaceful… Allah is my God, too. Isn’t He? T his morning, when 16-year-old Shreeshay was on dais to speak, I casually asked him what his name meant. He said, that it was one of the many names of Lord Ganesh. I asked Shreeshay  if he was deeply religious. “I only have God’s name, sir… but, my fai...

Pic.: Nirmala Sundar E arly this morning, I called up my younger brother, Vivek, and expressed my concern. Rather, I cautioned him! Vivek is a very affectionate, generous and soft-spoken soul and surrounded by loads of friends, mostly non-Christians. He is married to Gauri, a Maharashtrian Hindu, and they had both Church and Temple marriage ceremonies. Ditto was the case of Melvin, my wife’s brother, and his wife Amrita, a Maharashrtian Hindu. They celebrate at home both Hindu and Christian festivals… and the beauty is: for them, their parents and children, the religion doesn't matter at all… It has never been an issue for so many years! Honestly, I find my two sisters-in-law, both Gauri (Vivek’s wife) and Amrita (Melivn’s wife) to be the most wonderful, the most loving women in this world. All our relatives love them… and, Vivek and Melvin, both, have been accepted and loved immensely by all relatives of Gauri and Amrita… Their respective chi...