Gerald D'Cunha

Pic.: Chetna Shetty Y ears ago, when I had decided to do something about my poor English, one of the things I did – and found very effective – was telling a nice story in two tenses… the Present and the Past. Over the years, I have helped hundreds of people, who were earnest about improving their English, with the same method… Yes, write a nice story down in both the tenses… and, then, tell it to someone… I had first heard this story from an elderly Christian couple, some twenty-five years ago, in a Marriage Encounters programme my wife and I had attended…The story happily pops up every time my panic button goes up! BEWARE OF DOG  PAST: O nce, a Christian couple, Mr. and Mrs. Fernandes, came to live in a new housing society. Their flat was on the ground floor. Everyday, Mr. Fernandes  left for work early in the morning and came home late in the evening. His wife began to get bored being alone at home. There was another Christian family, D’Souza...

Pic.: Nisha Patel YOUR OUTER APPEARANCE GIVES YOU THE INNER CONFIDENCE - Dr. Alfa Lokhande (Business Management teaching professional) I n life, many things make you confident. Your appearance – how you look from outside  - is one of them. Your outer appearance gives you the inner confidence to face the world outside. It boosts you to deliver an impressive presentation. Selection of precise apparels and accessories motivates you and enhances your self-esteem. You should not get scared or feel shy to show your personality through your accessories. In addition to this, you should present a very positive demeanor. Let me share an incident… Being a Management faculty and a research enthusiast, I, once, participated at a research conference to present a research paper in one of the reputed Business Schools. I was dressed in a formal sari and had carried all the necessary gadgets required for the presentation. It was an embarrassing mome...

The more dependent we become on others, the less confident we become in life. For over two weeks now, I have been telling this to two of my F.Y. BMS students. “Depend less on me… Go home and find out the answers for yourself.” These two young-girls have joined some of the best colleges in the city. They have studied in the best schools, come from well-off families and are blessed with well-educated parents… Yet, when I teach them, I find them absolutely lacking in self-confidence in the subject I am teaching… Despite explaining the topic in several ways, and despite solving many exercises, they still come out with something so silly or stupid, if I can say so. As a teacher, I am not supposed to degrade anyone’s learning abilities… I should be exceptionally patient and encouraging, empowering. But, my experience, with students like these, is very simple: unless I first help them become self-reliant, self-trusting… unless I encourage them to take risks, mak...

An hour ago, a young girl – a twelfth-standard student of mine - was on line. She had ‘a doubt’ and she wanted me to help her... I did that over the phone. But, madam’s Pandora Box opened and doubts started popping out one after another… till I gently said to her this: “Madam, enough now. This way, you will go nowhere; in fact, I am doing more harm to you… I have taught you for two full years – in eleventh as well as twelfth – I have revised your chapters twice, held so many tests… and, still you seem to cling on to me. Stop that now… Trust in your abilities, take a few risks… and explore on your own. That’s the only way you can feel confident. In no other way, ma’am. Please do that, right away.” I hung the phone! Tomorrow will be the exam. I really do not know if she understood what I have said… There was a choice before me: to keep helping her with her doubts till her Pandora Box would be empty. But, just after three or four doubts, I stro...

                                      "Only the test of the fire makes fine steel." - Abraham Lincoln    S ome days back, at the end of one of my lectures, Maanvi, one of my students, asked me: “Sir, our exams will start tomorrow. Can you please tell us how to go about studying?” Maanvi was a very intelligent and hard-working girl. Honestly, she stood miles ahead of where I stood at her age. I was a very average student and, at that age, was never inspired to Succeed in life. I dreaded exams, looked around for ‘important questions’, easy guides and any short-cut methods of ‘getting through’ my exams. Excelling in them was a far away dream. That was not for a kid like me! Now, I stand on a Teacher’s pedestal. Often, when I go on my sermons-trip, I, suddenly, become aware of my own good-old day...