Gerald D'Cunha

  “Happiness, not in another place, but this place… not for another hour, but this hour.” Walt Whitman   A dear friend’s elderly father is presently in one of Mumbai’s reputed hospitals. My wife and I were quite concerned about the situation our friend had to go through. This friend of ours lived abroad and back home, here, the elderly father has been facing many health-related challenges. Our friend, who has been making frequent trips to India, is gracefully accepting her challenges. The family abroad and family here – she is torn between these two responsibilities of hers… Last noon, my wife and I had visited the hospital. Our friend, despite the two back-to-back surgeries performed on her 83-year-old father, seemed composed… “Anything we can do, please let’s know.” We say this to our near and dear ones in their testing times. But, how much can we really do to lighten their burdens? As I write this piece, my thoughts go to at least a dozen people who are close...

“There was a time I could see. And I have seen. Boys like these, younger than these, their arms torn out, their legs ripped off.  But, there is nothing like the sight... of an amputated spirit. There is no prosthetic for that. You think you're merely sending this splendid foot soldier...back home to Oregon with his tail between his legs, but I say you are... executing his soul !” - From Frank Slade’s monologue in ‘Scent of a Woman’ I n the movie, ‘Scent of a Woman’ (1992), Al Pacino plays the role of a retired Army officer – Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade. He has lost his vision while juggling with the grenades in one of the eccentric drunken-bouts while still serving in Army Barracks. On the other side, the 17-year-old Charlie Simms (played by Chris O’Donnell) is a student of Baird, an exclusive New England prep school. Most of his peers hail from affluent families while Charlie hails from a lower-middle class family and has made it to Baird ...