Gerald D'Cunha

“I told her once I wasn’t good at anything… She told me survival is a talent.” ―  Susanna Kaysen I think, an important life-skill – let me call it ‘survival skill’ – every individual has to learn at a very young age is: cooking! Now, by ‘cooking’, I do not mean that one should be a fine Chef and must know how prepare a lavish spread. I only mean to say that one should learn to prepare some decent food for himself and for those who live with him… Many men – even some women - take some sort of pleasure in saying, “I don’t even know how to switch on the gas (stove).”… or, “I know only to boil water or eggs”… or, “I know only to make an omelet” etc. Someone never thought it was important to inculcate that ‘value’ in these men and women at a very young age… I said, ‘Value’! For many young boys and girls, circumstances make them learn the basic cooking – tea, coffee, snacks, rice, rotis, dal, vegetable or some non-veg dishes. Yes, when you are dr...

“My idea of superwoman is someone who scrubs her own floors.” — Bette Midler L et me not confuse you: This post is not about a ‘superwoman’, or, for that matter, not even about a ‘woman’… It is just about learning to do some of our own daily chores, early in life, and feel ‘strong’, ‘confident’, ‘independent’ and yes, ‘good’… about ourselves. Some days ago, I was a witness to an interesting discussion. A man was proudly telling us about the series of belts his teenager had achieved through rigorously attending Karate classes. The teenager was about the age 15. The father said, “Every kid, boy or a girl, must compulsorily learn some form of Martial Arts for self-defence and self-dependence.” “Who washes your 15-year-old Karate-kid’s undies?” the gentleman next to the father (obviously his good pal, who knew the household better than I did!) quipped… The mother did! As I told you, this Post is not about women, men, boys,...