Gerald D'Cunha

  “Your talent is God’s gift to you. What you do with it, is your gift to God.” Leo Buscaglia   R ecently, when I had been to my hometown (to attend my younger brother Harry’s funeral), I was happy to meet Alwyn, one of my schoolmates, after almost five decades! It was just after I had spoken a few words in my eulogy for Harry. This friend of mine introduced me to his young daughter, who seemed extremely shy and overwhelmed by things around her. I could easily empathize with her, because I was exactly like her when I was of her age… feeling caged and tongue-tied! So, without being asked to do it, I was making her feel comfortable and reassure herself: ‘It’s okay’… ‘It’s okay’! Three days earlier, on the night of the funeral, when a few close family members and friends had gathered at Harry’s place, Kenneth, Harry’s son, brought his close friend, Roel, to introduce me to him. We quickly got connected, as our interests matched. Roel loved writing short stories, which h...

B abies, pets and plants… What can be common among these? I think, they all can be our best stress-busters ! Well, I do not have little babies at home nor I have pets and plants. Still, I know they can be our great stress-busters…. When I was a little boy, back in our village, a couple of dogs, cats, chickens, cows, buffaloes, even pigs (in Christian homes) was not only a common sight, but also was mandatory… Plants and trees, by default, grew in every garden or backyard… and, Babies? All that was we did not have around was: the fantastic technology, like our mobile cameras to capture the amazing stories and the internet and social media to showcase those images and memories… But, babies, pets and plants… yes, they always warmed our hearts and melted down our stress. Yesterday, during our PD session, I had shown a scene from the movie, ‘Taare Zameen Par’. Ishaan’s teacher, Nikumbh Sir (Aamir Khan) has a visitor in his hostel room – Ishaan’s...

Pic.: Tanvi Jeurkar S even-year-old Aniket is fantastic… Naturally confident, exuberant… Pleasant to be with, adorable… I can go on and on… But, then, he is restless… like a rat! Well, by now, a person like me – a fifty-seven-year-old teacher/trainer knows that’s Aniket’s excess energy…  It is difficult to contain it… So, when he comes to our Kiddos’ PD sessions, he brings it out by not sitting at one place… or not doing one thing at one time… He is there everywhere… sometimes, over the benches, sometimes under them… Yes, if I can make Aniket sit at one place and pay attention, that would be a great feat – that’s what his young parents jokingly say – and, he deserves a certificate for that… And, I, too! From the day one, I tried to cajole Aniket… in ten different ways – to be less restless. “Beta , if you sit at one place and pay attention, I will give you a special prize on the day of our certificate, ok?” “Ok sir; but, first tell me what is t...