Gerald D'Cunha

“T here is no free lunch in life,” I told  Varun*, this morning. He had come to attend the Tax class (Direct Tax). Varun’s parents, who are both doctors, are my friends. Some months ago, when Varun had decided to change his stream from Engineering to Commerce, I was approached to do two things: 1. To provide a solid foundation to Varun in important Commerce subjects like Accountancy, Costing and Taxation so that he would be able to take off smoothly. 2. To motivate him to be a self-starter and develop a winning attitude. I have had wonderful experience over last two-three months. Varun has been very receptive and has not disappointed me. However, as a young boy, Varun is no different from his peers… He loves to chill out with his friends, play competitive football and video games, watch movies and attend late-night parties… Move around with friends, both boys and girls… invite them over for lunch and sleep-overs… And, importantly, bully his kid brother,...

O ne of my eleventh-standard students’ mother said to me, the other day, “Sir, my son needs ‘personal attention’.” “Ma’am, what is that?” I asked her. Well, she, perhaps, was not ready for that question. So, she managed to say this, “Sir, he is not comfortable in a large group… He is comfortable in a small group, say two to three students.” “Is a group of twelve students too large, ma’am?” I asked the mother. “Sir, I think so,” the mother asserted. I t is about three months since we started this group. The students in this group belong to some of the best commerce colleges in town and they, also, belong to fine families… educated, well-off and cultured. None of these students has any physical, mental or learning disability… They are all ‘normal’. But, there is only one disability: They are all casual… What is called, in their own lingo: ‘Cool’! I have been teaching them the way I have been teaching thousands of my students over almost thir...

Pic.: Uaha Prasadh W hile returning home, last night, I heard someone calling me from behind. . I looked back… It was one of my students’ mother. She just wanted to inform that her daughter had passed in the latest twelfth-standard Board exams. “Sir,* Prerna passed. Just wanted to tell you.” So relieved this mother looked while breaking the news that her daughter had just passed with 51 percent! The feeling of relief was palpable! The daughter, a head-strong, confident girl, was not at all interested in studies… She was their adopted daughter – only daughter. The father had given up. The mother was wrecked with worry about this rebellious girl. I had told the mother, many times, one thing: “Ma’am, Prerna is a confident girl… she has a strong head… All that will happen – and, we should really allow that to happen – is that she will discover, eventually, what she has to do in life, and she will do it… She will get her fair share of success in life.” ...

Pic.: Asha D'Souza M ore than half of the class was empty, last evening and this morning. And, my blood was boiling inside. “How can they behave so insensitively,” I was seething, “even after repeatedly reminding them not to miss.” Many of them were serial offenders… They would do exactly what they wanted to… bunk or attend my class not as I wanted them to, not as their parents wanted them to… but, as they wanted to… But, then, my mind was unwilling to come to terms with this reality: “I am the one who they should listen to, not the other way around,” the argument went on in my mind, “They must be made to understand their mistake… If gentle words don’t enter their thick skin, I should use the harsh ones… Some shock-treatment!” So, all through my lectures, both last evening and this morning, I was boiling within… “I will call them today, and give them a piece of my mind,”… “I would make them sit extra and complete the work in ...

Are we all Alchemists? Yesterday morning, during our Certification programme (2012 PD Course), I had the reason to believe: Yes, we all are! Our students – the young ones, the little ones and the middle-aged – were profusely thanking each of the teachers for making difference in their lives. They were absolutely sincere while expressing their feelings. And, for the teachers, it is an incredible feeling of satisfaction. To feel that you have been able to touch someone’s life – be an agent of change… transforms him into some fine soul – honestly, for a teacher, it is an incredibly satisfying feeling.   Last morning, while addressing our graduating students, my friend - a very loving and committed teacher and trainer himself – Mr. Uday Acharya – said some nice things about me. He told the audience about the fabled ‘Philosopher’s Stone’. The legend has it that, the Alchemists would use a Philosopher’s Stone to convert the base metal into...