Gerald D'Cunha

A while ago, a friend of mine called me up. He said, “A thought has been crossing my mind for over a year now. I have this strong urge to give away five percent of my income to empower a girl child through education. How shall I go about it?” For a moment, I felt a bit surprised on hearing what my friend was saying. He is a creative guy and has been freelancing for over three decades. But, for last some years, the work has come to him erratically, here one, there one. It has been a constant source of tension in the house, and, it had caused a strain on his relationship with wife. Apparently, despite his best attempts to get more work, the work has not been coming his way the way one would expect. So, against the backdrop of this situation, when I heard my friend sharing with me what he was thinking, the natural and the most sincere reaction would be to tell him “Hello, it’s an impractical idea… You are just daydreaming … First, go out and get some work, make som...

“There are those who give with joy and that joy is their reward. And there are those who give with pain and that pain is their baptism.” -        Kahlil Gibran ( in ‘The Prophet’) T wo days ago, I wanted to gift the copies of our 2 new books to my friend and neighbour, Tabassum. As their house was locked, I left the copies at my place and asked my wife to hand over the same to Tabassum. Meanwhile, I had called Tabassum to inform about it, which she missed. Late last night, she reverted to check why I had called. When she learnt about the reason, she exclaimed, “How sweet of you sir, I will collect the books from Anima (my wife) when I come to your place tomorrow with Sheer Khurma.” Tabassum’s family, being from the Bohra community, celebrates Eid festival a day in advance. So, today is their Eid… the day we get to relish the traditional delicacy, Sheer Khurma! I was to leave home early today. So,...

“There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children… One of these is roots, the other, wings.” - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe M y last Post ‘When you Cover Your Child’s Nose and Mouth’ was triggered off from my many years’ – particularly the recent years’ – interactions with well-intended yet over anxious parents. Moreover, I have my own experience both as a son of my own parents and a father of my own son… “When to step in and when to step back” and importantly, “How far we can go with our children”… “What will ‘make’ them and what will ‘break’ them”… “What comes from our strength, trust and security and what comes from our weakness, anxiety and insecurity”… yes, these questions challenge us to be honest… If we pause to sincerely address them, the parenting experience can leave us wiser, stronger and richer in life… After all, there is no school for parenting – except ‘parenting’. Right? In response to my last Post, Reema*, a fri...