Gerald D'Cunha

“A smile is happiness you'll find right under your nose.” - Tom Wilson W e miss simple joy of living – call it happiness – when we plan too much. Really, Life is what happens to us while we are busy making our ‘other plans’… For some days now, my wife and I have been ‘planning’ for a short vacation, this summer. We were checking on the Net, talking to our friends and, still, have not been able to take a decision. “Just pack up and go,” a friend of mine told me, “You shouldn’t plan too much.” A week has already gone by, meanwhile! I was to attend an important meeting at Fort area, this noon. It was a scheduled for today more than a month ago and a great deal of planning and preparation had gone into it. I was a bit tensed this morning, and had kept the rest of my work on hold. Around 11.30, I was on my way to the meeting venue… I received a call saying that the meeting was postponed. I couldn’t believe it… and, ...

I have been teaching the 17-year-old Jason for last six months or so. He is presently doing his class 12 (CBSE). He has twin sisters who are in school. Jason’s mom, Judith, had done the talking for his admission at my place. I haven’t met her, yet… But, every time I have spoken to her, she came about to me as a very warm and simple soul. She cared for her children immensely. In fact, when she first called me, one of the twins was undergoing a prolonged treatment in one of the hospitals in Mumbai and she was literally living day and night in the hospital. Later, when Jason had to be enrolled with me, his dad, Rajiv, accompanied him. “Jason’s elder brother?” I remember asking Rajiv. “I am his dad!” the confident smile had made me say, “Can’t believe that!” I learnt during the course of our discussion, that Rajiv, a top executive in an Insurance Major, had started a rigorous fitness programme. He looked young, dashing and energetic. I also learnt that, he was a popular Ch...

Pic.: Malabika Ganguly “That's the real trouble with the world… too many people grow up.” - WALT DISNEY I t is quarter to eleven in the morning, and these kids – about fourteen of them – have no plans to go home for their breakfast. They told me that they all had planned last night itself to come down to ‘enjoy’ at 6 this morning…  Six boys and eight girls. I seldom saw them down, so carefree and happy, for so many months now. Their school bus ferried them even before the Sun had come out fully; in the afternoon, they came home only to drop their school-bags and then off they would rush for half-a-dozen tuitions and classes. I would hardly see them playing down, together… The school and the rat-race had deprived them of what kids of their age had to get – simple playtime... So, today, as their Diwali vacation is on, it was a delightful sight to watch them all together doing the utterly simple kid-stuff here in the open… As I opened m...