Gerald D'Cunha

“Do you understand the violence it took to become this gentle?” Nitya Prakash   M ore than two decades ago, I had published a book by the title – ‘Why The Sun Burns’. It carried some of my notes, which I had scribbled in my diaries over the years. One such note – passage – was this: “The light doesn’t emerge unless the candle burns; It’s not my wish that I should suffer, to spread a little goodness around.” Anger, hurt, pain – these are very much present in our lives. No matter how sagely you may find me from outside, that’s not what I am inside. Inside, yes, inside this mountain, there is burning lava... waiting to be exploded... and, now and then, it does... But, anger is like the poison a cobra is blessed with. Did I say, ‘blessed with’? Yes Sir, I did say that... The presence of poison and the presence of anger inside us – both make us who we are. The cobra doesn’t go on a rampage, just because, there is poison inside its head... Likewise, you and I do...

  “State calls its own violence - Law; but, that of the individual - Crime.” Max Stirner   My friends and relatives may hold different viewpoints from those of mine on social, political, religious, cultural issues. My spouse and son may hold opposing views… My students, my colleagues, my neighbours – it’s the same everywhere… which means, I cannot expect you to think – and view the world – exactly as I do… In a democractic society, each one of us has this privilege of harbouring and expressing his/her respective viewpoints; and, that puts equal responsibility on each one of us to be patient with each other – to accommodate, tolerate and respect each one’s rights… I think, it is one of the hardest lessons each individual has to learn and practice… Just be patient with others, be more tolerant and accommodating. It’s okay if others – however near and dear they are – do not agree with my viewpoints… Let them feel free to express and assert. It doesn’t make me any wea...

  “I said to you, ‘Hold my hand, nothing bad will happen’.” (Lines from ‘Sea Prayer’ by Khaled Hosseini)   I did not know who Khaled Hosseini was until I was gifted with his beautiful novel – ‘The Kite Runner’ - by my young son. It was some ten years ago. Khaled Husseini’s stories come from the helpless plight of refugees from the war-torn areas like Afghanistan, Syria, Iran, Iraq and such. He himself was born in Kabul (Afghanistan) and ended up as a refugee in the US… But, importantly, Khaled Husseini ended up as a sensitive storyteller of the contemporary world. His stories don’t leave us the same… I mean, they help us become better humans; yes, a lot more sensitive to the cruelty of war and destruction… Rightly, this gentle soul has been appointed by the United Nations as its Goodwill Ambassador for the cause of refugees… It is a tough task – a mission impossible – in these most insensitive times that we live in… Do we listen to the voices of men and women...

  “If war is the answer, we are asking the wrong question.” Anonymous   I am aware of the ongoing humanitarian crisis in neighbouring Afghanistan. It’s a matter of grave concern for all of us. As we all know, the fire in our neighbour’s house – even if our neigbour is our bitter enemy – is not something we can sleep over, leave alone rejoice over… The fire spreads fast; yes, it does. So, we are flooded with the news about what’s happening in Afghanistan – and how ordinary citizens, like Indians who had been living in that country for their livelihood, are caught between the crossfire – many of us are hooked on to the TV sets – feeling helpless, anxious, worried and, even angry! But, what can ordinary citizens like you and I do in a situation like this? Blaming or debating, in my view, is futile. If war could solve this problem, America would have gone home, long ago… The truth is, that you cannot fight fire with fire… You can fight it only with water! So, while m...

“No one has ever measured, not even poets, how much the heart can hold.” -      Anonymous I f you ask me, how was ‘ Thappad ’ - I mean, the movie ‘ Thappad ’ - I would say, without even blinking – ‘Excellent’! Now, you may give me a tight ‘Thappad’ for saying so… Because, you may come out of the theatre saying – ‘Bakwas’ ! So, there we are – we may love ‘Thappad’ or hate ‘Thappad’… but, we cannot ignore it… We will come out of the theatre with one of the two extreme reactions… I am very fond of Anubhav Sinha’s craft of story-telling… His movies always challenge us, provoke us, make us even guilty and ashamed of our prejudices. In ‘Article 15’ and ‘Mulk’, we did experience this inner stir in us… Now, with this movie – ‘Thappad’, Sinha does it to us, once again. Yes, at the core of the movie lies that one single – unintended, accidental – ‘Thappad’, which this young husband gives to his wife in the heat of t...

"Through my whole life, I did not know if I really existed.  But, I do... and people are starting to notice." - Joker I am an old-timer, you see. So, I went to the multiplex one day before and booked two tickets (for my wife and me ) for the 'Joker' movie. The person at the counter confirmed and reconfirmed from me, at least three times, that none of the two was a minor. I smiled and  assured him, that my wife and I had long entered into our adulthood... "My mother, always, tells me to smile and put on a happy face," Arthur Flek,  Joker, says in this movie! Chalo, I did not tell my wife what happened at the ticket counter. But,  yesterday, just while walking into the theatre, I brought myself to tell her, that the movie might leave us a lot 'disturbed' - rather 'shaken'... "Why are you telling me this now?" she shouted, "now that we are inside." Good, I had booked the ti...

Pic.: Madan Manik T he best and the shortest way to end violence in this world is to first end it within our own hearts… Similarly, the best and the shortest way to end corruption in this world is to first end it within our own hearts… The violence we see outside is the reflection of our own collective violence within… And, the same holds true for corruption… So, the question is: How can I end the violence within my own heart? How can I end the corruption, there? T he other day, I was sitting with a group of middle-aged men. The discussion centered around the sensational rise of Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party in New Delhi. Two of the men in the group were ecstatic about the new phenomenon and were absolutely hopeful that corruption would be wiped out of this country, soon. During the course of our discussion, one of them received a long-distance call. Apparently, it was a call regarding a big export order, which our hard-nosed frien...

It seems, we, as a nation, have pinned all our hopes on Kasab. Our hope is: If and when Kasab is hanged, all our problems would end. The terrorism included! "Why do you take so much time to hang him?" a young man asked. "Do we need any more evidence to prove the magnitude of his crime?" "We can not do that in a democracy like ours," replied the other man. "A court has to sentence him after a fair trial." "Fair trial?" the young man shouted. "You mean, fair trial for a monster like him?" "Well, that's the greatness - or weakness - of a democracy." the other man said. "Every human being is entitled to defend himself." "But, he is not a 'human being'; he is a heartless monster," protested the young man. "He needs to be treated the way they treat such savages in those Islamic countries: Gun down publicly; finish them ... Put an end to the story." "Yes, that would finish a me...