Gerald D'Cunha

Pic.: Anand Ashokan I have just returned from the Jaslok Hospital, where my dad-in-law is, presently, hospitalized. As I was hungry, before leaving, I got for myself a pack of biryani in the cafeteria, and stood there in one corner (as it was crowded during the lunch-time) to have it. In the process, few grains of Basmati-rice spilled, here and there, over the floor. Yes, I was a little embarrassed about it. But, then, as soon as I finished eating, I, instinctively, bent down, picked the spilled rice from the floor, put it in my empty paper-plate, and placed it in the bin... “House-keeping staff would have picked it up,” the gentleman next to me said... “Yes sir, they would have,” I said to the stranger with a smile, “but, I should not have spilled in the first place.” “Today is Gandhi Jayanti,” another gentleman said, a little teasingly, “We are called upon to celebrate it as ‘Cleanliness Day’” Honestly, when I bent down to clean-up, I did not...

Pic.: Sherry Haridas “A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything,  and the value of nothing.”   ―   Oscar Wilde     I first learnt it in our Economics text-books: that, the ‘Price’ of a commodity is different from its ‘Value’. But, as I have gone about my life, it has become more and more evident to me, that, the price and the value of each and everything in my life are different! A glass of water when I am dying of thirst... A piece of cloth when my honor is at stake... A bottle of blood when I am struggling for life in a hospital... A little oxygen... A kidney... Some sperm... To know the value of water, someone has to put me in a desert... Similarly, to know the value of my breath, I need to be put on the ventilator in an ICU... My money will be, always, ‘MY MONEY’... till someone or something takes it all away from me... Or, it looks utterly pale before the imminent death or des...

“A hunter, who has only one arrow, does not shoot with careless aim.” In life, the accountability comes only when we realize the limitations within which we are expected to operate. The Law of Abundance makes sense only when we respect the limitations set upon us… when we respect them. A dear student did not respond to my last evening’s message… Just a while ago, she called me to say, “Sir, I am very sorry for not replying… There was no balance!” But, it doesn’t mean, she comes from a poor family… In fact, it is to the contrary! Even if I possess with me a credit card with which I am able to have a good time now, I know the consequences of blowing the money that way. Once bitten, twice shy…! Many of us have learnt this precious truth the hard way…and, therefore, we think a hundred times before flashing cards crazily anywhere. The car that I drive may run at 200 kmh, even 400. But, I know where I am driving…...

In life, everything has two sides to it: a ‘weight’ and a ‘value’. Everything, including our problems in life! I was reading an article this morning, where I came across this advice of Lord Krishna to Arjuna: “A donkey knows the weight of the sandalwood-load on its back,   but does not know its value!” I just stopped reading… and smiled! Something was pressing me so hard, right since I woke up this morning, that I was finding it difficult to concentrate…  L ife means problems… Problems means Life! Both are inseparable…  This means, when we wake up, we should not be surprised to see a new problem standing at our door… Because, such is Life…  A new surprise, for each new day! But, it doesn’t happen that way… We not only get surprised, we also get angry and upset when the new problem is thrust on our back, each morning! So, this morning, when I saw a n...

"Even Bill Gates has only twenty-four hours in his day. Not a neno-second more." This is how I remind myself, time and again, when I tend to hide my inefficiencies with that universal excuse: "I have no time." I drill a big hole in my head, and fill this: "Buddy, even the richest man on earth made his billions, only with twenty-four hours." "Did you read the book I gave you?" I ask some one. "Not yet. I didn't find time," is his reply. Now, he did not read that book, not because he didn't find time; but, because, I had given that book 'free' to him. Had he bought it, on his own, I am sure, he would have found the time to read it. Because, we make time for all those things, that we 'choose' to do; the things we love. Did I call my mom on her wedding anniversary? No, I didn't. I don't even know the date. Does it mean, I love her less. She would be definitely emphatic: "No". I do not remember the d...

Some days back, I saw a Hindi movie, and returned highly disappointed. I was grumbling all the way home. Ironically, I had ‘chosen’ to watch this movie; no one had forced me to watch it. Moreover, I had decided to watch it, because, I wanted to unwind myself, recharge my batteries. But, here I was – with a fresh load of stress … being let down, being disappointed! The next morning, I was having a discussion with my friend, Mukesh, in my office, and the topic of the movie came up. “It’s a complete crap,” I commented, instinctively. Perhaps, to vent out my frustration, to unburden my load. Mukesh hadn’t seen that movie. So, he responded to my comment with this story: Once, a disciple went to his Master with a ‘gurudhakshina’ – an offering to one’s Guru. This disciple had completed the study under his Master, and was confident that there was nothing more to learn. So, he had gone to express his gratitude to his Master with the offering – some valuable things. When the Master saw his disci...