Gerald D'Cunha

Pic.: Barkha Manik W hen I was about seven-to-eight years of age, we had this very popular parish-priest by the name Fr. Robert Pinto. He was very dynamic and, always, gave very impressive sermons. During the children’s mass on Sundays, he, really, would get down to our size and touch our little hearts with his inspiring stories. As our parents would, also, be present during this mass, often, his stories would send them home, too, a lot inspired and humbled. I still remember one story that he had told us, which has still stayed not only in my mind, but in my mom’s mind, too. Yes, even after, nearly, five decades! I t is the day one of the dreaded criminals of the times is brought to the gallows... to be hanged in the public square. Hundreds of people have come there to witness the sight. The judge asks, “Do you have any last wish to fulfill?” “Yes, I do,” replies the criminal, without even blinking inside his blind-fold, “I want to say something to...

Pic.: Chetna Shetty J ust as some situations in my life can be nasty and undesirable, some people, too, can be. Like everyone else does, I, too, try desperately to avoid them... And, when faced with them, I try, even more desperately, to break free from them... Now and then, some wise people console me saying, “Friend, do not be anxious. They have come in your life to teach you something valuable... to make you  strong and wise.” Well, though all those wise words sound comforting, the fact remains: I keep trying to break free! The struggle and resistance continues for some time... so do my anxiety and despair... Finally, it passes... I do see myself freed of the thoughts about nasty and undesirable situations and people... Yes, I do see the reality that acceptance in life normally comes via my resistance... Only, when my resistance ends,  acceptance walks in... Yes, I grumble about difficult people in my life... Yes, I grumble about difficu...

Pic. : Nishtha Narryani “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;   nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket,  but on the lamp-stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.   "Let your light shine before men in such a way  that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” -          Jesus Christ J ohnny Lever was born in a Telugu Christian-family as John Rao. He grew up in Mumbai’s famous slums, Dharavi, where he studied till seventh standard in a Telugu- medium school. His dad worked as a laborer in Hindustan Lever factory; and, after dropping out of school due to financial difficulties, John, too, joined as a laborer in Levers. It was there, that he began to entertain his factory co-workers with his raw talent of mimicry... And, it was there, that he was bestowed by his factory colleagu...

Pic.: Sundar Srinivasan T he birds in the sky, the fishes in the sea and the animals in the jungle, all leave in the morning in search of food. No one has instructed them to do so; they know, if they don’t leave home, they will die of hunger... And, man? Every morning, you and I leave home, too. But, is food – satisfaction of the hunger of our stomach - our only objective? It is not. Still, we all leave, every morning... Else, we know, that we all will starve of hunger ... not just of our stomachs, but, also, of our minds, hearts and souls... Our survival instinct is the greatest motivator... Deep down, in all of us, there is that desire to live, survive... protect ourselves from our predators... Birds, fishes, animals and man – we all have this burning desire to remain alive... From this basic desire, follow the other desires: food, clothes and shelter... And, for man, the social animal, there is a greater drive, a greater reason... It is: the desire t...

Pic.: Chetna Shetty D ebates and Group Discussions are a part of our PD sessions. Our students are teenagers; but, they are young-adults. They live in a world of reality... in a thick climate of politics, religion, entertainment, gossip, relationship, fashion, fads and trends... social media and peer pressure... tobacco, alcohol, drugs and sex... Yes, can they afford to not know about this reality? Can they afford to close their eyes, ears and minds to this reality? As a young-adult, I had to grow up in an identical climate, of course, of my time... There were no social media, TV and the gadgets the way the young-ones are exposed to, today. But, everything else was there: there was politics, religion, entertainment, gossip, fashion and trends... and, yes, there was tobacco, alcohol, drugs and sex! So, as a responsible teacher and guide, I need to help our young-ones become conscious of this climate they all grow-up in... know about it, read about it, di...

   Pic.: Chetna Shetty “We are products of our past, but we don't have to be prisoners of it.”   ―   Rick Warren “P ast is dead and buried,” we, often, say. Obviously, we are talking, here, about our unpleasant past. So, whenever we attempt to dig-up our pasts, in the midst of our bitter arguments, we only end up digging up those graves... yes, where the bones will revive our painful memories... Let the sleeping dogs sleep! And, if we try to disturb these sleeping dogs, we should be able to deal with the trouble we are going to invite for ourselves! We know why we should not disturb the sleeping dogs... Why, in our own best interest, we should let them sleep... Still, when it comes to our sleeping pasts, we act foolish, at times... We embark upon the misadventure of digging-up our pasts, those graves of our unpleasant pasts... Well, some say, “We should talk it out.” We should talk it out, certainly,...

Pic.: Prashant Bhat T here is a nice article on today’s Sunday Times about the wonderful benefits of Laughter. It encourages us to see the lighter side of life... yes, even in times of great distress. Difficult? Yes. But, then, imagine the benefits of learning to see the lighter side, the funnier side, of life... and going about it! I am, essentially, an intense person by nature, almost serious. I am aware of this side of my personality. At times, I do get conscious of the ‘image trap’ I am caught-up in... That, I am a teacher, I am a father of a teenager-son, I am a married man, I am a value-education and Personality-Development guide and so on... Yes, I do see my natural inclination to laugh, crack and enjoy jokes, getting buried under the weight of my self-created image... So, this morning, as I was reading the article, I found myself asking this:  Don’t I love the sight of laughing and playing children? Don’t I love the mischief and fooling around by t...

Pic.: Prashant Bhat O nce again, I wish to write, today, on Narendra Modi. It is not for his party or politics. It is for the inspiring story he has scripted for all of us to read. Modi is 64. He was born in a grocers’ family, which belonged to the backward community of oil-pressers in Vadnagar, Gujarat . As a child, he helped his father sell tea at Vadnagar railway station. Later, as a teenager, he ran a tea stall with his brother near a bus terminus... He went to a local school and, later, completed his graduation and post-graduation, in Political Science, through distance education... That’s was the theory of politics. His practical studies in politics started as an ordinary ‘Pracharak’ in RSS... and, that’s where he honed his shrewd organizational and leadership skills... Modi has been the Chief Minister of Gujarat since 2001 (Four terms!)... And, during this long tenure, he has seen the best and worst alike... The accusations, legal tangles and isolation o...

Pic.: Umang Pahwa I n life, some things, we can not ignore... One of them is the political climate in which we all live. Most of us do not like to indulge in party politics, even though we all have our own party affiliations. The beauty of this is: just as we all live here, in this marvelous city, surrounded by people of different religious faiths, we all, also, live so surrounded by people of different political leanings. Just as our leanings when it comes the on-going IPL teams. If ten of us are watching a match, all ten may not root for the same team... And, that’s how it should be... I have wonderful neighbors – people from different religious faiths. They belong to different parts of India ; they speak different languages, follow different cultures and food habits... They, also, have their own political leanings... and, nothing of these has stopped us from living together as amazing neighbors... The Lok Sabha-elections verdict is clear: it is going to be ...

Pic.: Ashish Srivastava T o encourage the young-ones to read, write, speak and think, I, always, encourage them to present during our PD sessions any good piece of writing – a short poem, passage, story, incident... whatever. Yes, I ask them to search it from a book or internet or get it from any source.... But, they must thoroughly like it... They must read it over and over again at home... and, then, come to the class and present it before others... in such a way, that others must feel inspired to go home and find it, read it... The reading habit, generally, starts this way. We listen to some brilliant piece of presentation, somewhere... Someone dramatically narrates an incident or a passage from a book, or he talks about an author, his work in such a way that, it, invariably, makes us go home and find out more... and, yes, read... “A good reader, a good writer, a speaker and a good thinker,” I tell our young ones, “they are all inter-connected.” Yes, they are... M...