Gerald D'Cunha

“You see, in their last moments, people show you who they really are.”  ―  The Joker (Heath Ledger ) in ‘The Dark Knight' O ne of the most admired (or, hated?) villains in the history of world cinema is The Joker in the Batman movies. He is so convincing and so ruthless, that you simply say ‘Wow!” But, do you say, ‘Wow!’ for the character played by the actor or the actions and philosophy of the Joker? Two days ago, while teaching my student,  Kavish, he asked me, if there are really people around us, who want us to suffer for no reason. In other words, his question was: Why should anyone in his senses be obsessed with destroying others for no valid reason? “Have you watched the Batman movie, ‘The Dark Knight’?” I asked Kavish. “Yes sir, I have,” replied Kavish,” In fact, I have watched all of them.” “What do you think of The Joker?” I asked. “I admire him… I like him more than Batman,” said Kavish. “W...

“Money is usually attracted, not pursued.” —     Jim Rohn L ike many of my generation, I learn hundreds of new things around me only through the younger generation. For example – this thing called ‘Bitcoin’.  Some days ago, at a family gathering, one of my nephews told me about it. The earlier night, he had spent quite a lot time – he was awake almost till 3 in the morning – checking, analyzing, booking, buying, selling, I couldn’t understand what it was… My brother and I were both clueless about it. So, our nephew was at his best in educating his uncles on what his generation believed as ‘The Game Changer’ when it came to growing rich… and getting there fast! The number – 12-lakh-plus INR for one Bitcoin, as on the night our nephew narrated it to us, made my brother and me froze! Whatever that was – good, bad, ugly or outright evil… my brother and I both gave a good sermon to our young nephew, who had just started working and...

“There are only two ways to live your life: One is as though nothing is a miracle… The other is as though everything is a miracle.” ―  Albert Einstein Y esterday, I was invited to be the Guest of Honour at a function in a well-known school. The school had organized an amazing exhibition of the work done by tender children from Nursery to Standard Four… The theme was:  ‘A BETTER ME’. Well, an idea – or an ideal – like ‘A Better Me’ has to come from the head of the school. In this case, yes, it had come from the school’s dynamic Principal… “I believe, that what matters in a child’s education is not ‘aptitude’ alone but ‘attitude’, too,” the Principal stressed in her speech. The school teachers and parents had worked very hard along with little children and created scores of creatively meaningful exhibits. Every piece of work was to sensitize the little ones towards the goal of developing a better attitude in life and, thereby,...

T esting times are called so, for they ‘test’ us. Why else would one call them ‘testing times’? To me, Jesus Christ was more a human than God. Yes, my Christian faith makes me believe that He was ‘Son of God’. But, then, what about you and me? Whose sons and daughters are we? So, every time I seek inspiration from Jesus Christ, my Hero, I seek it seeing Him as a real human just like you and me. Yes, He touched and healed others… walked on water… gave sight to the blind… cleansed lepers and the sinners… even brought dead men to life. But, when it came to His own life, He dreaded, lost all His courage… was left torn and tormented just as how you and I would in testing times… That’s why, from the Cross, right from the pit of His acute agony, He cried out loudly, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Come to think about it!!! Two of my most favorite hymns/songs are about surrendering to God’s will in our times of trial, and they both talk about ‘s...

“Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens.”  ―  J.R.R. Tolkien ,  The Fellowship of the Ring I am always aware of the first thought that dominates my mind as I wake up in the morning. It’s more than a year now since I started getting out of the bed at 5 in the morning… Yes, those early hours - when I am not disturbed by people around… when I am able to feel the softness and mortality of my skin… the quiet, gentle movement of my breath… the chirping of birds, the darkness which is all set to dissolve in a while… Yes, those early hours are blissful. I am able to feel ‘alive’ only in my solitude… But, the first thought that dominates me? I am a human… and, I have my fears and anxieties. So, often, the thoughts that dominate my mind early in the morning are not pleasant ones… “What if this happens?” and “What if that happens?”… Yes, I do get these thoughts early in the morning as I open my eyes… C...

“L ive as if you were to die tomorrow,” said Mahatma Gandhi, “Learn as if you were to live forever.” Kanchan, an efficient professional and mother. I have known her for almost twenty-five years but I haven’t taught her. Today, she had mentioned me on a FB Post dedicated to one’s teachers. The caption of the Post was very interesting: “That teacher who teacher us something more valuable than our syllabus...” It was followed by an image from the film, ‘Taare Zameen Par’ - Aamir Khan (as Nikumbh, the teacher) with Darsheel Safary (as Ishaan Awasthi, the student)… Below that, it was concluded – ‘Deserves a massive respect’! Now, these are very fulfilling moments in life, to say the least. I did not think twice before I replied to Kanchan: “Hi Kanchan, that is so kind of you... I am humbled! Your kind words prove, that our true learning is neither limited to our 'syllabus' nor to the boundaries of our school. ‘Nobody can teach you,’ OSHO used...

M eghal, my niece, who is in first-year degree-college in Mangalore, called me this morning. “Uncle, I need a small favor from you,” she said, “Can you give me some catchy relevant message for a placard… We have a college event coming up.” My niece, like young kids around her, knows what is ‘relevant’ to our times and what is not relevant. They all are capable of forming their own opinions. So, I said, “Dear, do you have any ideas floating across your mind?” “Yes uncle… like ‘Save the Tiger’ ‘Save the Enviornment’, “Women Empowerment’ etc,” she said. “What about some issues which are ‘immediate’?” I asked. My niece started thinking! “Alright dear,” I comforted my young niece, “Don’t get stressed out… You will get it by evening today.” W hat is the immediate social-cause demanding our attention, today? Tiger, stray dogs, oppression against women, senior citizens, child abuse and environment… yes, all these do demand our immediate attention. But, t...