Gerald D'Cunha

  “With every breath, I plant the seeds of devotion;   I am a farmer of the heart. Rumi   S ome days ago, a friend of mine called me. He said, “I want to visit Mount Mary church (Bandra), today… What is the protocol?” Well, my friend is a Hindu Punjabi. I knew about some difficult times he has been recently passing through. So, the strong urge within his heart to visit a holy shrine did not come to me as any surprise. I have, always, gone to Mount Mary during the week days and sat there quietly, feeling overwhelmed with the surge of gratitude, humility and, above all, peace… Peace is what I have come back with. Thus, when my Punjabi friend asked me, “What is the protocol?”… probably, what he wanted to know was: “Can non-Catholics go inside the shrine?” … “Are there specific hours for the visit?” … “Should one keep the footwear outside?”… “Is offering of candles or cash mandatory?”… etc., etc. I said what I believed in: “Go there with your humble heart... Mot...

  “Walking is the exact balance between spirit and humility.” Gary Snyder   S rinath Shetty was my student when he was doing his T.Y. B.Com some 38 years ago. He came from a working-class family with zero business background. But, being a disciplined and determined young man, he went about acquiring one of the chemical factories his uncle had built… and, from there, he never looked back. Yesterday, Srinath and his wife Neeta had organized a puja to celebrate the house warming of their new abode… It’s a massive mansion with more than 4,000 S.F. From the 23 rd floor height, the large windows treated the beholders’ eyes to some of the breathtaking expanse… One could stand there and get immersed in the stunning silence, feeling small… I said – ‘Feeling small’… I expressed my joy and gratitude in a message I had typed on my way back home… Such an exclusive spread of delicacies… and such genuine warmth. Srinath had worked hard to deserve this height –- literally –- thr...

  “Lord, we don't need another mountain There are mountains and hillsides enough to climb There are oceans and rivers enough to cross Enough to last until the end of time” From the song ‘What the World Needs Now’ by Dionne Warwick   J imi Hendrix died on September 18, 1970. He had just crossed the age 27. But, in this short lifespan of his, he earned himself the title ‘The greatest instrumentalist (guitar) of all time.” Well, the world may think whatever and confer whatever title upon you, but, you alone know how exhausted you are due to overwork and personal insecurities… yes, how hard you find to catch a normal sleep… Therefore, the cause of this legend’s death points to excessive consumption of sleeping pills –- in fact, 18 times more than what was prescribed for him! Why am I remembering Jimi Hendrix when I have never been one of his big fans. I don’t enjoy hard rock. But, I enjoy the stories of every human who achieves any stardom… I like the way they climb, ...

  “ The dignity of labour is the dignity of man .” Unknown   I have already blogged twice on Rajubhai. He is the istriwala who comes to our housing society. As we have agreed upon, he comes to collect the clothes from our house (for ironing) every Thursday at 9 a.m. Let me type that again… at 9 a.m., every Thursday… So, in my earlier two posts, I have described how punctual   he has been… 9 a.m. sharp; so much so, we can set our wall clock based on Rajubhai’s punctuality. Another thing, that I have wondered in my last two posts is: How does he manage to keep count of the number of clothes each potli (bundle) contains… He collects from dozens of residents in our buildings. But, never even once, he has done any goof-up… Above all, I have marvelled: How does he keep the account –- who has to pay how much without noting down anything… So brilliant his memory is! He explains, “ Saabji, main computer aur calculator use nahin karta hun.” Respect to this man who i...

  “The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you. Don’t go back to sleep.” – Rumi   H ave the stories dried up? Come on… They can never be. There are a hundred stories unfolding before my eyes throughout my day… I want to tell them all in my daily posts. In fact, since I posted my last blog on June 15, so many wonderful things have happened in my life… So many things –- both wonderful and awful –- have happened in the outside world… The football world-cup had some underdog heroes… I started writing stories about them; but, gave up… The deadly earthquake in Venezuela deeply moved me… Tried writing something around it; then, gave up… My first blog book (of the ten-book series) was released at a grand function on June 21… My well-wishers shared images, videos and heaped praises; but, I didn’t post a single image or a word… It’s a mystery, quite frankly, as to what makes me write… A dear old student of mine (62), called some days ago… She was shattered… words wer...

  “Yes, and how many ears must one man have before he can hear people cry?” From Bob Dylan’s song – ‘Blowing in the Wind’ O ur two-month summer programme just concluded, yesterday. We had decided to keep the certification ceremony simple; and, therefore, held it in our newly-renovated premises. Three of our young students were capturing the memories through their mobile cameras. Tanvir Shaikh, an aspiring pilot, was one of them. Around 1 noon, all of a sudden, Tanvir’s phone rang (as he hadn’t kept it on the silent mode)… The ringtone was a soothing azan (the Islamic call to prayer). Among the 25-plus members present in the room, he was the only Muslim. The haunting sound of azan had turned every head turn towards Tanvir… who sounded apologetic for not keeping his phone on the silent mode. I, instantly, said to all, “It’s a beautiful call to prayer... Let’s be silent for a moment.” I let the azan play, as the Grace before meal…… The stillness in the room was very poig...

  S ome months ago, while speaking on phone, a friend of mine (62), said, “Mujhe phir se pyaar ho gaya hai.” (I am in love again). Before I could say, ‘What?’, he clarified, “Krishna se.” Well, I knew about my friend’s fascination towards ISKCON during last few years, and I had observed how anchored and peaceful he had become. It’s an amazing transformation. Still, that early morning, when he said, “Mujhe phir se pyaar ho gaya hai,” I wasn’t thinking about ‘Krishna’… Instead, being a mortal, I was thinking, “What… at 62?” Then, two weeks ago, this young girl (23), who had just completed her LLB, had turned up for one of our Sunday Workshops. Everybody’s eyebrows had gone up seeing the ISKCON marks on her forehead, prominently displayed… It’s clear, that the young girl had not only just turned a lawyer, she had, also, just turned Krishna’s beloved… “Very good,” I thought, “it will help her stay away from the dirty, dark stand-up comedy shows.” Of late, it’s interesting to ...