Gerald D'Cunha

  “If you try to do your best, there is no failure.” Mike Farrell   T hroughout my school and college years, my marks had been very poor… Just like Raju Rastogi’s (Sharman Joshi) in the popular Hindi film, ‘3 Idiots’. Long before this film had come, (2009), I was asked the same question by my interviewer when I had gone for my first teaching job at the Atomic Energy Junior College (1981): “Your marks have been consistently low – any reason?” Raju had a clear and composed answer to this question: “Fear, Sir.” Somehow, I was picked for the ‘temporary’ job… and, like the new Raju, who had come there not with a begging mindset, but with the confidence, that even if he was rejected, he would not be disappointed and afraid, as he would certainly figure out what to do with his life – yes, I was telling the same thing to my own interviewer, :”Sir, I am passionate about teaching… That’s the only thing I will be doing in my life.” I got that temporary job at the junior Colle...

  “If idiots could fly, the sky would be like an airport.” Laura Davenport     “A re you a Rancho, or are you a Chatur?” I used to make our young ones – and even littles ones – speak on this topic during the Public Speaking sessions. They used to love the topic… Even the most terrified of the pack would stand up to speak! Interestingly, they all loved Rancho. But, without any hesitation, they would admit, that they did what Chatur did… Some fully, some partially. Still, invariably, they adored Rancho… they wished they could be like him… A wise man! That seems to be the primary reason why the movie ‘3 Idiots’ became such a universal blockbuster… The universe is filled with idiots, you see. Take it or leave it – you and I included! Yes, Laura Davenport was right: “If idiots could fly, the sky would be like an airport.”   A couple of days ago, my friend Neha* posted this on her FB timeline: “Never argue with idiots... They will drag you down to thei...

  “If wishes were horses, even beggars would ride them.” Old Proverb I am a firm believer in the power of positive affirmations. Years ago, when I had no hint about even the ‘A’ in this word ‘Affirmations’ – and had no hint about how to go about achieving what my heart desired – I was introduced to this concept by Napoleon Hill in his inspiring book, ‘Think and Grow Rich’. But, with one difference: He called it ‘Auto-suggestions’… Mind is a fertile field… We reap what we sow in it! Two days ago, when I had blogged on this theme, it seemed to have resonated with many. Paulo Coelho – in his beautiful fable ‘The Alchemist’ - had coulorfully described this phenomenon, with this line:   “When you want something, all the Universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” Well, Paulo Coelho, certainly, did not invent this theory… Life, already had it in the air… Every Yoga practitioner breathes in and breathes out affirmations… “I feel connected”… “My mind is relaxed...

W e give our best only when we operate from that space within our souls called ‘Faith’. When we operate from there, we come about confident, authentic. And this: courageous despite a quaking heart! On the other hand, when we operate from that space in our hearts called ‘Fear’, we cannot give our best… We come about diffident, not authentic. My friend, Ajit, was telling a group of our P.D. students this evening: “We all have our voices and noises within us. Voice is ours; it comes from deep within… Noise is not ours… It comes from outside. So, we need to learn, early in life, to recognize as to which is our voice from inside and which is the noise from outside. Once you do that, you begin to operate from that zone called ‘Yourself’… Your self-confidence is the reflection of that self-expression. Discovering yourself is discovering your voice.” Two days ago, I had asked one of the participants the question: “Why do you want to be a school teacher?” This 30-year...

“S ky is the limit.” As a young man, when I first heard this saying, I really felt charged: “Hey, you can do anything”… “Nothing is impossible”. Yes, all these went well along the saying. Then, Napoleon Hill provided to me the right perspective: “Whatever you are able to conceive and believe in your mind, you can achieve.” The perspective was clear as a summer sky: “Your sky lies in your own mind, your own imagination… Therefore, you set your own limits.” So, today, whenever someone tries to pump me with  the war-cry, “Nothing is impossible”, I remind him of the scene in the movie ‘3 Idiots’, in which, Raju (Sharman Joshi) squeezes  toothpaste fully from the tube on Farhan’s (R. Madhavan) palm  and retorts, “If so, put this back into the tube, now!” Well, the point is not whether or not there are things beyond our personal limits… whether or not everything is really possible for us to achieve in life. In my view, the point is this: ...

D uring our P.D. sessions, I show to little-ones and young-ones some of the best scenes from the movie ‘3 Idiots’. If I say that they all love it, it is not only an understatement, it is also an obvious truth I am stating. People of all age and taste, every class and creed have loved ‘3-Idiots’… Rancho and Chatur. “Why do you like this movie?” I have asked little kids, young-ones and even parents. The answer, invariable, sumps up this: We all want to be like Rancho – free, creative, intelligent, witty and sensitive… yet, something has made us reluctantly embrace the Chatur in our hearts… We don’t like the Chatur in us… we do not like to be the real idiot like him… and don’t mind labeled as ‘idiots’ by the society, the system… But, then, ‘Marks are important’… you see… The exact words, including the commas and full stops, in a definition are important you see… What the class teacher has given as answer to the question and not what you think as the answ...