Gerald D'Cunha

  “I said to you, ‘Hold my hand, nothing bad will happen’.” (Lines from ‘Sea Prayer’ by Khaled Hosseini)   I did not know who Khaled Hosseini was until I was gifted with his beautiful novel – ‘The Kite Runner’ - by my young son. It was some ten years ago. Khaled Husseini’s stories come from the helpless plight of refugees from the war-torn areas like Afghanistan, Syria, Iran, Iraq and such. He himself was born in Kabul (Afghanistan) and ended up as a refugee in the US… But, importantly, Khaled Husseini ended up as a sensitive storyteller of the contemporary world. His stories don’t leave us the same… I mean, they help us become better humans; yes, a lot more sensitive to the cruelty of war and destruction… Rightly, this gentle soul has been appointed by the United Nations as its Goodwill Ambassador for the cause of refugees… It is a tough task – a mission impossible – in these most insensitive times that we live in… Do we listen to the voices of men and women...

Pic..: Chetna Shetty Y ears ago, when I had decided to do something about my poor English, one of the things I did – and found it very useful – was telling a nice story in two tenses… Past and Present. Over the years, I have helped hundreds of people who were earnest to improve their English with the same method… Yes, write a nice story down in both the tenses… and tell it to someone. Every time I see a ‘fox’ around me, I think of this story… and, yes, I console myself! THE CAMEL AND THE FOX   PAST: A camel and a fox had become friends. There was a sugarcane field on the other side of the river and, often, the camel carried the fox on his back across for food. One day, after crossing the river, the camel slowly started munching the sugarcane while the fox quickly gobbled a couple of chicken from the farm. Once his stomach was full, the fox began to howl loudly. “What are you doing?” cried the shocked camel, “I have not yet ...

“If you think, by being sarcastic, you can come about as witty, funny and humorous,” I made it very clear to a young-man, a while ago, “your thinking is wrong.” “Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit,” I cited an old saying. When we are sarcastic, we are not direct, not open and sincere. We taunt, we hint, we lie and we hold back… Mostly with the intention of making the other person look stupid, feel guilty and small… We do it to shunt him out… by making others laugh at him. And, certainly, that’s not any decent wit or healthy humor. It cuts through the other guy’s vulnerabilities… Like an arrow, it pierces through his heart… That’s why, in psychology, the sarcastic guys are called ‘Snipers’… They indulge in what is known as an ‘indirect aggression’. Often, the sarcastic people, who indulge in indirect aggression, are detested more than the abusive ones, who indulge in direct aggression. At least, we can openly see and clearly hear th...

Most of us have heard this story in our school days. There was this blind man. Whenever he had to go out in the night, he would always carry with him a lantern. This would leave the onlookers puzzled. One day, a group of young- men looked at this strange sight and tried to poke fun at the blind-man. “You are anyway blind and can't see anything,” they chided, “Whom are you carrying your lantern for?” “I am carrying it for you, my friends,” the blind-man replied; “It may help you see a blind-man walking in the darkness!” “Because, the streets are filled with idiots.” This is the message of the popular ad from CEAT-tyres. A young-man is walking in a busy, traffic-infested street. He is lost in his own world – with his right hand, he is driving the pram… A little baby is inside it…His left hand has pressed a cell-phone to his ear and he is lost in talking… completely blind to the reality around him… He elbows out walker-byes, blind and in...

It is interesting to observe our behavior towards those who are very critical or reactive towards us. If these people are not significant in our lives – say, some of our classmates, neighbors, office colleagues, co-passengers and so on - having been on the receiving end of their criticism or reactions frequently, now, we tend to avoid them, shun them. “It is not worth having any relationship with them,” we declare in our hearts, and leave them alone. On the other hand, if these people are significant people in our lives – say our parents, spouses, bosses, school Principals or teachers, Police or Government officials, Religious heads or our Society Secretaries and so on – we tend to walk on egg-shells… fearing a reaction or criticism from them, any moment. We can not avoid or shun them… We have to live with them. So, we constantly tread with extreme caution… always fearing when egg-shells might break off! Walking on egg-shells is not a pleasant situ...