Gerald D'Cunha

  “ No man can be called friendless   who has God and companionship of good books.” Elizabeth Barrett Browning   “T he sight of a book excites me.” I have heard this from many people. The sight of a book excites me, too. If I see a bookshelf, I pause… Pick a book, feel it, smell it… flip through it… Get fascinated by its design… Read the synopsis on back cover or the flap… Quickly read a portion of the foreword or introduction… And, quite often, find myself transported to a faraway Harry Potter’s land! Books are magical… They can fire our imagination! But, it wasn’t so for me, when I was growing up. I hardly read books, leave alone writing them. As I keep saying, as a young boy, I had a nagging inferiority-complex… A constant feeling of worthlessness had held me back from expressing myself in any manner – be it in studies or any extra-curricular activities. Sometime in my twelfth standard, thanks to fine English teachers (who taught us Shakespeare and other li...

  “As A writer, the main skill you need is curiosity. As a reader, the main tool you need is open-mindedness.” Gloria D. Gonsalves   S ome days ago, my wife and I were invited to attend a dinner hosted by a dear family. We were, in all, eight families around the dining tables. The day happened to be ‘The International Women’s Day’, though the main celebration was a couple’s 47 th wedding anniversary. My wife and I had picked eight books to gift each woman who was present there… “What a thoughtful gift,” we heard some women reacting happily. Others said, “Really appreciate”, or “Thank you so much.” Will those books be read? Do people ‘still’ read these days? Leave alone other people… do I ‘still’ read books – and, for that matter, even magazines and newspapers? That night, one of the books was gifted to my own wife. It was Shobhaa De’s latest release - ‘Insatiable – My hunger for Life’.   In fact, my wife, on listening to Shobhaa on a podcast, had nudged m...

“We lose ourselves in books. We find ourselves in books.” -          Anonymous O ne of the most delightful sights, for me, is watching little children sitting in one corner, of a book store, and reading some books. The child in me, instantly, comes alive and yearns to join them! Taking your favourite book and sitting in your own corner, in your own way and just get soaked in it, get transported to another land… Wow! What an empowering feeling… What a liberating one! O n this Independence Day, our son booked for me and my wife tickets for the movie, ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’. I am very fond of the lead cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pritt and even Al Pacino. Son gave us a brief about the passionate director Quentin Tarantino . (Remember ‘Reservoir Dogs’ and ‘Pulp Fiction’?)   “He only wants to make 10 movies in his career… This one is his ninth,” son said, “You will certainl...

Pic.: Alwyn Mathias S ome days ago, I was returning from Pune. The moment I got into the Shivneri bus, I saw a young college-girl, who had already settled in one of the front seats, reading what looked like a very-fat novel. While I was getting off the bus, here in Mumbai, I saw her still reading it! I thought of the two slim books I had tucked into my hand bag… I, always, keep with me a book, magazine or a newspaper with me while travelling. In fact, you get to pick up a free newspaper while travelling by Shivneri… But, on this journey of more than three and half hours, I did not read a single line… yes, either from the two books I was carrying or from the newspaper… The sight of the young college-girl reading, right as I stepped into the bus, hadn’t inspired me to take out one of my books or the newspaper… I just preferred to gaze out of the window or glide through my quiet thoughts or simply take some nap… I hardly, even, spoke to my wife who sat next to me… I...

Pic.: Chetna Shetty “ We are the children of a technological age. We have found streamlined ways of doing much of our routine work. Printing is no longer the only way of reproducing books. Reading them, however, has not changed. " Lawrence Clark Powell R eading hasn't become extinct, yet. People still read… Only question is: Whether they prefer reading online or offline… Whether the traditional book – the hard-copy or the trendy, convinient soft-copy… I have just returned from the THE DAWN CLUB Certification function held in the local gymkhana today. During the course, one of the many things I had kept reminding them to do was: to read, read, and read… Yes, read anything… Read anything that helped them broaden their outlook towards life… “Reading helps you develop your world-view,” I would, often, tell them… Read anything that helped them enhance their subject-knowledge… “Reading helps you in constantly enhancing yo...