Gerald D'Cunha

  “Follow your dreams; they know the way.” Kobe Yamada   V idhi, my student, messaged me, the other day: “Good evening Sir. Just wanted to share some news - I  cleared my  CA foundation-exam.” I smiled… Both her parents are CA’s… Her brother, Nishant (also my student), is about to become one… and, now, this family-of-four is all set to complete the circle of Chartered Accountancy… I was also smiling for another reason: Neither by wife nor my only son wanted to do what I have been doing all my life – teaching. REFLECTION: One’s vocation is a calling in life. It can be heard only when one is ‘ready’ to hear. That’s why, it’s said, “In life, if you do what you love, and love what you do, you do not have to ‘work’ at all." GERALD D’CUNHA Pic’s: Pixabay Video: ABBA/Young Pilgrim Music

  “Start with a ‘Yes’, and see where that takes you.” Tina Fey   W hat excites me may not excite you, and what excites you may not excite me. But, in life, we all are excited by some things or the other. Let me apply this excitement factor in a student’s life. As a teacher, I get to interact with students who just walk into their first-year junior college, and, those who are in their final-year degree college. Typically, a Commerce student has six subjects to focus on. After weeks and months of teaching, I ask my students this question: “Do you love this subject.” It is interesting to find the answer… ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ are like black and white – the two extremes. The depth of ‘Yes’ matters a lot… Especially, for students. “The day you say ‘Yes, I do’, you start finding a career out of this subject,” I remind my students, “The early that happens, the better for you.” “Catch them young,” it is said. So, the best time to give that career advice is when they are just ...

  “Sometimes, when you lose your way, you find yourself.” Mandy Hale A  young girl, who is planning to join my eleventh-standard classes (CBSE), tells me, that she wants to pursue Economics. Both her parents say, that their daughter is clear in her choice… You see, it is a rare sight, these days. The young kids, irrespective of the schools/Boards they belong to, are rarely clear about what they want to pursue.   This girl’s father said to me, today: “Sir, our daughter could zero in on Economics more through the process of elimination than through the process of selection. Sometimes, if you can get in touch with what you don’t want, it can help you get in touch with what you want. I did MBA in Finance after many years of my Engineering studies. My Economics Professor ignited love for Economics in me. Today, I look after finance in my organization… My daughter has seen this and says, “One must apply what one learns.” This passion for Economics reminded me of a...

  “Go into the world and do well. But, more importantly, go into the world and do good.” Minor Myers   L ast night, my wife and I had been for a dinner at one of our friends’ place. They had invited one more family, our common friends. Both these families had two young children each, who were preparing for their Board/college exams. While leaving our friends’ place late at night, I found myself wishing each of these young kids – “Best wishes… Do well.” And, that’s how I find myself wishing almost every young kid - hundreds and hundreds of them - who go into the world… Yes, I find myself sending them off, saying – “Do well.” Rarely, I find myself telling them – “Do good.” Well, you may ask me this: “When a young one does well in life, won’t he/she do good, too?” “So and so is doing very well.” Many of us, often, use this line loosely. Yes, what we are saying here is, that so and so is doing very well in his career, profession… He is doing very well financially… ...

“Your career is what you’re paid for; your calling is what you’re made for.” Steve Harvey I just asked one of my eleventh-standard student: “So, what is the plan after twelfth?" “I don’t know, Sir,” the girl said quite sincerely. The last thing I wanted to do was to make this bright girl feel guilty about it. I was clueless about what I wanted to do in my own life till I landed up in first-year B.Com. I knew how I had gone about my own career choice. So, I said to this girl, “It’s okay if you do not know what you should do after twelfth. But, you should know what you should do now about it.” I pointed to the difference between my situation at her age and hers… I grew up in a village, where my parents were not educated. There was ignorance and lack of means… My self-confidence was extremely low and social skills were poor. I was not into reading; nor I was aware of any motivational programmes. Everything began to change during my B.Com days, when I dreamt of becoming ...

THE ROAD NOT TAKEN By Robert Frost Two roads divulged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads divulged in a wood, and I – I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. I don’t think, they have stopped including this poem in today’s High-school English text books. I hope, they haven’t. We had it in our ninth standard. And, you know ...

Pic.: Rekha Prakash I t is widely known as ‘The Parable of the Talents’. It is, also, known as ‘The Parable of the Minas’ … and, sometimes, as ‘The Parable of the Pounds’. But, I love the first name – ‘The Parable of the Talents.’ To me, it is one of Jesus’ most profound Parables… O nce, a Master was to go on a long journey. Before leaving, he called three of his servants and handed each one of them some Talents (A Talent, then, was a substantial sum of money… call it ‘Minas’ or ‘Pound’ or even ‘Dollar!’) according to their abilities. To the first servant, the Master handed five Talents; to the second, he gave two; and to the third, he offered one. Then, he proceeded on his journey. The first two servants immediately went on to work. They invested the Talents gifted by their Master wisely and responsibly. The third savant just dug a hole in the ground and hid his Talent there. When the Master returned, he wanted to know what his three servants had done...

In Life, some things we, always, do without being told… and, without any concern over time or returns… even, appreciation. We, always, pursue them just for the simple joy they give us… and, we do them with our full heart. They are our hobbies. Call them interests… It makes no difference. Normally, any pursuit ‘outside my regular occupation’ is considered to be our hobby. So, my regular occupation is teaching ‘commerce students’. If I do any activity, other than teaching, through my own self-interest, for sheer joy… like this blogging, counseling, poetry, writing notes in dairies, or photography, painting, sports – or, yes, the FB ‘time-pass’– all these can be branded as hobbies. Some of my friends still collect old coins and stamps… Some have hundreds of mini-car models… Some keep fish and tortoise at home, some dogs and parrots… Some maintain gardens and plants… Some cook exotic dishes, some sing, some sketch… Some collect celebrity autog...