Gerald D'Cunha

  “In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary.”                                                               Aaron Rose               M y younger brother, Rony, is a gifted singer. He is very popular among the Mangalorean-Konkani music-lovers, both, here and abroad. He started singing on stage quite early. I remember him participating and winning singing competitions since his primary school-days. He kept participating in several competitions, winning most of them. Gradually, as a young singer, he joined popular bands and, also, started touring with well-known Konkani singing-legends. Recordings, too, became a regular part of his busy schedule… But, through all his hectic schedule, Rony largely depended on our Mom. She was his efficient manager, who would,...

  “Children see magic, because they look for it.” Christopher Moore   I had been to a friend’s place, last evening. As I got off the lift, I was pleasantly surprised to see one of my ex-students (she had also attended our summer programme on Personality Development) with her little girl on a three-wheeled cycle. “Hello sweetheart,” I greeted the little child, “can I sit on your cycle?” The little girl looked at her mother! I did not know, that my ex-student lived on the same floor as my friend did. After chatting with her for a few minutes, I proceeded towards my friend’s flat, which was on one end of the floor, while my ex-student and her little girl on cycle proceeded towards their flat, which was on the other end of the floor. It was a large floor with at least eight to ten flats on it… As I was waiting for someone to open the door from inside my friend’s flat, I overheard a conversation between my ex-student and her little girl on cycle… “Mummy, who was that ...

    “I love, that this morning’s sunrise does not define itself by last night’s sunset.” Steve Maraboli A week ago, a friend of mine shared some lovely pictures of his nephew’s wedding. It was a private ceremony held at the beautiful lawns of his sister Irene’s home in New Zealand. The boy, Vivan, was dating his sweetheart (a Kiwi) for several years. Finally, now, the two families had brought it to, what seemed like, the logical conclusion - a marriage. I messaged Irene: “Hello Irene, just saw some amazing pictures of Vivan’s wedding. So happy for the young couple, you parents and the entire family. Please convey our love, wishes and blessings to the newly-wedded . You all look so nice and happy!” Came the instant reply from Irene: “Thank you Gerry. All went well. I’m so glad it’s all over. Big relief!” My response was this: “HaHa! Madam, for mothers, it’s never going to be over. Dashing   Nivan (the second son) is all set for his turn. So, be ready.” ...

"It’s a sad moment, really, when parents first become a bit frightened of their children.” Ama Ata Aidoo I n Life, the right time to learn ‘acceptance’ is when we are born itself. The reason is simple: We have no choice about our birth and parents! Choices come about later, much later. Being born to ‘wonderful parents’ is purely a privilege.   But, what do I mean by ‘wonderful parents’? Am I referring to their education, economic and social status? Or, am I referring to their behaviour, values, culture, quality of their marriage, outlook towards family and society etc.? Yes, we inherit a lot of things from our parents… including our shyness and confidence. As I said, having wonderful parents is purely a privilege in Life. However, unless we show, that we are worthy of this privilege, it won’t take us far. In fact, it can prove counterproductive. On the other hand, those of us, who are deprived of this privilege, are not condemned to hell-fire… Far from ...

Did you ever know that you’re my hero? You’re everything I wish I could be, I could fly higher than an eagle, ‘cause you are the wind beneath my wings.” From the song ‘Wind Beneath My Wings’ by Bette Midler I n the morning, today, I received a ‘surprise friend-request’ on FB… It was Danika, the young daughter of my cousin, Oscar Rebello and his wife Mavis.  I said ‘surprise friend-request’, because, while Mavis has been on my FB friend-list for years (and would read my blogs regularly), Oscar found FB and other social-media platforms very superficial. He had told me, many times, that he believed in keeping personal touch, not virtual touch. That seems to be the only reason, why Oscar made it a point to keep in touch, by calling and visiting, with all his relatives, near and far, young and old alike. He has called my 85-year-old mom, who lives in our hometown, Mangalore, almost on every festival and special occasions, while, I may have skipped many ti...

““Much education today is monumentally ineffective. All too often, we are giving young people to cut flowers, when we should be teaching them to grow their own plants.” -   John W. Gardner A couple of months ago, an ex-student of mine, who presently holds a good position in a corporate, had come to visit me. He and his wife (a well-placed woman, too) were having some serious differences over the issue: which Board and which school would be ‘the ideal’ for their little girl-child. He wanted the child to get educated in one of the local state-board schools where he himself had studied many years ago… The wife disagreed. Her argument was: “The times have changed… The concept of schools has changed… There is a hell-lot of competition and the child should be prepared to handle the pressure, she should have an ‘edge’… and so on.” “Miyan biwi raazi, kya karega kaazi?”   The biwi hadn’t come to see me. T...