Gerald D'Cunha

Pic.: Sheela krishnamony U p to my fifth standard, I went to the local primary school at our village in Mangalore. In my class, there were many Krishna ’s, Govinda's, Gopala’s and Keshava’s... Yes, all meant the same: Krishna ! Janmashtami – which we called Krishnashtami or simply Ashtami – was a huge festival in our village, too. The local Krishna Mandal would organize it so well... All along the distance of almost two-to-three miles, hundreds of Dhai Handies were raised by patrons and mandals... There were different kinds of acts and shows enacted along... Thousands of people thronged to watch this, queuing up along both sides of the street... And, it all continued till midnight. Here in Mumbai, Dahi Handi , though cash-rich and glamorous, it is nowhere near our village celebrations, which were a fantastic combination of grace and glamour... When baby Krishna was carried by the devotees on His palki , they carried Him with such dignity, such rever...

Pic.: Malabika Ganguly   The postman just handed me with quite-a-packed envelope. It was from ‘imfpa’ – Indian Mouth and Foot Painting Artists. Yellow in color, on the front-side of this envelope was written: “Handicapped in body, but not in spirit’! I had some other subject in mind to write on, today. But, the moment I opened the pack, I knew it had to be this subject… The pack contained: beautifully designed all-occasion greeting cards, book marks, gift tags, and gift envelopes, comprising 17 designs selected from some of the finest original paintings done by mouth-and-foot artists of India. There was a touching letter written by one of these artists with her picture. The young smiling-girl from Kerala, Swapna Augustine, has no limbs… she is shown painting… holding a brush in between her toes! The letter gently reminds us that these unfortunate artistes had lost their hands either due to accident, illness or birth defect. “Have you ever...

I will just call him – the Manipur Boy! That’s enough. He hails from the troubled state of Manipur… and from a family which has tough times making the two ends meet. The newspapers say that, barely six months ago, he almost missed out filling the registration forms for his CBSE-Board class XII exams… because his family could not afford it. Yes, that was six months ago. On this Monday, when the results were out, this young boy stunned the nation: He scored 99 percent and became the first to do that – ever – in the CBSE history! He stood first in a nation crowded with rich, bright, elite and whatever!  I do not know who this boy is. I haven’t even seen his picture… But, last night, when I read the report in the newspapers, my eyes welled… and goose bumps sprang up all over my body! I felt a lot proud to be born in a nation where the guys like this one – with acute constraints – still could dream, and go about following them… and, yes, the...