Gerald D'Cunha

“It is far easier to love an infallible god than fallible human beings.” ―  Marty Rubin O n my nephew, Macklin’s (my elder brother’s son) wedding day, I was the toastmaster. I did two goof-ups that day… Let me take you through the first goof-up... Macklin, after completing his B.E., had decided to be a sailor like his father. The difference was this: while his father had become a sailor after his ITI as a technician in the engine department, Macklin wanted to climb the ladder from the Fourth Engineer up to the Chief Engineer. I did not know about what people did on ships… The engine and the deck, both, appeared same to me till that mid-noon while I was raising the toast… I recalled my brother Franklin’s obsession with machines when he was a young boy… He was simply crazy about mechanical things. Dad’s old Favre-leuba watch and our antique alarm-watch… My brother alone knows how many times he had ripped them open...

B uzzo was in a bad mood, this morning.  On my way to my Tai Chi class, I stopped by my office to pick some copies of my new book to hand them to our Tai Chi teacher. As the autorikshaw stopped outside my office, Buzzo came close to me wagging his tail so that he could get some nice body caressing from me… After a minute-long caressing and a gentle monologue with him, I went to collect the books keeping the auto waiting. By the time I returned with the books and the auto started to move, Buzzo’s mood had changed… He was howling hysterically… joined by another couple of his friends… As our auto speeded up, Buzzo began to chase the auto howling like a possessed creature… I was surprised… “What is wrong with this fellow, today?” I wondered, “He is, always, so friendly to me… He doesn’t howl at the autos in which I commute... So, why is he angry, today?” I asked the autowala to stop. He was reluctant, “No sir, let the dogs bark… Elephant will march on!” “Apna dost hai w...