Gerald D'Cunha

  “Kaise kaise ko diya hai… Aise vaiso ko diya hai Mujh ko bhi toh lift karade… Thodi si toh lift karade” From Adnan Sami’s song, ‘Lift Karade’   W ell, I do not know about you. But, the only times I heard or used the word ‘Viral’ was when there was an ordinary fever – the fever in the air, caused by some ordinary virus. For major fevers like Malaria, Typhoid etc., one never used that term… That was before the internet boom… Before FB, Instagram, YouTube and the like came up to spread this digital virus – so fast, so far, that people like me started wondering as Adnan Sami did… “Kaise kaise ko diya hai… Aise vaiso ko diya hai Mujh ko bhi toh lift karade… Thodi si toh lift karade” “Going viral isn’t random, magic or luck… It’s a science,” says Johah Berger. So, in the school/college curriculum, it’s time, they added this new science – ‘Science of going Viral’! Adnan Sami was a visionary writer and singer… Just listen to his lyrics and the song. Remember, he di...

  “A man doesn’t begin to attain wisdom until he recognizes, that he is no longer indispensable.” Richard E. Byrd H as the thought – ‘I am indispensable’ – come in me? Oh, yes, yes… Quite often, for quite long. I am sure, I am not alone, or in a minority, in this. ‘I am indispensable’ is a self-destructive thought. It does come, and it is but natural. But, today, I can only reflect on this phenomenon and say: None of us, here, is indispensable. All that we have, here – from our physical body to the body of our work… with all our fame, name, wealth, power and glory - yes, everything comes to us only with a ‘shelf life’… We fade… Just the way everything else does around us! So, how will I greet this thought, if - and when - it returns, today? REFLECTION: Whatever ‘I have’ now has come from God’s grace. Let me feel grateful when it is there, and graceful when it goes. The wisdom, that it has come to me ‘just to stay for a while’ will keep me at peace… Thus, beyond a shadow of doub...

“Love the trees until their leaves fall off; then, encourage them to try again next year.” Chad Sugg   I met this old friend, last evening, after over forty years. Those were my initial years in this city (then, Bombay) … I had African bushy-hair on my head, a flat tummy, loads of youthful energy… and, above all, a carefree outlook towards life. Obviously, I was single, and the serious thoughts about my ‘tomorrow’ had not yet sprung inside my mind… From such a state of my mind, I could only hear the mountains calling… I really thought, that ‘Success’ – the proverbial Pot of Gold – could be found only ‘there’; that I had to climb frantically to lay my hands on it… And, once that done, I could shout from the top to the world below – “Hark, I have arrived!” The idea of success has undergone a sea change in me over these forty-plus years… I no more look for the Pot of Gold ‘over there’, at the top of the highest mountain… No more do I feel the need to shout to the world – “...

“When admiring other people’s gardens, don’t forget to tend to your own flowers.” Sanober Khan   M y wife had just returned home, late last evening, after making a presentation. One of her seniors, who she always admired, had done the major part of the presentation. “She is too good,” my wife said as she walked into the house, “I wish I could do presentations like her.” I had just finished watching the following video from AGT (America’s Got Talent) … and I had watched it, back-to-back, thrice…  T he goose bumps were still there on my body… The spell hadn’t left me, yet… Inspired, I had, instantaneously, decided to create a blog around it…The quote had been already typed: “When admiring other people’s gardens, don’t forget to tend to your own flowers.” Sanober Khan   “Come here,” I called my wife, “read this.” You see, even in my wildest dreams, I will not be able to sing in my own house, leave alone like Putri Ariani, and leave alone on a gigantic s...

  “To win the people, always cook   them some savoury that pleases them.” Aristophanes, The  Knights   S ome months ago, when I first came across a YouTube video by the name ‘Village Cooking Channel’, I instantly fell in love with it. Village-cooking videos on YouTube are not a novelty… There are thousands of them. But, this one was distinct and special in many ways. It was brisk, it was authentic… and, it filled the viewers with energy and joy. So much so, one felt like not only visiting such villages, but settling down there, permanently.       I remember watching a couple of videos from this YouTube channel some days ago… It was late night, and I was feeling extremely low. These guys brought a smile back on my face, and fired energy back into my heart! The very night, I wanted to blog about them. Somehow, the night passed and days, too, without a blog on them. And, just a while ago, I watched this one, their latest… S o many of us ...

  “To ride two horses at the same time is difficult.” Rajnikanth   B ut, it shouldn’t be difficult at all for Rajnikanth, right? “Hello, he can ride hundred horses at the same time!” Yes, I hear it loud and clear… I am not a great fan of Rajnikanth’s acting. He always plays to his massive world of fans – who expect him to play the larger-than-life - and over-the-top - roles. To them, he is the demigod and God, both. It doesn’t appeal to my sensibilities. But, like millions of people in India and around the world, who adore Rajnikanth for several other reasons, I, too, have a set of my own reasons… Rajnikanth is the quintessential underdog. He became Rajnikanth, the Superstar, the proverbial rags-to-riches way. He was Shivaji Rao Gaekward from Bangalore (Language being Marathi and Kannada)… He worked as a coolie and a bus conductor in Bangalore. But, he dreamt big and worked hard to become a huge movie star in the South… The rest is Rajnikanth’s inspiring saga of su...

  “I am black or white; I will never be grey in my life.” Diego Maradona D iego Maradona died yesterday, at the age of 60. Being his ardent fan, I couldn’t bring myself to accept the way he looked, now… He had bloated like a huge football, and when he walked, I, literally, closed my eyes! The images of charismatic Maradona of the eighties had been robustly embedded on the minds of most of his fans, including me, who watched him in the field with his lightning speed and magical skills… That was our Diego Maradona: The God of football!   “To see the ball, to run after it, makes me the happiest man in the world,” Maradona once said talking about his love for football. This statement speaks on behalf of every man or woman, who rise to the top in their respective fields – sports, music, acting, business, painting … any field, any profession, any game. There is no alternative route to excel in your ‘game’. As Maradona said, when you see the ‘ball’, you’ve got o feel super-exci...

"T o be without some of the things you want," said Bertrand Russel, " is an indispensable part of happiness.” "To be without some of the things you want"? Well, that's not happiness... but, it's a part... It comes with the 'happiness package'. Invariably, all of us are in a constant pursuit of happiness... And, it is not an hyperbole, if I say, that we all hope to find it in things that we want...  So, we think: Happiness comes when a great job comes along... when our dream house and car come  along... when marriage happens, when children are born... when they get high grades in school... when they come home with trophies... when our names, our loved ones' names make happy headlines... Yes, for most of us, happiness comes when the things that we desire come...  That's when the Russell's statement, too, comes in...  Life cannot be separated from struggle... the setbacks, disappointments ...

I once heard Oprah Winfrey saying in one of her talk shows, “Your fame only implies that more number of people know you than they know others.” True. If more number of people know you (than they know others) for a good reason, you are obviously hailed as ‘famous’. On the other hand, if more number of people know you for a wrong reason, you are damned as ‘notorious’! Often, people try to become famous by moving heaven and earth; but, they just don’t get there… And, sometimes, just by a ‘wink’, someone does… Logic may not explain that phenomenon… Maybe Luck does! How else will you explain this phenomenon called ‘Priya Prakash Varrier’ – the 18-year-old girl who ‘winked’ her way to overnight-fame? M y friend, Dr. Deepak, had a very witty way of telling the young ones, that they should not expect to get success or fame just the way they expected to get an instant coffee… “It takes twenty long- years to become an overnight success,” he would drill into ...