Gerald D'Cunha

When did you last hear the old saying, “Familiarity breeds contempt”? Well, I just used it in my reply to Yojana in her FB message box. When I was just a young-and-raw teacher and had joined a Junior college to teach, I was very self-conscious. No doubt, the young teachers get a massive fanfare… but, in my case, it would make me very scared. Oh that shyness cocoon! I haven’t still come out of it! You know, though we love the kick of limelight and adoration of our fans, at the end of the day, it is only the closeness with our own hearts… yes, that alone we all, seriously, take to bed!  I am very happy to have found, in my early days of teaching, such fabulous colleagues and students. The warmth, support and guidance which I received in those days – my struggling days – were very, very important… I still cherish those memories in my heart… I shall, always, look back on this, with a deep sense of gratitude.  Yojana was a twelfth-stand...

"Familiarity breeds contempt!" Yes, it does. Everything in life, when I become too familiar with, I get bored with… I slowly begin to take it for granted, dislike it…  And anything I dislike, do mechanically, can never be a source of joy and happiness in my life.  Well, I know this truth. That, unless I love what I do, love the people I interact with… unless I approach the same work, the same people with a childlike curiosity, with a twinkle in my eyes… yes, familiarity is bound to breed contempt in my life. If I claim that I have not been bored or tired of my teaching – over three decades – I will be simply lying. Teaching was, is and will be my sole passion. But, then, because I keep doing the same thing, over and over again, every single day, year after year – I become too familiar with it, fatigued and, at times even frustrated. Like most of us do, I too have often wondered: “Where else will I find my happiness?” ...