Gerald D'Cunha

No, my wife and I could not watch ‘Vishwaroop’ last evening. The show had already started, and the next was too late. So, we booked our tickets for the morning show today. A blessing in disguise… We saved money, you see! We loved the movie… essentially because of the action, the stunning visuals and of course, Kamal Haasan. I, particularly, loved this movie for one more reason. It is Sunday, today… The movie had caused a lot of noise in Tamilnadu. So, maybe for that reason, or maybe it is a Kamal Haasan ‘filam’ – the multiplex where we watched this movie had plenty of Tamilians – the young, the middle-aged and even the elderly. Next to me, was a young Tamilian-couple. They reminded me of the way we watched our Raj Kumar Kannada-movies in Mangalore! There was this theatre by the name ‘Ramakanti’… which screened exclusively ‘Tamil’ films. I have some explosive memories of watching here some Tamil blockbusters – starred by MGR and Shivaji Ganeshan. Th...

Today is the first visarjan – of one-and-a-half days’. So, my eight-o’clock-batch students wanted a day off. I could take some rest and reach late.  At nine, when I reached near my classes, I thought of taking a glimpse of the Ganesh murti decorated just outside… There was no one around; so, I thought I could peacefully spend a moment inside the pandal.   My heart spontaneously smiled the moment I reached the pandal . Three kids – aged between eleven to fifteen – were fast asleep inside!  “Good morning,” my smiling heart wished them. Immediately, the youngest one jumped. “What’s the time, sir,” he asked me. “Nine, beta ,” I told him. “Oh, no!” he seemed worried and started pulling the blankets off his friends’ faces. “Nine it is; we have missed the school!” The other two pulled over the blankets and turned to other side. The youngest one decided to sit down for a while… The school, any way, had gone for a toss! ...

Really loved to read today’s blog, Sir. Two days back, my T.Y. B’Com student, Sweety, commented on my blog. I had written about two of my very close friends, Tanish and Yommie… nine-year-old chaddi buddies. And, Sweety had loved it. I had sent a quick reply to her: Thank u Sweety... Glad u liked this 'kid-stuff'! My next post will be on 'big kids'... Sweety and her gang!!! Love, Sir. This morning, there was this rejoinder from this young lady:  Hahahaha thank you so much sir!!!  It would be my pleasure  if you write something   about me and my mischiefs… because, in your stories, there is always a part which tells what you experienced or felt.  I would love to know that through the blog. SWEETY. My response to Sweety’s wish was instant. Madam, I will write today, I promise! Thanks for reading and trusting in what I write! ...

Last week, we had been for the wedding reception of a cousin of my wife. It was in a swanky banquet hall and the ambiance was familiar: that of a traditional Catholic-wedding. In a Catholic wedding, the programme, from the start to the end, is all well-set; it is predictable... You know what comes next, what the Master of Ceremony is going to tell next. And, for most of us, the one liners, the teasers and the jokes that the M.C. uses, are, often, too familiar. On this particular evening, the M.C. cracked the familiar teaser, while the bridal couple waited nervously before the lovely cake, about to hold the knife. "Marriage is not just a 'word'," he reminded the newly-weds, "It is a 'sentence' - a 'life sentence'." "Nice one," I softly said. "What is nice in that?" reacted my wife. Now, I knew that question was not asked to seek an answer, but to express a faithful wife's displeasure. It meant: "You old man, shut u...

"Mind your language; what do you mean by 'aarayela hai'," Dr. Dastana, aka. Mamu, warns his ward boy. The ward boy has just tried to please his boss, so sincerely, by breaking the bizarre news: Mamu's nemesis, Munna and his sidekick Circuit have entered the hospital with a king-size bed. Munna is a man with a mission. He has dropped the desire to get married to Mamu's daughter, Chinky, and now obsessed with the desire to marry Dr. Suman. But, not before making Mamu's life miserable. "Vaat lagayega teri," he had vowed ... Like Chanakya. Long before the movie ends, the frustrated Dr. Dastana - the upright Dean of the prestigious medical college - vows behind the closed door: "Vaat main lagayega teri!" The very next moment, he beats with both his hands his melonlike head and bemoans, "What am I saying!" Mamu is unable to believe, that he, too, can succumb to such levels. From a hardcore Gandhian to a hardcore terrorist, from the...