Gerald D'Cunha

  “One difference between savagery and civilization is a little courtesy.” Cullen Hightower   A s we become adults, do we feel too uncomfortable – or too childish – to be a little courteous? I am referring to showing very basic gestures of courtesy – like greeting with smile or a ‘Hello’ or responding to a smile or a ‘Hello’… a ‘Thank You’… ‘I am sorry’… etc. Well, parents and teachers emphasize on little children learning the basic manners and etiquette. But, whatever happens to them, as children grow into adults? Take for example, when I send a relevant   message to my students or their parents… Does the courtesy demand, that they should acknowledge it? But, I am left amused and annoyed when I notice the callous attitude of some of my young college-going students and their parents. I have to keep reminding them to acknowledge and respond to each of my messages. I can understand, when the calls and messages are sent in bulk – when they are irrelevant for...

  “Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.” Maya Angelou   S ome days ago, I was telling a group of underprivileged children how our random acts of kindness had ripple effect… “Kindness, always, spreads… It is contagious,” I explained to them in Hindi. Then, I encouraged them to share one or two acts of kindness either they had done towards others, or others had done towards them. Many stood up to share… Our random acts of kindness, invariably, are not only done by us randomly, but also done by us towards random people. Often, they are done towards people who do not even deserve our kindness. I know, it is difficult to accommodate that view: “Why should we be kind to someone who doesn’t deserve our kindness?” “A part of kindness consists in loving people more than they deserve,” says Joseph Joubert. Mother Teresa famously said, “If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” Well, we aren’t talking, here, about the ‘big acts’ of kindness – the Mother Teresa’s...