Gerald D'Cunha

“A flower does not think of competing with the flower next to it… It just blooms.” - Unknown I spent the entire day, today, with B.Sc (IT) students of a Mumbai college. They are all set to walk into their final year, in a few weeks from now. So, the college authorities are aware of the fact that these young-ones would need to be groomed so that they get good placement. I was there, today, to help them in their self-confidence and communication skills. At their age, I was worse, as far as my self-confidence and communication skills were concerned. So, if I could do something about my problem, they, certainly, can do something about theirs… As I, always, say: “If I can, you, too, can.” But, after a pause, I add this: “I said, ‘You can’… not ‘You will’!” Yes, I, always, hammer this truth into young-ones' skulls: “Till you do not make ‘I can’ into ‘I will’, your problem will remain your problem.” Guys like me go there and share o...

    The best way to approach life, with less anxiety about our future, is to know what we are good at and pursue it wholeheartedly. And, as we go about it, be brutally sincere to our commitments and people… Be warm and courteous to them. I said this to a middle-aged man, this morning, who was a lot worried about his sagging business. He was just 40; but, a lot anxious. I gave my example. “Look, what is my profession? I am just a teacher. Now, am I not worried about my future? Certainly, I am. But, then, what I go back to, again and again, is the core strength which holds me together – my teaching skill. Things are changing in my field like shades of the sky… fast and unpredictable they are. But, teaching is teaching… I must love it; I must be damn good in it. I must be good to my students and parents… Be brutally sincere to my commitments and work ethics… The more I focus on it, the less anxious I turn…” Well, I gave the examples of great Amitabh Bac...

  “Let there be beauty in your work,” I was repeatedly telling the class, last evening. Many had come without the homework; and, many had come with a shoddy work. Some had copied (out of my fear) from others. And yes, there were a few, who had put their hearts into the work they had done… Everything was visible, open… The work of heart was glowing… It was beautiful! The shoddy work, the copied work, too, was visible… It was ugly! In the midst of my repeated reminders to my students – “Let there be beauty in your work” – I began to wonder: “Do they know how to add beauty into their work? And, why to add it?” “To add beauty into your work, your heart has to be there in it,” I found myself telling them. “When your heart has gone into your work, it glows… captivates others’ hearts…" Well, my students couldn’t have an argument on it. Those who had sincerely done their work, they knew how they had done it… what had gone into their ...