Gerald D'Cunha

  “So comes snow after fire, and even dragons have their endings.” J.R.R. Tolkien   S taying relevant till the ripe age of 80 – and be able to continue doing what you are passionate about, that too, remarkably well, and, that too, in a cut-throat glamorous industry -   is not possible for any one, unless he or she is an Amitabh Bachchan! When Amitabh turned 80, on this October 11, I wanted to write something about him. But, then, what is left ‘new’ to write about this ‘One-and-only’? Whatever I wanted to write had been already written by countless number of his admirers. I, myself, have written about him so many times in my past Blogs… So, what is new, now? Nothing! E very time I feel tired – both physically and mentally – I look up to Amitabh Bachchan. Every time, I feel scarcity in my mind – that, I may not be able to find ‘work’, earn my daily bread, manage my home etc. – I look up to him. Every time, my boat gets caught up in a storm, every time I hear...

Pic.: Chetna Shetty I had scored very bad marks in tenth-standard and twelfth-standard board-exams. It was only F.Y.B’Com onwards – when Prof. Raman came to teach us, and I intensely desired to become a teacher like him – that my exams performance began to improve. Still, I would say, it was way below the accepted standards of the day. I was teaching plenty of students during my final-year B.Com. Many of my students scored much higher than I did! But, then, I knew that I would do in life nothing else but teaching... whether with good marks or bad. Luckily, I do not remember anyone asking me, all through my three-decades-plus teaching career, “How much did you get?” Everyone has been interested in how good I am now: how well I taught, how good I am in my integrity, commitment and passion... how good I am as a motivator... as a friend, philosopher and guide to my students... Yes, even though most of the parents want my students to score high marks in exams, ne...

On the very first day of their first-year-MBBS college, the Dean, Dr. Asthana (Boman Irani), asks the fresh batch of medical students as to what do they dream to do as doctors. An overexcited girl-student raises her hand to impress her Dean that she looks forward to treat her patients as her ‘close friends’. “Sorry, wrong!” Dr. Asthana’s reaction stuns the audience, making the young girl dumbstruck. He tells the packed hall, “For a doctor, a patient is just a body to be treated… and not a ‘friend’.” Then, he dramatically tells the young medicos: “I have been a doctor for decades and I have carried out hundreds of operations.” He shows them his hands and continues, “Look at these hands, they are rock-steady. But, God forbid, if I am to operate my own daughter, these hands will surely tremble.” The young girl and all her batch-mates get the message loud and clear… and, on the very first day… That, as future-doctors, they must learn to per...