Gerald D'Cunha

  “The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.” – Confucius   T he only football match (the ongoing FIFA World Cup) I watched staying up late, here in Mumbai, was the Semi Finals between Argentina and England. Though, like most Indians, I, too, had been a diehard fan of Brazil and Argentina, during this match, I was rooting for England. I was upset, that Argentina had defeated two the widely-admired underdogs -– Cape Varde and Egypt. The two underdogs had played extremely well… and, therefore, my admiration for them outshone my traditional loyalty to the South Americans… that included the Champ –- Messi. Yes, the GOAT, according to the world around me… As usual, I went off to sleep at 10, instructing my son to wake me up at 12.30 to watch the match. He did… When England scored the first goal, I was thrilled… I saw David Beckham celebrating by hugging his wife, the Spice girl, Victoria… My Victoria, here, was fast asleep… Hence, I celebrated b...

  “I am more worried about being a good person than being the best football player in the world.” Lionel Messi   Y ou see, in my life, I haven’t played any sport, either outdoor or indoor. Basically, it was due to my excessive shy nature and low self-esteem in my growing-up years. I began to get hold my myself much later in life... Yes, I bloomed late in my life. By ‘blooming’, I mean becoming fairly successful in your chosen field. If teaching, writing, training, mentoring are what my ‘fields’ are, yes, I had begun to bloom in these fields – in these gardens – only after I crossed my teenage years. Thus, I was simply bad at sports, elocution, acting, singing and many such conventional fields. Later in my life, I developed interest in sports, music etc. But, my interest was confined to watching some select sports, listening to some select music – I never attempted to play, sing, act etc. Like most around me, I, too, began to idolize some heroes from the fields o...

  “Most brilliance arises from ordinary people working together in extraordinary ways.” Roger von Oech   E arly this morning, I saw a message from the mother of this 15-year-old boy. He studies in one of the top schools in Mumbai (IGCSE). These kids have my subject (Accountancy) right from class 9. I have been teaching this boy along side another couple of kids from   different international schools – all online. And, let me tell you this: compared to my B.Com students, these school kids, who are now in class 10, are brilliant! Did I say ‘brilliant’? Yes, I did. But, brilliance, in my view, has nothing to do with one’s syllabus or school. It has a lot to do with one’s own outlook towards the task in hand. You see, every task in hand can be done in the best possible way... with all the brilliance one’s heart possesses... The mother who sent the message, early this morning, was asking me to take ‘solo’ classes for her boy just to focus on his MCQs. I smile...