Gerald D'Cunha

In the one of the greatest Hindi movies, ‘Deewar’, Vijay Verma – Amitabh Bachchan – is born to very honest and simple parents. He has a younger brother, Ravi Verma – Shashi Kapoor. Now, you know how our mothers in Hindi movies are…! Vijay is born to such a mother… an incredibly ‘holy’ mother… and, of course, to a father, who worked killingly hard for his two little-children, came home tired… but to a very loving home. But, this upright worker, a representative of the workers’ union, is now damned as a traitor, humiliated, shamed and threatened… and, he is unable to face the trauma of shame, fear and humiliation… so much so, he leaves the town…and, later, dies a lonely death in a local train! By now, the two sons have become adults… and well-known in their fields: Ravi Verma has become an upright police officer… while, the elder one, Vijay Verma, has become a Mafia Lord! When their father is harassed and humiliated as a traitor by the worke...

"Hatred is its own punishment." When I heard this statement first, many years ago - to be precise, when the Punjab terrorism was in the thick of things - I was not able to comprehend its meaning fully. "How can hatred be its own punishment?" I still remember, asking. The terrorists have struck, once again, in Pakistan. Yes, the victims are the innocent Sri Lankan players. And, the victor? Why do I hate some people? Because, some of them have hurt me, done injustice to me ... and, I do not approve that. Some of them are persistently doing that to me, and I am angry; I want to get back at them, take revenge... and this thought consumes me all the time ... makes me stressful, burdened... I am imprisoned, all the time, by my own mind, my own thinking. Before my hatred can get back at my enemy, my tormentor, before I can punish him, I am punished by my own thoughts of hatred. I am consumed by it. Tormented. And, very often, there seems to be no genuine reason to hate any...