Gerald D'Cunha

“Life has a way of taking you past your wants and hopes. Instead, it drops you in front of what you need.” Shannon Alder A s I write this Post, the Sun is slowly on its way home… The sky changes its attire as if it’s performing on a stage… Colours explode so beautifully, making the Sun appear calmer, gentler and prettier as it departs… One more lockdown day is about to end. But, the sky and the Sun seem completely unaware of it! It’s one more day to Mother Nature… To Her, it’s business as usual. But, we – you and I - are anxious…   We have been so busy building our castles in the air… We fantasized a life of ‘security’. And, suddenly, it seems, our castles were nothing but the bubbles in the air… and, the security has gone with the wind! Gloomy words? No Sir… Very bright and optimistic ones. So much was not needed, anyway, for our so-called ‘security’… Such big mansions, such lavish lifestyle… Clothes, cars, education, food, entertainment, holi...

T ime to pause… Time to press the re-set button… Time to reflect… Time to slowdown… Yes, as Charles Dickens opened his famous tale – ‘The Tale of Two Cities’ – these are the best of times and these are the worst of times. And, as I quoted Mark Twain, in my last Post, “There is no security in life, there is only opportunity.” Maybe, the Poet wanted to say, “There are only ‘opportunists’!” And, I am already hearing the voices of protest: “What’s wrong with that – i.e., in being ‘opportunists’ in these hard times?” You see, Life has to go on… and we have to somehow survive. How many days can one sit at home doing nothing… Sorry, earning nothing? Yes, a guy like me, who always depended on a classroom set up to teach my students, now, is desperate to find an alternative method of teaching – online, sitting at home. Well, for me, it may be an ‘alternative method’; but, not to those who had been doing through that route for years. Now, suddenl...

Pic.:   Dilip V        "Don't Strive To Make Your Presence Noticed, Just Make Your Absence Felt" -        Anonymous Y esterday, Kannan had used this old quote in our Tai Chi class, in a certain context. But, I could immediately grasp its universal applicability… especially in any area of leadership. And yes, in any area of relationship, or, even social work. It’s tough to be anonymous, faceless and low-key when we are leaders… Asserting our authority and position, expecting recognition from our subordinates comes easily to us. The thought of being a faceless leader or social worker… yes, it sounds scary. In relationships, too, it is quite scary to function without we striving to make our presence noticed… But, that need to make our presence noticed comes from our insecurity! If we closely observe true leaders – be them business leaders, work-place leaders, leaders at schools and col...

Pic.: Pushpa Mistry Kamath I say this too often. And, yesterday, I heard it from a friend of mine, too: “We need to have trust when we step out into the world.” Yes, this friend of mine, too, was asking, “What kind of life it would be, if we have no trust in each other?” He pointed to me at the cars and the bikes parked inside our society complex and said, “Ours is a private society. We have this boundary wall and massive gates protecting us. There are these security guards keeping a vigil all through the day and the night… So, we think we are safe, our properties are safe. But, let’s just move out of our society complex and see how it is… There are these ultra-modern buildings with no place to park even their high-end cars… They leave them on the open road and go off to sleep. Lakhs and lakhs of taxis and auto rickshaws are left on the roadside by their owners when they go home at night… The lamps on the streets are not guarded… There are lakes giving us all t...

Pic.: Nirmala Sundar I s the need for security our greatest drive in life? I have reasons to believe it is. When I closely scrutinize almost all my activities – my work and relationships being the most important of them – I am able to trace the source of my drive rooted in this innate need to be secure! A couple of nights ago, I was travelling in a friend’s car around the CST area. The illuminated buildings of CST – The British had baptized them as ‘Victoria Terminus’ - and BMC HQ made me comment, “What an enduring beauty!” My friend looked at me and said with his wicked smile, “Did the British ever think, that they would have to leave behind this ‘beauty’ and go back, one day?” The rest of the discussion centered around the subject: Why are we so obsessed to build our empires? Well, like every other empire, the British, too, had thought, that the Sun would never set on their empire; that they were sent by God to rule ...

Pic.: Aparna Khanolkar Sheth “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.” - Neale Donald Walsch “ I t is so difficult to get a job, but it is even more difficult to leave one. It, really, needs guts my dear... Enjoy life the way you like!” This was how Indrani  responded to her near-and-dear Tandra, on reading what Tandra had just written on her FB status: “YES,  I am on a job sabbatical... and here's what its like: My house gets all the sunlight for most part of the day... because, I am there to draw the curtains when needed... My culinary skills seem to have come out of the dormancy or weekend mode... My voice [speaking/singing] is no more embarrassing.....in fact, my karaokes are splendid... Most gadgets and things are fixed and are not waiting for a weekend Mom and dad - and, for that matter, my spouse - can call me anytime....esp in need to speak Some old friendships have got a new life... Vacations nee...

Pic.: Ruma Chatterjee R ight now, some of my most significant people in life – my wife, son, mom, my in-laws, brothers and their families, some close friends and well-wishers - are not physically present here, from where I am working. Still, I can feel their strong presence around me... I can feel their warmth, their acceptance, their love and validation. Not even for fraction of a second, I sense their absence... I do not feel the urge to talk to them, be next to them... enquire about them, least of all, complain or crib about them... I know they are all safe as I am here... I know they all think about me as I do about them... I know they all feel my presence just as I feel theirs here, now... So, what is this strange phenomenon called in love and relationship? ‘Presence’? I have been coining this word, since last evening... I do not need to call-up or text someone near-and-dear to say, “I love you” or “I miss you”... Or to say, “You are awesome” o...

Pic.: Chetna Shetty H er name was Mrs. Liticia. She was my class teacher when I was in third standard. I must have been eight or nine year old, then. And, she must have been in her early thirties. What I remember about her the most is that she was very fair and pretty; very loving and caring. As a kid, I was very scared of most of my teachers... But, Mrs. Liticia’s warmth and care made me feel very secure and loved... Nearly fifty years have rolled by... How a teacher has touched you when you were a little boy, yes, this beautiful feeling has lasted so long! S ome days ago, while I was in Mangalore, my hometown, I had this strong desire in my heart to see Synthia, one of my earliest students. I hadn't met her or talked to her for years and years. It was just a year ago that we got in touch with each other; even then, we hardly communicated... Today, Synthia  is a mother of two young-children and well settled in Mangalore. When I spent about...

Pic.: Sherry Haridas “A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything,  and the value of nothing.”   ―   Oscar Wilde     I first learnt it in our Economics text-books: that, the ‘Price’ of a commodity is different from its ‘Value’. But, as I have gone about my life, it has become more and more evident to me, that, the price and the value of each and everything in my life are different! A glass of water when I am dying of thirst... A piece of cloth when my honor is at stake... A bottle of blood when I am struggling for life in a hospital... A little oxygen... A kidney... Some sperm... To know the value of water, someone has to put me in a desert... Similarly, to know the value of my breath, I need to be put on the ventilator in an ICU... My money will be, always, ‘MY MONEY’... till someone or something takes it all away from me... Or, it looks utterly pale before the imminent death or des...