Gerald D'Cunha

  “A bone to the dog is not charity. Charity is the bone shared with the dog… when you are   just as hungry as the dog.” Jack London   T he other day, I was telling three of my young nephews, how,   in my view, ‘sharing’ was one of the best ways to feel good about ourselves in life. I was telling them, that ‘feeling good about ourselves’, also, meant ‘feeling confident’ in life! What, in my view, ‘sharing’ means? Is there something with all of us, that we can share with others? Do we need to ‘possess’ something first, in order to ‘share’ with others? One of my nephews was of the firm belief, that we were able to share only when we possessed enough… I agreed with him, before I could convey what I had in my mind. S haring – call it ‘Giving’ or ‘Charity’ or ‘Empowering’ or ‘Reaching out’ or ‘Touching lives’ whatever, whatever, whatever – comes from the intangible state of our hearts, rather than the tangible state of our possessions. From this paradigm...

S ome of my S.Y. B.Com students, who have their third-sem exams starting from tomorrow, had  decided to sit in my class and revise for a longer time. They were doing their studies on their own in the class room and I was doing my work in my office. Around 12.30 in the noon, two of them came to me. “Sir, we are ordering some fries,” one of them said, “Shall we order for you, too.” I had carried my lunch and, therefore, said, “Thanks beta … I have brought my lunch.” Then, out of curiosity, I asked them, “What fries… veg or non-veg?” Half of them had planned to order veg and the other half, chicken. I got tempted and shamelessly said, “Well, I will taste from yours.” Remembering my college days I asked, “Who is the Godfather - your Sponsor - today?” “No Godfather sir,” they said, “It is TTMM.” “What is that? I was curious, “Tu tu me me?” “No, no… It is Tu tera, me mera,” one of them explained. “Tujha tu, majha mi,” added another. “Oh, ...

Pic.: Ashish Srivastava T o encourage the young-ones to read, write, speak and think, I, always, encourage them to present during our PD sessions any good piece of writing – a short poem, passage, story, incident... whatever. Yes, I ask them to search it from a book or internet or get it from any source.... But, they must thoroughly like it... They must read it over and over again at home... and, then, come to the class and present it before others... in such a way, that others must feel inspired to go home and find it, read it... The reading habit, generally, starts this way. We listen to some brilliant piece of presentation, somewhere... Someone dramatically narrates an incident or a passage from a book, or he talks about an author, his work in such a way that, it, invariably, makes us go home and find out more... and, yes, read... “A good reader, a good writer, a speaker and a good thinker,” I tell our young ones, “they are all inter-connected.” Yes, they are... M...

Pic.: Neerja Panchal A t our home, there was this Bible-reading every night. Too often, we used to   read the passage: ‘Let your left hand not know what your right hand gives.” Yet, countless times, we would hear our parents yell at us: “We have done so much sacrifice for you, and, in return…” I neither understood Christ’s words, nor the outburst of   my parents… I was immune to both! When I became an adult, I, too, used to help others, a hundred times… and, later, I would grumble and crib about it, just the way my parents did… Now, when I read the passage from the Bible, I understand its significance, its relevance. S acrifice can be done only in silence… Be it my weekly fast or the occasional charity; Be it towards my children or my partner, or, towards my nation… Yes, Sacrifice is giving in gladness… As ...

Should parents discuss with their young children the financial problems at home? I really think, they should. Now, many parents do not let their young-ones know the kind of financial pressures that prevail at home. They think, their young sons and daughters should not feel the brunt… That they should be made to feel that everything is going okay… Everything is not going okay, dear! The young-boys and girls at home are not babies any more. They are young adults… They are going to be responsible house-holders soon… Then, they will have the same question before them: “Should our financial problems be discussed with our young-ones or not?” They should, I repeat… This morning, a mother had brought her young daughter to enroll in twelfth. They were opting for only two subjects and, looking at the way they carried themselves, I couldn’t imagine that there was a crushing financial problem at their place. Mother opened up quickly an...

Whenever I am in a new place, and ask a stranger for direction, the stranger turns out to be one of these two kinds. The first kind: This stranger seems genuinely happy and proud to help me. He realises that I am a stranger in his locality, that I need his help. So, for him, it is a matter of pride, an achievement, to be of help to some one. In fact, I have seen, some of them going out of their way to to make you comfortable. You feel glad about it; you feel appreciated and respected. I believe, there is a direct link between this experience and one's self-esteem. My self-esteem goes up, because, I feel appreciated and cared for. The good Samaritan's self-esteem goes up, because, of the feeling he gets within him - that, he is helping somebody, a stranger. When he shares his knowledge, his strength, he has to feel good about it, he has to grow stronger. It is an act of self-empowerment. Possibly, many of us have seen this when we visit some remote villages. The way these simple...