Gerald D'Cunha

“W hat is easily available, often, not much valued,” said Kannan, in our Tai Chi class, this morning. Late, last evening, Girija ma’am, his wife, had sent me a message: “Gerry, the movie ‘The Walk’ is being aired on TV channel Star Movies, now.” When this movie, “The Walk’ was released two years ago, I had watched it in the theatre and, on following Sunday, I had raved about it in the Tai Chi class. Kannan, who is selective about movies, had watched it with his wife and was highly impressed. Girija ma’am knew about it, and, so, she had messaged me about the movie being shown on TV, last evening. “Sir, did you watch ‘The Walk’ on TV yesterday?” I asked Kannan, today. “I was out yesterday,” Kannan told me, “So, I could watch only the last part… But, what a movie it is!” Kannan went on to rave about it for the next ten minutes. “There are so many life lessons in that movie,” he said, “To me, it is not just about wire-walking… It’s about life!" I remembe...

Pic.: Chetna Shetty I did not know who Philippe Petit was and what relationship he had with WTC twin-towers of NYC. Yes, that was till I watched the movie - ‘The Walk’, last night. Like millions of citizens of this world, what has permanently etched in my mind, too, is the horrendous tragedy of 11/09/2001. The chilling images of terrorists crashing planes into the world’s most famous towers and the 110-storey towers crumbling down, right before your eyes, like two pack of cards… yes, like millions of my fellow citizens of this world, I, too, remember only this! This coup of destruction… Someone, sitting in a far away corner of this world, had desired to bring down the two mammoth towers… It was a sinister coup flawlessly – and ruthlessly - executed by some young men! Surprisingly, no one had, ever, brought to my notice the story of Philippe Petit, who, too, had hatched a coup, as a twenty-plus young-boy. He had hatched it, back in his homeland, Paris, sitting in ...