Gerald D'Cunha

  “Do not save what is left after spending; but, spend what is left after saving.” Warren Buffet   S everal years ago, my wife and I had been to the old international-airport to receive my brother-in-law who was to arrive around 2 a.m. from America. Those days, there was an airconditioned waiting-lounge with comfortable seats to rest. It cost Rs. 50 per head. As my brother-in-law was arriving with his wife and their two-year-old boys (twins), even the in-laws of my brother-in-law had come to the airport to receive them, especially their little grandchildren. They had brought along another elderly couple, their close relatives. All four of them had reached the airport after my wife and I had. The moment I saw them, instinctively, I headed to the ticket counter and bought another four tickets paying Rs. 200… I proudly approached the elders and said, “Let’s wait inside the lounge; it’s very comfortable there.” I was proud and super-excited about my ‘thoughtful gesture’....

A couple of days ago, I had blogged on the subject of human greed for money – rather, the temptation to grow rich faster… via whatever short-cuts, including the latest one: Bitcoin mania. A restless young man said to me, the other day, “Sir, today, the so-called the ‘hard-earned’ money is hardly enough for us to buy a decent house in any suburbs of Mumbai… Leave alone meeting other expenses.” I told the young man, that every generation had the same anxiety. “Even I had the same thought when I was your age,” I said, “but, along my way, I realized, that everything becomes expensive including the sale value of the goods and services we sell.” My advice to the young man was, that he had to learn to increase the sale value of his potential and not succumb to the temptation of making some easy money. But, the ‘young blood’ would not buy my theory so easily, you see! Last night, my bother forwarded to me a lovely story. I am sharing this story, here, with a few grammat...

Pic.: Anima D'Cunha I am happy to note that there are many kids around me who have their heads firmly planted on their shoulders… They don’t get swayed easily by the fad, fashion or the glitter… Leave alone the sales gimmicks! When I was a kid, I was a kid. I didn’t – and couldn’t – behave like an adult. I was fascinated by the ‘latest’ gadgets, desired to at least see and touch them even though I couldn’t afford to own them. When someone owned them, I would stand next to him and have an eyeful of it… even envy! But, I knew, even when I was small, that, gadgets and toys did not bring true happiness in life… An attitude of gratitude did… I am not saying this for effect, now.  I valued money and knew how important it was in life. But, I knew money was not everything in life… that, there were several things in life money could not buy. My happiness, certainly, was one of them. T wo days ago, in our PD session, I had given for GD the topic – “Shou...

Pic.: Natrajan Ramsubrmani I generally get into the waiting auto right outside our Tai Chi classes. But, this Sunday, I decided to walk some distance – half a kilometer at least – and then take an auto. On my way, I bumped into Dhiren Shah – we call him Dhirenbhai. “How do you keep yourself like this Dhirenbhai,” I couldn’t resist asking him, “I know you for the last thirty years, you are 50, got two marriageable children… but, you haven’t put on a single centimeter around your waist… What is the secret, tell me.” I asked this moving my hands around my well-blown belly. “No secret sir,” Dhrienbhai chuckled, “For the past thirty years, I have been taking only the 11-number bus.”  “What?”  I asked surprised, “ The 11-number bus doesn’t ply through our area.” “It does,” Dhirenbhai showed me his two lean legs! Well, I know, in Dhirenbhai’s  Jain family, almost all men are lean and agile. It is a lot hereditary… But, that apart, there is a...

A week ago, my son, who studies in Pune, called me up to get in advance four tickets for the popular movie – ‘Iron Man -3’. His 3 friends were from different parts of India and they all wanted to watch the 3-D action flick only on the IMAX giant screen, that too from the top-most row! They had done the telephonic booking; but, as it was the early-morning show and they had to reach an hour before to collect the tickets, my son requested me if I could send someone and get the tickets in hand much in advance. I sent 19-year old Suraj, who currently does his PD course with us. Not to cause any inconvenience to the young-man, I insisted that he would go and come only by a taxi.   After some two hours, Suraj returned with the tickets. When he handed me the balance cash, I saw that he had not taken the taxi fare. I tried to place in his hands two hundred-rupee notes.  “No sir, I have already deducted,” Suraj said. “How come?” I asked, “...