Gerald D'Cunha

  “I dream of giving birth to a child who will ask, ‘Mother, what was war’?”   Eve Merriam   M y friend, Vikram, who is one year older than I am, is a relentless walker. We lived in our housing complex for nearly twenty years, till a year ago, when he and his wife moved to their new house in Pune. Besides his crazy sense of humour, Vikram, as I said, was a crazy walker… His walks, always, started when the Sun was right over your head – that was around 10 or so in the mornings. He was able to follow this routine because he ran his own business. So, while the rest of us were well into our daily grind at our work places, Vikram kept orbiting around our buildings in his walking shoes for over an hour every day… He would never miss it, come hail or come tsunami… “What about your walks?” I had asked him in the thick of lockdown. “That’s what I am doing right now?” was the answer.                         ...

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...