Gerald D'Cunha

I am yet to come across some sensible thoughts of wisdom amidst all this polarized arguments for and against demonetization in our country. Frankly, the focus should have been on monetization and not on demonetization. If all our lives, we have focused on amassing wealth with the hope that a day would come when we would be secure and free, we a have simply lived a life of illusion… For, we have been blind to the truth that our true security never depended on our fat bank balance but on our deeply-felt knowledge that we could do without it… We have been fooling ourselves with the illusion, that living in our big mansions and riding in our fancy cars would make us happier… What has been happening is this: we have been constantly living in fear of losing all that one day! Is there any meaning to our life if we cannot sleep soundly on our million-rupee worth beds? Sleep is kingly when it simply comes! The rest, as they say, is all a ‘story’ – a fairy-tale! “How do you...

W hen my wife and I went on a 10-day vacation (we just returned yesterday), we had decided to stay away from TV, internet and mobile phone. We had TV in all hotel rooms we had checked in… But, we chose not to switch it on. Fortunately, at many places, there was no mobile and internet network connection. So, we were spared from the onslaught of Whatsapp and FB. I found myself freed from the ‘compulsion’ to post something on my blog everyday… All was going well, till we learnt from someone the shuddering news of demonetization of 500 and 1,000 rupee notes…  Suddenly, I could feel in my body the urge to watch news, read newspapers, read the updates on social media and all that… Yes, I did catch up with it and I did worry about the cash crunch one would experience when on tour…  But, then, we survived and landed here safely! L ife, no matter what comes on our way, will go on…  The young people, who are frantically busy typing, forwarding, commenting, t...

W e are humans, and we are fallible… mortals. Often, the awareness of our fallible and mortal nature strikes us through some of our worst human behavior. What I want to say is that when we fall from grace, we also are closest to the doors of heaven! For example, what happens if we succumb to our intense anger but refuse to justify it once the havoc is done? What if, after a violent bout, we realize our mistake and genuinely feel sorry for it, genuinely yearn for mercy? Last night, before going to bed, I was watching some amazing music-videos on my phone. They were hymns and the singing and music were of outstanding quality… When singers sang, one could feel the healing touch… one could see tears rolling down! “Why do people cry when they pray to God?” I have wondered, often, “Do tears cleanse our sins? Is crying our hearts out is part of our healing process?” Last night, I became strikingly conscious of my fallibility… how quickly I can fall… I cou...

“Never hate your enemies… It affects your judgment.”  ―  Mario Puzo ,  The Godfather W hen I was a little boy in my village, Cassius Clay – who later became the famous Muhammad Ali – ruled the boxing world. “I am the Greatest”. Yes, this was how he loved to thump his champion-chest. He was my dad’s favorite… My dad, you know, was a young-and-dashing man, too, at that time! Some fifteen years later, when I migrated to Mumbai, I was a young-and-dashing man, now. My dad wasn’t… Ali was a spent force, by now… Moreover, the years of head and chest punches – and the ranting and swearing - had taken a big time toll on him. He suffered from Parkinson’s  and found it difficult to speak clearly… he walked like a little baby… and, certainly, he no longer spoke like a World Heavy-weight champ of the boxing ring… We never heard him say – ‘I am the Greatest’ In fact, what we began to hear from Muhammad Ali was this: “Ali is not the ...

“As he was valiant, I honor him…  But as he was ambitious, I slew him.” ―  William Shakespeare ,  Julius Caesar T wo similar events unfolded over past few days… Cyrus Mistry, the Chairman of Tata Group, was sacked. Arnab Goswami, the Editor-in-Chief of Times Now, resigned.  Or, was forced to go? For decades, I have been a loyal admirer of both these organization – Tatas and Times of India. Maybe, it is more a kind of sentimental attachment to these names, maybe, I am governed by the fan-psychology, which is more emotion-based rather than reason-based. Yes, with Tatas, I admired the conservative, trust and value based approach to business… Like so many around me felt, I, too, felt that Tatas believed in fair-play and integrity. I abhorred, always, the short-cuts to glory… I abhored making it too big too fast… People like Jamshetji, JRD and Ratan Tata have fascinated me… I have found them to be gentlemen in business. So, when Cyrus Mistr...

S ix kids – in the age group of eight to eleven – were playing in the garden outside my classes, this morning. It is Diwali vacation for them… So, every day, they wake up early in the morning – and mind you without their parents having to pull them out of their beds – according to the deal they had struck the earlier evening, and bingo... there they are in the garden, early the morning. “Do you get up like this on your school days?” I asked them, today. “NO!” was the chorus. “What games do you all play?” “Any game.” “Sir, this fellow likes to play ‘Complaint, Complaint’, teased one little-fellow pointing to his buddy. “What game is that?” I asked. “Sir, for every silly reason, he likes to run to our parents and complain,” explained another. “Yes sir, he is the only one who complains all the time,” joined another. “But, sir, they are BAD… They are liars… They don’t allow me…” the cornered little-fellow wanted to justify what made him compla...

I f I bump into some of my bright school-mates, today, and if I tell them that I teach, here in Mumbai, college students – I help them in Personality Development and blog every day… publish books and all that – I am sure, they will raise their eye-brows! “You teach college students?”… They wouldn’t be able to believe it… for, they knew how mediocre I was as a student, particularly in school and junior college… “You help them in Personality Development? You blog daily… publish books?”… They are justified in asking these questions… for, they knew how shy and timid I was when I was a young boy… how miserably I suffered from inferiority complex! So, this 58-year-old man – who, as a boy, had everything going wrong for him – has no business to be in the business of helping weak students and students who suffer from low self-esteem? Probably, if I was not handicapped with my own growth issues, I would have landed up somewhere else in life… I really do not know whe...

M y son has come home, for some days, on his Diwali vacation. My wife and I were having a long discussion with him this evening. This is a young generation – let me call it ‘tribe’… and, so, talking to the tribe of my son is a priceless education in itself. For over three hours, we were discussing about so many things in life… particularly about making changes and reinventing ourselves in life. Well, my son is twenty-four and I am fifty-eight. Yes, I am his father and he is my son… Thus, while having discussion, it is easy for me to slip into that position and try to tell him, “Look son, I have been there, seen that and done that… So, you better listen to me.” Good God, the tribe of my son is wired to think clearly. You end up getting this, quickly, “Sit down dad, there is something that I need to tell you… It is better for you if you listen.” Is it really better? Let me tell you, just sitting before this tribe and listening to them, without a pre-conce...

“A journey of a thousand sites begins with a single click.” ~Author Unknown I was waiting for my turn, yesterday, in the waiting room of my doctor’s clinic. I had gone there for my routine check-up. To be precise, to see – after making some conscious life-style changes… early morning walks, stretching and pranayama… early dinner… cutting down on non-veg consumption etc and doing away with each and every medicine – yes, after making these conscious changes I wanted to check if there was a significant improvement in my BP, pulse rate, sugar and anxiety levels and, above all, if there was a reduction in my weight – the belly fat! My doctor was thrilled! He declared: “First class… Excellent!!” Well, I wanted to hear that, honestly. I wanted to see if the conscious changes that we bring about – all of them are within our own control and small and simple changes they are – could help us feel great about our inner well-being… Yes, I could see that dir...