Gerald D'Cunha

  “As A writer, the main skill you need is curiosity. As a reader, the main tool you need is open-mindedness.” Gloria D. Gonsalves   S ome days ago, my wife and I were invited to attend a dinner hosted by a dear family. We were, in all, eight families around the dining tables. The day happened to be ‘The International Women’s Day’, though the main celebration was a couple’s 47 th wedding anniversary. My wife and I had picked eight books to gift each woman who was present there… “What a thoughtful gift,” we heard some women reacting happily. Others said, “Really appreciate”, or “Thank you so much.” Will those books be read? Do people ‘still’ read these days? Leave alone other people… do I ‘still’ read books – and, for that matter, even magazines and newspapers? That night, one of the books was gifted to my own wife. It was Shobhaa De’s latest release - ‘Insatiable – My hunger for Life’.   In fact, my wife, on listening to Shobhaa on a podcast, had nudged m...

  “Keep your face to the sunshine, and you cannot see the shadow. It’s what sunflowers do.” Helen Keller   I don’t think, that there is anyone around us, who doesn’t realize the importance of being positive in life. Yes, the energy and motivation to do well and do good in life come from a positive state of mind. But, I, also, don’t think, that there is anyone around us, who thinks it’s possible to stay positive, ‘always’. Writing by blogs, teaching my students and several such activities give me the greatest joy. That is the positive space I long to be in… But, I have seen, during the course of writing and teaching, that, at times, I can literally touch the negativity… Irritations, frustrations, gloom, lack, impatience and, even, arrogance. All this springs up right through my day… There are times, when I tend to lose trust in people, lose hope… feel bitter about life… But, but, but… Not always. Mercifully, these gloomy bouts, like smokey clouds, do pass quickly, l...

  “Knowing trees, I understand the meaning of patience; knowing grass, I can appreciate persistence.” Hal Borland   I have narrated this incident several times before, while dwelling on the subject of patience… Some twenty-five years ago, I had been for a check-up at a Cardiologist’s clinic. This doctor happened to be someone who admired my work and cared for me as a person. I was there at his   clinic during the peak hours of his consultancy, and several patients were waiting for their turn to come… The doctor seemed not at all affected by this. After completing my check-up, he started discussing about health and well-being in a holistic context… “You are still young, and you’re truly needed around,” he said. Then, he went on to motivate me to look forward to living with zest and resolve… The doctor had already given me a great deal of his time and care. But, I was feeling restless, and guilty, too. “Doctor, you have so many patients waiting there outside,” ...

  “Time has a wonderful way of showing us what really matters.” Margaret Peters   I n Life, we really can’t have it all… Many of us have tried, or are still trying, to have it all. But, in Life, to get something, we have to give up something… That’s called ‘trade-off’. In other words, nothing comes to us without sacrificing something. Many a time, the sacrifice may prove costly, and what we ‘get’ through the trade-off may not seem worth it. Yes, Time and Life teach us this important lesson. T he night before last, my wife and I watched the film (a 2020-OTT release) on late ‘Shakuntala Devi’, the legendary mathematician, who was hailed as the ‘Human Computer’. The film is written and directed by Anu Menon, and Vidya Balan plays the genius mathematician. It’s an amazing film. In fact, my wife and I (We believe, we are not alone in this) were left speechless to see the ‘Human side’ of the story of this ‘Human Computer’ - Shakuntala Devi. As I said at the outset, in ...

  “Gratitude is an amplifier of wealth.” Handrith Vanlon Smith Jr.   A friend of mine, a professional photographer, is presently travelling across the holy cities like Varanasi, Rishikesh and so on. He had been wanting to go to these places alone, stay in very modest inns, eat simple food, and, of course, offer prayers. Being a photographer, he, also, wanted to capture some beautiful images. It has been two weeks now… Last morning, there was a call from my friend… He seemed disturbed by a thought: “I am unable to capture images the way I had wanted to,” my friend complained. “Why so?” I asked. “The places are heavily crowded,” my friend said, “There are hundreds of photographers out here… They have far superior cameras… They are freely taking pictures in rain or shine… I am worried about taking my cameras in the water… etc., etc.., etc.” I asked, “Are you there for pictures, or for a quiet spiritual experience?” “Well, both,” my friend said measuredly. “What...

  “Go into the world and do well. But, more importantly, go into the world and do good.” Minor Myers   L ast night, my wife and I had been for a dinner at one of our friends’ place. They had invited one more family, our common friends. Both these families had two young children each, who were preparing for their Board/college exams. While leaving our friends’ place late at night, I found myself wishing each of these young kids – “Best wishes… Do well.” And, that’s how I find myself wishing almost every young kid - hundreds and hundreds of them - who go into the world… Yes, I find myself sending them off, saying – “Do well.” Rarely, I find myself telling them – “Do good.” Well, you may ask me this: “When a young one does well in life, won’t he/she do good, too?” “So and so is doing very well.” Many of us, often, use this line loosely. Yes, what we are saying here is, that so and so is doing very well in his career, profession… He is doing very well financially… ...

  “It’s not the the time in your life, it’s the life in your time.” Bruce Springsteen   T he Monday blues are here, again; and, I have been trying to chase them away by listening to my favourite performer Bruce Springsteen’s songs. In fact, I had been watching many of his performances right through yesterday… and, today, here I am watching this one over and over again…   E ver since this song –‘Treat Her Right’ – was first recorded by Roy Head in 1965, more than twenty well-known artistes have performed the same, adding their-own distinct touch. I have watched the original version by Roy Head, the one by Tom Jones, and the one in the 2019 movie ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’… But, none of them had succeeded in chasing my blues away as the endearing version by Bruce Springsteen did. Everything about this stage performance is so lively, so spontaneous, and so simple yet compelling... that, there is something about it one cannot describe in words. Just as Bruce hims...

  “To be wronged is nothing, unless you continue to remember it.” Confucius   I don’t think, that, there exists a single soul on this planet who hasn’t been hurt by someone, or he/she hasn’t hurt someone. “To err is human.” This statement hasn’t been tossed around as just one more proverb. We are humans; hence, we err… We hurt others, including our own. And, others, including our own, do hurt us. That fact said, and that truth accepted, now what? Should we hold on to those hurts? Keep remembering, reminding, digging, re-digging those painful memories? Let’s pause for a moment and recall: Has digging, re-digging, remembering, reminding – accusing, blaming, screaming, swearing, threatening, emotional-blackmailing… yes, has any of these, which seems so familiar a thing for each of us, really helped one bit? Or, have all of these only added more mess and turmoil into our already turmoiled lives? F unny it sounds! We want peace and happiness; we want to walk light and f...

  “We would worry less if we praised more; thanksgiving is the enemy of discontent and dissatisfaction.” Henry Allen Ironside   T oday is ‘Ash Wednesday’, a Holy Day for Christians. The Lenten season begins today. Since the break of the dawn, I have been receiving (on WhatsApp) from many of my Catholic friends and relatives a message supposedly from Pope Francis. It’s a very relevant message from our present Pope, who is known for some revolutionary ideas about worship and living. I had come across this particular message three Lents before, in April, 2020 to be precise (Check on Google for it: ‘Pope Francis on prayer and fasting’ – published by ‘The Centre for Contemplative Practice’). The message had really made sense to me… But, this time around, the WhatsApp University has rebooted it after making liberal changes. Nevertheless, Pope’s basic message stays: “Dear fellow Catholics, there are several simple ways in which we all can and should observe ‘Fast’ and d...

  “Once all struggle is grasped, miracles are possible.” Mao Zedong   E very time we say, “Struggles make us strong”, we, also, ask God earnestly, to make our lives less struggle-some, if not completely struggle-free. So, it’s given, that Life comes with struggle and it stays there as long as Life stays. Only thing we get to see about struggle is, that some have more of it, and some have less of it… but, none has none of it! People like J.K. Rowling and Sindhutai Sapkal had not just more of it – they had mountains of it. But, these Legends turned their mountains of struggle to generate something sublime and make the society a better place to live in… give hope to those whose lives were struggle-some… When Life gave them lemons, they chose to make a lemonade… This was the old wisdom of the sages. In fact, J.K. Rowling said, “Rock-bottom became the solid foundation in which I built my life.”     T he life of Sindhutai Sapkal was a life of true Legend. Born ...