When a policeman from Bihar allegedly insinuated in the word, ‘aukat’ that actress Rhea being a woman does not have the right to speak out, he uttered what many men think about a confident woman. And in my imagination, the same policemen or someone like him after passing away walked…
Unlock-4 and You..!
There’s a sense of jubilation on the streets as Unlock-4 begins. ‘Freedom!’ we shout as metros start rolling, a hundred guests are allowed at weddings and travel restrictions lifted. But beware, more than the rejoicing on the lifting of restrictions by you and me, is the absolute delight by the…
Broken Bits of Glass..!
The story is told of a man in charge of building a great cathedral, who was pestered by an apprentice who wanted to design and arrange the glass for just one of the windows. Although he did not want to discourage so laudable an ambition, neither did the boss want…
Say Sorry Please..!
A few years ago, someone travelling to a religious place out of the country, called me up, “I am very sorry for the wrong I have done to you, please forgive me!” he whispered. “Sure!” I said, happy the person had it in him to apologize. A few months later,…
Phone a Friend..!
“Phone a friend,” suggests Amitabh Bhachchan to the floundering person sitting opposite him in ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’ and so often that friend is the desperately needed lifeline. In joy or in sorrow, we need the company of friends. Yes sometimes for a while we need to be alone, but just…
Trim your Bristles..!
It was during these covid times I wandered, worry writ on my face as bills piled up at home, and money was not what it used to be, when I imagined I heard a voice ringing out to me, “Hi!” “Hi!” I offered back in return as a stranger with…
Little Bonsai Tsunamis..!
It was at most a storm which fooled all of us. “Aha!” we thought, “the Congress is getting its act together! They are finally beginning to notice they are sliding down an abyss towards obscurity! Their leaders are raising a comeback flag! Hurrah!” But all that happened was a whimper,…
My New Consistent Coffee Taste…!
My morning coffee, which is over a jug tall, is my biggest addiction, but about a month ago, narry a day went by when the taste of those exquisite beans did not surprise me. The coffee powder was the same, the water I was sure couldn’t change much, the coffee…
Welcome, but Not Welcome..!
And as I heard of state governments all over the country, calling migrant workers back, industrialists paying advances and promising them big bucks, builders even flying them back, I wondered whether the migrant worker had now got his rightful place in the sun, and imagined I was visiting them in…
A Glimmer of Hope..!
A few years ago a friend of mine and I were doing our morning walk together when he told me about this seventeen year old boy in Mulund who had been diagnosed with blood cancer. “The family is devastated,” he said gloomily. “I know someone else who had the same…
Robert Clements is a newspaper columnist and writes a daily column, which has graced the pages of over 60 newspapers and magazines, from a daily column in the Khaleej Times, Dubai, the Morning Star, London, and in nearly every state in India, from The Statesman in Kolkata, to the Kashmir Times in Kashmir to the Trinity Mirror in Chennai.