Many years ago I was watching ‘Koffee with Karan’ and enjoyed him interviewing the late Rishi Kapoor and wife Neetu. Theirs was a marriage that had lasted quite a few decades and in the film kingdom this is a record of sorts. What I loved best however was when Neetu…
Change your Frying Pan..!
Every once in a while we see someone with a far off look in their eyes, jaw locked with resolve and face steely with determination. The world laughs as they try to sell some far flung, huge, unimaginable idea. And then when we have all but forgotten them they appear…
Let Him Play..!
I love pipe organs and won’t spare an opportunity to write a story around them: In a large stone cathedral in Europe there was a large, magnificent pipe organ. It was a Saturday afternoon, and the caretaker was making one final check of the organ high in the balcony at…
Breaking the Chain of Retaliation..!
“I hate her, she’s a Pakistani!” I stopped in my tracks and glanced worriedly at my Zoom screen to look at who had uttered these words. I saw his face, contorted with rage, and realized I had to not just diffuse a tense situation, but ask for Divine guidance. This…
Rallies, Rivers and Regret..!
Now and then, one hears of the death of an MP or MLA succumbing to Covid-19! As I glance at the small picture that accompanies the newspaper article, I wonder what their last thoughts were as they lay in hospital bed under the deadly tentacles of the Green Monster. My…
Running Out of Steam..!
Today, as I listen to the political noise, the talk by rivals, the rabid thrusts, the bluster and blabber, the eyeball looks, and ferocious threats, I think of the steam engine! In my mind, even today, there is no ferocious, powerful, robust, beast, like the steam engine of yesterday. Even…
Smelly Feet..!
“What’s that terrible smell?” shouted the chairman of the board, who was the head of a charitable organization that looked after those in prison. We all wondered where the smell came from, and looked at the odd couple who had come in and were sitting in front of us. Rather…
Just Being John..!
I’ve always been rather fond of John; quite liked the fact that though he was short, he appeared taller than most people on stage and even off. People said he wasn’t good looking but I’ve seen pretty girls hanging onto him and realized he was quite comfortable with himself, till…
Are You Losing Diamonds?
He had worked and lived abroad, alone, all his life, and today as he stood with the rest of the family at the wedding of his daughter, he realized he didn’t know her at all. He looked at his wife, she looked old and care worn. She wore the best…
Armchair Terrorism..!
Decades ago, I traveled the local trains of Bombay, most often clinging to the sides of the doorway, hanging on for life. Daredevil stunts like this helped me get to my destination on time, maybe a bit disheveled, and all the worse for wear, but still passable, till better days…
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.