Three years ago Mumbai woke up to the scary news that a portion of a bridge in Andheri had collapsed. Soon all bridges were hurriedly scrutinized and the next morning’s paper mentioned three bridges had been closed to the public and people banned from using them. A few years ago,…
God’s Garlands for Us..!
The old man looked out of his window. He saw his neighbour very surreptitiously placing a ladder on his side of the wall, then as he watched, the man very quietly climbed up, put his hand onto the other side which was the old man’s side of the wall, and…
Woman Thrown Off Train..!
‘WOMAN RESISTS ROBBER ON TRAIN,” read the headlines, ‘AND FALLS ON TRACKS!’ A few years ago I read about fifty-eight old Pratibha Tripathi, on a train to Bangalore, when a robber tries to snatch her handbag. She holds on to it, is dragged bleeding to the door, where she falls…
Choral Music and the Sound Man..!
Since I love choral music every once in a while I’m asked to come as a judge to hear choirs perform. Before the pandemic an event turned out to be quite an interesting day for me. I sat with two other judges and listened to nine choirs rendering beautiful choral…
Stop, just Stop!
This happened last year when the lockdown was first imposed. Everybody stayed at home, and many lost their jobs. But one day I had to drive to the electricity department because of a lost bill, and this was when it happened. It’s something that even now makes me feel terrible…
Four Penniless Rich Men Meet A Billionaire..!
Ah well dear folks this be an imaginary story I tell, where them three billionaires Mukesh, Anil, Adani and we’ll even throw in Bill Gates as the fourth for good measure or just to give it an international flavour, got together one day to decide who be the richest of…
Let’s Sting Ourselves..!
Was watching a video clip of a policeman caught taking a bribe and realized today is the age of sting operations, when we quietly film each other’s misdeeds! No minister, policeman or public official is safe as cameras come in all shape and sizes. But what about turning those cameras…
Bring ‘Em Back..!
Most everyone the world over are wondering why Biden was in such a hurry to bring his American troops back, and since I make it a point whenever I’m in Washington, to get myself photographed outside the White House, I thought I’d take a chance and make a call to…
The Marathon..!
I witnessed the New York City Marathon three years ago! I’d heard there were fifty-one thousand participants that year and am sure nearly half of New York was out cheering them as they ran. There was a loud shout as the first runners came into view. The crowd went into…
Using Spare Time Well..!
Last week I was asked to speak at a function, “How will you do it?” asked my wife, “you don’t have the time!” Zoom engagements may be conducted from home or office, but take an equal amount of time in preparing, but I thought about it for a day and…
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.