It’s the beginning of December, the Christmas month, and as I think of the birth of Jesus in a lowly manger, where cows and goats and horses were kept, I find on that exact spot in Bethlehem, a cathedral’s been built. Something, some of our leaders love to talk about…
Finding We’ve Got Goodness Inside..!
It was a few years ago I landed at the hospital where my wife is a doctor to meet the mother of a baby who had been born with a physical deformity. The child’s grandmother was sobbing, “Why?” she wept, “did God do this to my granddaughter?” There was really…
Balance Your Life..!
A friend called me the other day, and I pleaded I was too busy to meet him, “Balance your life Bob,” he said, and proceeded to tell me a story: “A long time ago, there was an Emperor who told his horseman that if he could ride on his horse…
Fuel for Death..!
He called me the other day, “Bob,” he whispered, “my blood pressure’s gone up, I feel my head’s going to burst. I listened and advised him as best as I could. He was a successful businessman, but I had met him years ago before he got into business, what had…
Golden Calves..!
The little Jewish boy sat with his mother inside their tent and both listened to the sounds of revelry and drunken laughter that floated in from the outside. Suddenly the tent door flew open and his father stood framed against it, his eyes red with drink and his clothes wet…
Taking Him As He Is..!
A couple was celebrating their golden wedding anniversary. Their domestic tranquility had long been the talk of the town. “What a peaceful and loving couple they are,” everybody said. A local newspaper reporter was inquiring as to the secret of their long and happy marriage. “Well, it dates back to…
Billionaires, Jets, and Walking Sticks..!
Something doing the rounds of WhatsApp forwards is of India marching forward with gigantic steps, because a billionaire in India is now the third richest man in the world! From potholed roads, broken bridges, polluted cities, and monstrous slums we laud this feat! Is that how we measure the financial…
Democracy of Convincing, Not Bulldozers..!
It’s not a ruffian who uttered these strong words, nor a member of a fringe group, but the Deputy Speaker of the Gujarat Assembly, who according to the Times of India said, ‘Kejriwal would be stripped and sent back’! The Deputy Speaker is not talking of a rapist, or some…
Rahul’s Long Walk..!
As Rahul carries on his long trek through our vast country, there’s something happening. This isn’t a walk galvanizing people to hate their neighbours as most other recent walks have been. This is a walk, in which we are seeing compassion at work! Compassion is simply a kind, friendly presence…
Flirting Dangerously With Death..!
The Maharashtra chief minister proudly announces he was once a autorickshaw driver, that’s good, but I hope he’s not flirting with politics as I see rickshaws flirting with death: It lay smashed on the side of the road. Frail and pathetic, like a small defenseless animal that had been ripped…
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.