With lethal, bludgeoning, battering blows, that make sickening thud as wooden stick meets soft, beautiful head, proud father lands each blow on his beloved daughter. Limp eyes look up with horror, as very hands that protected all these years now cruelly turn oppressor. “Father!” she feebly cries, “It is me…
Robert Clements is a journalist and newspaper columnist. With an estimated 6 million readership, his column, Bob’s Banter is published in over 30 newspapers and magazines in nearly every state in India, as well as in the top newspapers of Bangladesh, London and Dubai and is also translated into Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu.
Seeing Yourself In The Selfie..!
At this very moment, there are more selfies being taken than cameramen or professional photographers taking pictures! Two months ago, while walking down the streets of New York I found selfie sticks being sold for less than five dollars! But along with progress comes danger. There have been hundreds of…
From Cowards to Courageous Men..!
They were not the kind of group you might have expected Jesus to send forth on his mission to reach the world. There was nothing special or spectacular about them. The twelve apostles were just ordinary working men. But Jesus formed them into the backbone of the church and gave…
Poor Mirabai Chanu..!
Poor Mirabai Chanu! What a weight rested on her, as one point three billion pinned all their hopes on her weight lifting shoulders! What a shame, that we, with the world’s second largest population, are still trailing other countries like Japan, with an area just about that of little Kerala,…
Discounts, Sales, and Bargains..!
It was a huge ad in the newspaper, not just a page, but two; it showed pictures and prices of scores of items that were going at a discount. There were beard trimmers going at two hundred and forty nine bucks, vegetable cutting machines for less than five hundred, air-conditioners…
Vantage Vintage View..!
‘Twas just before the Covid wave a friend called, “I’ve got tickets for the IPL matches, want to come Bob?” “You crazy?” I asked him, “I’ve got my old TV and where else can you watch 18 balls being bowled per over?” “There’s only six balls Bob!” “On my TV…
Tears Behind a School Song..!
This happened before Covid shut schools down. The call came while I was out. “Please come and hear your song.” It was the headmaster of a school. He had asked me some time ago, to write the school anthem and I had done so, I guessed it was now ready…
Sorry..!
Quite often I see an apology in the newspapers for some news item wrongly reported, or see a crime movie where the slick lawyer says, “I’m sorry your honour!’ But in both cases, I know it was either the fear of litigation or repercussions from His Lordship that brought on…
Moving Out of Your Comfort Zone..!
“What’s that?” asked the little child pointing to a huge shell on the ground. “It’s a shell, with a snail inside it!” I explained. We both looked at it awhile, and slowly I saw the snail’s head coming out and two beady eyes looking at us. Then the snail, slowly…
Putting Crosses on Your Shoes..!
“The Christian shoemaker does his duty not by putting crosses on the shoes, but by making good shoes.” Martin Luther A few years ago, a close friend of mine, whose daughter was getting married asked me to come down to his city to help him with wedding arrangements. “Praise the…
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.