Initially, as news of the horrible virus spread, terrified people hurried for flimsy masks available at stores, rummaged for thicker, longer ones the shopkeeper said, would keep them safe not just from the virus but from any ailment under the sun, and settled for those Batman and Phantom would have…
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.
Don’t Hold My Hand..!
She was over eighty, and not too sure of her steps as she fumbled to find the bannister railing, when the shopkeeper came running and extended his hand, “No thank you!” she said gruffly, and then looked at me, as I had suddenly turned and found she wasn’t next to…
Outdoors Clean, Indore Filth..!
“We are ranked first as the cleanest city in India!” muttered some municipal boss to his subordinate in the city of Indore. “Yes sir,” the employee whispered back, “four years running!” “But to keep the award, we have to be vigilant,” continued his boss, “I have been going up and…
’Tis A Cold Winter..!
’Tis a cold winter here in America where I’ve been the last month.’ I wrote this three years ago, while spending December in America, under the Trump regime! ‘The snow’s been thick and heavy, covering every square inch with a harsh white carpet. The winds have raged and blown cold…
Are You a ‘Strong’ Peter?
My initial years of writing were spent in exploring poetry and then one day as a sixteen year old, through the efforts of my mother, I started writing radio plays for a radio station in Addis Ababa , and then into regular plays, one of which comes to my mind…
True Love..!
She’d decided to go abroad on a scholarship, but I found her crying a few days before she had to go. “Why?” I asked. “He doesn’t want me to go!” “Why?” “He’s scared I won’t come back to him!” “Can I give you fourteen lines to live by, maybe they’ll…
I’m Only A Cop..!
Sometime ago while speaking at a function on the role of writers I saw a young lady putting her head down every time I said we all had a role to play in changing people’s lives. I met her later during the tea break: “You didn’t seem to be agreeing…
Hey Moses, Your Wife Is Black..!
Till 1967, seventeen states in the USA, banned interracial marriages! That same year the law was found unconstitutional and thrown out. Immediately after that public approval of interracial marriage rose from around 5% in the 1950s to around 80% in the 2000s! Which means that because of a stupid law,…
Buying A Son-In-Law..!
A scene I remember ever so vividly years ago is that of going over to visit a friend’s sister just after she had been married. I was pleasantly surprised to find her father a rather plump and jolly old man also staying with the young couple. “What are you doing…
Today on Republic Day..!
Today, on India’s Republic Day, I am proud to be a citizen of the world’s largest democracy: Of a land that has a written constitution which is the longest in the world; 397 articles, 12 schedules. There are many times, when with the rest of the nation, I weep for…
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.