He turned in bed and saw her silhouette against the dark. His wife, the psychologist, sat up, head bowed, thoughts heavy. “Something wrong?” he whispered. “Yes,” she sighed, “How do we get the money to send our daughter abroad for her studies?” In the darkness, he reached for courage, not…
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.
Walking Behind a Devouring Fire…!
I remember as a child going to a part of the town I’d never seen before. My father walked ahead, and I, clutching his hand shuffled behind. The lanes were dark, the streetlights dim, and the shadows looked like they were ready to pounce. But I didn’t fear—because Dad knew…
When Two Bullies Fight..!
As I watch the US and Russia’s ongoing tiff, and India scampering between them like a schoolboy carrying notes between two brawling seniors, I’m reminded of a golden rule I follow in life, and very often in the housing society I live in: When two bullies fight—move out of the…
Independence Day and YOUR Independent Thinking..!
Today, the tricolour will be hoisted. The brass band will play the Jana Gana Mana. Politicians will stand straight—well, as straight as one can while still checking if the TV cameras are catching the good side of the face. There will be speeches—oh, the speeches! About our glorious past, our…
Stray Dogs and the Judiciary..!
Now Jeff, my fierce, handsome German Shepherd, has been gone nigh on three years. But this morning, as I read the news about the judiciary and stray dogs, I could have sworn I felt him beside me. And sure enough, from somewhere in the heavens, came that deep, throaty growl…
My Café Conclusion..!
I was sitting in a café in New York today, watching the world walk past my table. This was unlike other eateries—people came here alone, not with their families. Next to me was a white American who had initially jumped two steps when my wife nearly took his Coke from…
Let’s Start Walking Our Talk Sir..!
I read the news report with a smile—one of those polite, tight-lipped smiles you give when someone’s trying to sell you something you know you already paid for.It said, “Zelensky calls Modi; Modi tells him efforts should be made to find a peaceful solution to the war.” Ah! Great words….
Pappu, Fill the Forms, Please..!
As I listened to Rahul Gandhi’s emphatic, fact-backed, passionate proof of the Election Commission’s complicity in massive voter fraud—proof worked out like a neat school project with all the answers right there—I waited for the Commission to do what any responsible guardian of democracy should do: reassure the people of…
What is Truth..?
“What is truth?” asked Pilate, looking straight at Jesus. It’s the kind of question only a politician could ask with a straight face — a bit like asking a doctor, “What is health?” while chewing on a batata vada deep-fried in last year’s oil. And poor Pilate — he had…
Tariffs, Tyrants and Truth..!
Sometimes, dear reader, we get so busy winning a little skirmish that we forget there’s a full-blown war still raging. Right now, our television screens are filled with chest-thumping over the “battle” with the US on tariffs. Ministers wag fingers. News anchors thump tables. Hashtags scream “We Will Not Be…
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.