And as my next book, which is short stories from all over India, gets ready to be published and appear in stores and bookshops, I wonder what sort of world it would be without books. Years ago, as a child; evenings at home after sunset were spent in a book….
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.
Poetry in the Prose of Life…!
‘When we share—that is poetry in the prose of life…..’ Sigmund Freud Found an announcement today, that the free rations for the poor were being extended for another five years. I knew without a doubt why the announcement was being made a little before the elections. But isn’t…
Still Waters in an Angry Sea…!
Like the fabled Dick Wittington, who visited London expecting her streets to be paved with gold, I also, many decades ago, entered the city of Bombay, now Mumbai, expecting to set up a business from scratch and become a millionaire overnight. But those same streets, gold-less and cold, cruelly taunted…
Hold your Breath..!
As Mumbai and Delhi exceed pollution limits, I realise there is a master plan behind all this: That even as we teach the world, through different modules and methods, meditation, yoga and a host of other techniques, now our leaders want every citizen to excel at what we teach the…
Pretty Boys Without Makeup…!
The bearded village chief and his bald deputy walked to the edge of the village for their weekly conference. This way they kept away from prying eyes and snooping ears. His bald deputy was a little disconcerted, “Did you have to treat that village chief from the cold village across…
Insuring My Assets..!
I was surprised to see a friend’s wife grinning at me this morning. My friend, a retired colonel, was a friendly sort of fellow, but his wife acted as if I were a foot soldier, too junior to converse with. “How’s business?” she asked after the grin. “I’m not in…
Pigeons, Humans, and Imbalance…!
The initial reaction over the bomb blast in Kerala, was that it was either a Muslim or Hindu group targeting Christians, and there was a lot of furore around why they would do so. Luckily it was not a member of an outside community involved. But the initial worry over…
Stretch Out and Touch..!
One day while walking in the park I accidentally brushed past a man. “Sorry!” I said. “Thank you!” he replied. I walked on a little puzzled, wondering whether I’d heard right, and then slowed down waiting for him to pass, “Why did you say thank you?” I asked. “Because you’re…
Be Still, Before the Kill..!
Many years ago I found that the best way to conduct a meeting was to remain calm when harsh words were thrown at you, and I learned a lot from trying to feed my dog who was not too interested in eating “Eat!” I would shout at my German -Shepherd,…
New gods All Over..!
The choir sang, the people clapped, the youth smiled and the elderly trembled with anticipation. “What’s the excitement about?” asked the stranger who’d come to this church for the first time. “You don’t know?” asked a member of the church sitting next to him. “No!” said the stranger, “Tell me…
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.