Spent some time this morning listening to a podcast, “Shut Up!” Now that’s not a nice way to start a day, but quite often that’s what we need to do, to have a successful day and lead a good life, simply, “Shut Up!” Do you know you’ve got a mouse…
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.
In India We Need Our Festivals..!
“What’s wrong with you?” I said to my gardener as he stood with a crestfallen face before me. “Now you want money for Ganpati, then your wife will want to buy new clothes to dance during Navratri and finally you’ll ask me for a big advance for Diwali.” “I…
Absolute Surrender…!
Read the headlines this morning, in one of the dailies, that one of those who had masterminded the 26/11 terrorist attack in Mumbai, and who is now in a prison in the US, has had a charge sheet filed against him by the Indian government. Hearing this, my mind immediately…
Playing Second Fiddle ..!
A couple of years ago, I was asked to conduct a wedding. Now I’m no priest, but since the couple was made up of a Buddhist and a Christian and had already had a registered wedding, I was asked to conduct a mixed wedding service, so I did just that….
Boredom, the Wise Man..!
The wise man who could easily have been a preacher said to me, “The best part of your day is when you are bored!” “I’m never bored,” I told him happily, “I’ve my phone, filled with stuff to keep me away from even a minute’s boredom!” “Exactly,” said the wise…
A God who Weeps..!
There are many who ask, why our God in the form of Jesus, needed to live on earth, be born to a poor family, go through joys and sorrows, rejection, and acceptance, and all the other highs and lows of human existence. “God didn’t have to do that!” they exclaim….
The Activist and the Earthworms..!
Today, the activist label is beginning to have a bad meaning. Anyone who sees something wrong and decides to right that wrong is labelled an activist and dealt with severely, which inspired me to write about this suburb somewhere in Mumbai, where locals get up early so they can take…
Parliamentary Banter..!
T’was friendly banter taking place twixt the new Parliament building and the old one, as they stood opposite each other, one empty and about to be converted into a museum and the other spilling with elected members, joyous over their new structure. “So Oldy, you are over and done with!”…
Bartering with God..!
Very often I pass church, temple or mosque and see crowds outside. Initially I used to think that God must be so pleased to have so many worshipping him, till I realized very few came to worship, most came to barter with him, “God, please give me a promotion, and…
Policing the Left Side Only..!
After most cases of rape, assaults, kidnapping, or any crime, what one hears so often is the police station refusing to register a complaint because it is not in their area! “Police! Police! Quick, run after the thief. I was assaulted and robbed!” “Where were you assaulted?” asks the inspector,…
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.