Do We Need Reforms?
“Bob,” said an editor, “About these reforms our leaders keep talking about, find out if people want reforms or not.” “Of course we want reforms,” said Pandu the office peon, “I want editor sahib to be reformed. Today I have both ulcer and blood pressure, because editor sahib and you…
The Emperor’s New Clothes..!
Once upon a time, so the old tale goes, there lived an emperor who wanted to stitch himself the fanciest set of clothes in his kingdom. So he called the best tailors and asked them if they would stitch them for him, and even offered to pay a million rupees…
Best Measuring Instruments In the World..!
Have always been puzzled how the government knows when a loudspeaker is too loud or a plastic bag too thick, so since the government is now hellbent on enforcing the plastic ban I thought I’d check the instruments issued to measure the thickness of plastic bags. I met a municipal…
And The Land Goes To..!
Bridges can’t be finished, because they can’t get back the land from squatters, and even railways can’t expand to more tracks, because hutments have taken over railway land even as the authorities argue, whose fault it is: The senior official from the state government and the senior officer from the…
Filled with Pothole Guilt..!
The road contractor got down from his Mercedes and wiped a few tears rolling down his cheeks, “We contractors are a misunderstood lot,” he said as he stood on the edge of one of the largest potholes in the city. “Misunderstood?” I yelled, “Do you know the number of people…
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.