“Goodbye!” I used to shout. “Goodbye dad!” they shouted back. “Goodbye” I whispered and watched the retreating figures of my children. I waited at the window and watched them as they slowly walked down the colony drive to the gate, and waved to them as they turned and waved to…
Spreading Laughter, Through Inner Peace..!
He’s gone now, to the great beyond, but many years ago, as I returned from my walk, I used to find a slightly oldish man waiting for me, his back bent, body trembling with Parkinson’s, but eyes staring eagerly at the gate. As soon as I entered, they lighted up;…
Blood Stains in a Church..!
In my travels through Spain, Portugal and many other European countries I’m often told of some famous church I should visit in the vicinity, “Built in 1566!” says the guide. “Fascinating!” I tell him, “And what happened in the church?” “There are many statues of kings, tombs of famous people…
Hindenburg and Misguided Nationalism..!
As the might of superior American artillery rains on a heroic, yet poor, poverty-stricken billionaire, our battered countryman stands valiantly crying out to the world and fellow countrymen, not to buckle down under the unfair onslaught but rally their numbers and fight back against herculean colonists, bullying him into submission!…
Construction Angels or the Morgue..!
As I bid farewell to the masons, carpenters and electricians and the last of the construction workers after they had repaired my old house, in the process carrying away three lorry loads or more of debris, I walked wearily up to my terrace. “Who are you?” I shouted a bit…
Being Secular and the Supreme Court..!
‘Be secular: Supreme Court on PIL for ban on parties with religious link’ TOI, 1st Feb “What’s the news in India?” asked my American friend, as I read an Indian newspaper in an airport in America. “A Supreme Court judge has asked a petitioner to be secular!” I said. “Ssshhh!”…
Unplugged..!
Mornings are coffee time, and a time, which I spend most conscientiously brewing the concoction to perfection! Quite a few of my friends, knowing my love for the brew, send me packets of the pod from all over the country. Some arrive from a special friend, Toviholi in Nagaland, Jogi…
Excitement from Purpose..!
Once while conducting a workshop on ‘Purpose and the Job’ a participant stopped my talk and asked me, “I am a senior manager of a materials department and joined this organization twenty five years ago as an engineer trainee and over the last 25 years I have gone through every…
BBC Ban and Barbed Barriers..!
Many, many decades ago, when I was around twelve, a cousin of mine, a medical student from the prestigious medical college in Vellore, presented me with, “An Area of Darkness” by Naipaul! I read it and a little later found that the book had been banned by the then Indian…
Churches, Courts and Lucifer..!
“When you have something against another Christian, why do you file a lawsuit and ask a secular court to decide the matter?” 1 Corinthians 6:1 Oh what a mockery we make of our Christianity! I once attended Christmas at a church, and there, instead of the good priest talking joyously…
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.