Religion, the one thing that should be most private in our lives, is bandied across as a political tool in our country, and as people are trapped, they find everything taken away from them in taxes, as they continue living in this ‘gilded cage’! Here’s a simple story. Hope you…
Swallow A Dose of Forgiveness..!
Something that startles me no end is to hear people talk about old hurts, insults and old humiliations, and know that forgiveness has not taken place. And as I listen to bitter, shrill voices expounding on such old incidents, I want to shake them and say, “It’s you who are…
The Costs Involved…!
Very often I come across people who love to be followers of the powerful. They don’t crave position or post, but love being seen around politicians or the rich, and gain their popularity by just being followers. Jesus too had many who wanted to be His followers. In the Gospel…
Bullying, Sympathy and Compassion..!
In a situation of injustice happening where I live, where I see a minor member of the ruling party bullying others around him, I see a lot of sympathy for the people concerned, but I wondered if there was compassion? A mother was jogging through the park, pushing two toddlers…
Choose Your Face..!
Some of the most beautiful women I’ve seen and some of the handsomest men I’ve met don’t have fair skin and sharp features, do not possess great height and sensual bodies but as they walk and talk and stalk the earth their beauty is gazed upon with wonder and reverence!…
New Year Advice for India…!
And as the New Year dawns and we Indians face another year like the rest of the world, let us realise that we are living not in isolation but with the Rest of the World. In a country that believes in mentors and gurus, we seem to be moving away…
Mowgli and the New Year..!
This is another adventure of Mowgli from Jungle Book, not written by Rudyard Kipling, but springing from my own vivid imagination. So, Mowgli suddenly comes across a great divide, “What’s this?” he asks. “It’s a Divide,” the animals tell him, “We all have to cross over!” “Cross over to what?”…
My Flute Exclaims A Joyous Year…!
Today is the last day of the year, and as it comes to an end I look around and see my bamboo flute stretched out on the grand piano in my sitting room. I pick it up and place my mouth tenderly against the unpolished bamboo hole, and then from…
More Publicity Than Improvement..!
In the good ole days, one did up his or her home, made costly improvements, but kept the amount one had spent, a secret. But today I was soon to find out, people publicise the amount they are going to spend even before they start. Since I’ve done nothing for…
The Indian Wiseman..!
Traditionally, the star that we light for Christmas is pulled down on the 6th of Jan, the date when the wisemen a few years later arrived to see the Baby Jesus. The star started shining from the night Jesus was born, and the three wise men who stories say were from…
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.