It was the funeral of the century. India’s economy lay on a bamboo bier in Delhi’s central square, covered not in the Tricolour, but with copies of the Economic Survey and a few unpaid electricity bills. Priests chanted. TV anchors sniffled into their microphones. Politicians jostled for space like pigeons…
The Hugger-In-Chief..!
Ever been hugged when you didn’t want to be? You know the kind—when a distant uncle at a wedding suddenly clamps you in a bear hug, and you emerge gasping for air, smelling of his aftershave for the next three weeks. Now imagine that uncle is a bearded old Indian…
A Mathematically Shrewd Government..!
It was while sipping my morning coffee and watching the news a few weeks ago, that I noticed something quite spectacular. You all remember this, I’m sure: Our government had dispatched global delegations to defend Operation Sindoor—and in a calculated move, the speakers included members from various political parties, and…
A Randall’s Island in Your Head..!
It’s only 6 in the morning and already Manhattan is in a frenzy. Cars honking, buses groaning, and joggers zooming past like they’ve got to beat the stock market before breakfast. I do my morning walk beside the East River, wondering whether this city ever sleeps, or if sleep here…
They are Not Weak..!
There’s something about silence from a smaller person that emboldens the bully. Gives him a sense of victory. Makes him think his sticks, fists and false cases are powerful. With growing disbelief I’ve seen nuns—yes, those gentle, sari-clad sisters who’d sooner cradle a child than carry a protest sign—being bundled…
Handling Disappointment..!
So, there I was, staring at my phone, waiting for the “ding” that never came. The email? Never arrived. The contract? Not mine. The publisher’s call? Silence. Disappointment! Oh yes, that old friend. Shows up uninvited, sits on your chest like a cement block, and refuses to leave even if…
Tall Men Don’t Bend..!
There’s something majestic about a tall man or woman walking straight and proud. And no, I don’t just mean the ones who make you crane your neck at the airport. I mean those whose stature lies not in centimetres but in conviction. But what do we see today? People hunched….
You Who Survive..!
Oh how I relish my morning coffee, and it was while I was into my third cup this morning—that I stumbled upon a video that made my heart pause mid-beat. There he was, Dr. Jonathon Blake from Pennsylvania. A firm atheist, logical to the point of clinical coldness, the kind…
Pushing Past the Too’s..!
It was a few days ago that I visited my cousin in New Haven, Connecticut, and met his fifteen-year-old granddaughter. A tall, graceful young lady with a confident stride and a sparkle in her eye. “I want to play professional basketball, Uncle Bob!” she said, her voice brimming with youthful…
The Arrogance of Our Nation..!
Arrogance, my dear reader, is not a trait you’ll find in confident people. It’s what you find in people who haven’t found themselves. And unfortunately, it’s become the new national dress code. Not khadi, not cotton, not even designer FabIndia—just pure, unadulterated, pompous arrogance stitched with a rope, not thread…
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.