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…
Murthy, and Learning to Chill..!
“Throughout my life, I worked over 14 hours daily for six and a half days a week,” Narayana Murthy Was just speaking to a childhood friend who mentioned sadly that he never knew his dad, because his dad was a workaholic, which inspired me to write this piece: In today’s…
Remembering Dad on His 100th Birthday..!
Had he been alive, dad would have been a hundred years today! ‘Twas a good-looking man he be, and an aunt on my mother’s side, whispered to me once, that when dad as a bachelor walked down the road of the town they grew up in, she and her sisters…
Lonely after Christmas..!
As the last wisps of Christmas magic dissipated, Kamala felt a familiar pang of loneliness settle in. The tree was still lit, the imitation stockings still hung by the tree, but the warmth and excitement of the Christmas season seemed to have vanished overnight. Kamala wandered around her quiet house,…
An Indian Christmas..!
Many years ago, a close friend of mine from Jalandhar celebrated Diwali at my home, and we as a family celebrated Christmas at his home, with his family. Those lovely memories inspired me to write this very simple piece on three friends of different faiths who decided to celebrate Christmas…
Hotel Rooms Around the Manger..!
Who had the rooms near the Manger, I wonder? How many occupants did the innkeeper warn about a baby being born next to their room, “Sir, shall I change your room sir? There’s gonna be a newborn baby outside your room, and I don’t want you disturbed through the night!…
Did Peter Wake Up Grumpy?
Why not? It was a chilly winter morning in Jerusalem, and Peter woke up feeling miserable. His body ached, his head throbbed, and his throat was sore. He had come down with a bad cold, and he knew he would have to spend the day in bed. As he lay…
The Christmas Spirit..!
A few years ago, maybe it still happens today, transport and traffic police in Mumbai, met taxi drivers to tell them to be present near bars during the Christmas season up to the New Year period at night so tipplers could be dropped home I picture a tippler leaving the…
Feel Alive through Silence..!
A few years ago, my wife and I had been to Chicago during winter, and stayed in the basement of a house for over a month. I loved the place, for the very reason many hate basements; it was a deep silence that reigned there. The world today hates silence:…
Choose Good Friends..!
In my book, ‘DARE’, I have a chapter, ‘Dare to Make and Keep Friends’, but today I’m not going to quote from my book but about choosing friends! As the old adage says, “A Man is known by the company he keeps” and so it is prudent to choose your…
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.