And as we proudly hoist the flag today, imagine our surprise and consternation if the flag doesn’t rise, “Hey,” we shout, “Come on, we are hoisting you up. Fly free!” “I can’t!” says the flag. “And why not?” we ask, huffing and puffing to pull the rope that holds the flag,…
Are You Scorpio, Gemini or Taurus?
“What sign are you?” “Like in road signs? Halt and go? Stop and Proceed? Maximum speed 15 Kmph? Curve ahead? Do not overtake?” “No, no. Star sign? Like Scorpio, Gemini? Taurus?” “What does Scorpio say?” “Determined, dark and dashing!” “Yeah that’s me.” “You’re Scorpio?” “No, determined, dark, dashing and a dreamer.” “You…
Grant Us Peace..!
Was invited by a Jewish family living in Manhattan to share their Shabhat on a Friday, a few years ago and as I watched the four candles being lit, two for the couple, my two friends and the smaller ones for their two children, I saw in their eyes, and…
Not Just Overloading A Lift..!
In a shopping mall in Mumbai seventeen people got stuck in a lift for five full hours! They cried, shouted, screamed for help and to top it all had an infant with them who started panicking and didn’t stop bawling. The seventeen when rescued later with the help of a…
A Future Governor..!
The members of the social club appeared a disgruntled lot as their President conducted their weekly meeting. A bespectacled man, normally very quiet, but today greatly agitated, rose from his traditional place near the door, his face pale and manner perturbed, “Mr President,” he said, and his voice quivered with…
He Held You As You Fell..!
For many years visitors coming home would stare curiously at a corner of the entrance, where they saw an old-fashioned umbrella with a handle looking quite guilty as it faced downwards, twisted and out of shape, “Twisted umbrella handle!” I tell the curious lookers, and grin. It was a bit…
When You Go Home..!
And as the bodies of those killed in Manipur waited to be buried, choir after choir sang for the memorial of the martyrs, and the words rang in my ears, “When you go Home, tell them about us!” Yes, Florence and Olivia, you two who were stripped, raped, and killed,…
Gandhi’s Amazing Spectacles..!
Indulge me today! I’d like to dream that a rich Indian has purchased Gandhiji’s spectacles and flies home with it to a rousing reception at the Delhi airport. A naval band is there to greet the hero buyer as he walks down the airplane ramp. All the political leaders are…
Bringing Mountaintops to the Valley Below..!
A few years ago, in a high-rise building, close to where I live, a mother, who’s married daughter returned to the US, climbed to the terrace the night after her daughter left and threw herself down. I heard she’d enjoyed the time spent with her daughter and grandchildren but couldn’t…
Remaining Anonymous..!
For many years I opened the morning paper and stared fascinated at pictures of film stars spending time with cancer patients, destitute children and others less fortunate than themselves, giving gifts or handing out large cheques with figures written in giant letters. Something bothered me though, “How were photographers and…
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.