My voice is playing truant again, and I remember an incident a few years ago, just before a choral concert, when my voice took a walk! “Come back!” I shouted silently, but only a hoarse guttural sound came out of my tired throat. “Laryngitis,” said my doctor wife with a…
Political Godmen Teachers..!
“Bob!” said the voice at the other end, “You would fit well as the principal of our godmen school!” It was a few hours after reaching the Godman School, I was summoned hastily for a meeting, “What’s the hurry?” I asked the committee member who had come to my lavish…
The Wheelchair..!
These were words I saw in a mosque in Fatehpur Sikri: “The world is a bridge, pass over it, but build not your dwelling there!” The great Fuller was one day taken to the Bank of England, where one of the clerks showed him some gold bars. He took one…
Wasted Biceps and Triceps..!
Now, I could be talkin’ ‘bout about any one of the ageing Khans or maybe any other actor: So I see one of the ageing Khans trying to show his bare chest to the public, he loves pulling off upper wear and inner wear to flex chest muscle for all…
The Right and Left Hand of Giving..!
Have been watching with curious interest my younger daughter’s little baby on its road to discovery: As she slowly starts discovering those loose appendages that seem to be always around, belong to her. Suddenly she discovers that the strange items that always accidentally hit her face and carry ten strange…
A Collector’s Item..!
Many years ago, a young priest told me he was going to do his doctorate. Now, I know that doctorates for priests in our country are a dime a dozen and many small colleges and seminaries offer the same, “Why do you want to do it?” I asked. “So that…
Hugs, Rape and Silence..!
The bearded headman and his fat bald assistant looked at each other worried, “I have to travel to other rich villages and hug their chieftains!” said the bearded headman, “and hopefully they will not ask about troubles we are having here!” “Hug them more closely, when it comes to delicate…
Partying, Prayers and His Presence..!
Something that happens with increasing frequency in a party where everybody is on the floor, swirling and moving passionately to good music under the expert guidance of a professional emcee is the host turning to me and saying, “Bob, will you please pray!” I, also am into the music and…
Escaping the IT, ED and Police..!
Second, to my love of writing is that of public speaking, and I was quite happy when the Madras Rotary which is supposedly the oldest club in India, offered to fly me down to Chennai to address them. “What would you like to speak on?” they asked politely, and I…
Don’t Keep Sally..!
It was a video clip of a lion, most probably an escapee from a zoo walking freely on a city bridge! The person shooting the video, had even rolled his glass down to get a closer shot, obviously excited that he had a forward that would go viral, but in…
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.