Had dinner with a retired government deputy secretary last night and as we spoke about his years in service, I decided to ask him a question that many powerful people quietly dread. I leaned forward and asked h
Saturday, 15th November, 2025
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Bob’s Banter
It was the most disturbed sleep he had ever had. He tossed and turned as though on a small boat battling angry waves. He felt the vessel shudder beneath him, ready to sink at any moment. The wind howled through
There are two kinds of people who can make or break your creative spirit. The first is the editor who thinks he is a writer because he knows grammar. The second is the piano player who believes he or she is a s
When I heard a few months ago that Pakistan had promoted its army chief to Field Marshal, I could not help but laugh. Not because of any sense of humour the situation carried, but because it reminded me of a pu-
Every morning while in New York I had to walk past the mayor's lovely villa, to get to the riverfront in Manhattan to do my morning walk, and today, as I read about young Zohran Mamdani’s victory in New York
Whenever someone talks about their articles being rejected by newspapers or magazines, I tell them that I call this a God given time, the time to prepare for bigger opportunities. I have lived long enough to kn
Again and again, I hear the term “jungle raj” being tossed about like a rotten tomato at a fair, hurled by those in power at the previous rulers of Bihar. Apparently, during Lalu’s time, it was jungle raj-
It happens again. People gather to celebrate, to pray, to watch, or to cheer, and before the sun sets, screams fill the air, sandals lie scattered, and bodies are heaped together. Another stampede.Another trage
My wife gifted me a harmonica for my birthday. Not because she thought I needed a new hobby, but because she had not heard me play for a long time. I had a few harmonicas already, but they had been lent out to
Fifteen thousand encounters since 2017! Can you imagine that? Fifteen thousand men shot dead in so-called “encounters,” and two hundred and fifty six “hardened criminals” eliminated in just one state. I
Every morning I open the newspaper, and what greets me? The smiling, smirking, sneering faces of our political leaders. I go for a walk, and there they are on giant billboards. They are there in advertisements-
I once met a man who had spent ten years in jail for a crime he never committed. When he came out, his hair was grey, his eyes empty, and his soul crushed. He had lost not just ten years, but a lifetime of chan
They were just two young women, Australian cricketers, guests of our nation, here to play the game we love more than we sometimes love our women. And yet, as they walked to a café, a man on a motorbike came cl
Last year I was given two invitations. One, to sing for a grand choir conducted by the legendary Zubin Mehta, and the other, from a small church that needed a baritone voice. I remember sitting and thinking abo-
Every now and then, I meet someone who tells me, “Bob, I wish I could write too.” I look at them and smile, because what I really want to say is, “You can.”You see, there’s a story in everyone. In the
I read today that Iran, the same country where women are beaten, jailed and even killed for not wearing the hijab, witnessed quite a spectacle. The daughter of one of its senior defence and national security of-
A friend from Chennai told me that on Diwali night, the fireworks stopped at exactly ten o’clock. “People here actually obey the law,” he said proudly, “even when it’s a festival.” I sighed in disbe
A few years ago, a close friend of mine fell deep into alcoholism. It was heartbreaking to watch a bright, capable young man crumble into dependence on drink. One night he took his car and, completely drunk, dr-
Just read the news that a businessman lost fifty-eight crores through a clever “digital arrest.” Fifty-eight crores!But before we rush to blame the scamsters, maybe we should look at the man in the mirror,
In Chicago last month, I spent a lot of time with little Emory, my granddaughter. Every morning, before breakfast, she would climb onto my lap, point to my iPad, and insist, “Goliath!” That was her favourit
