Bob’s Banter

  • A Tale of ‘Returned’ Umbrellas..!
    As the monsoon recedes I find many of my umbrellas borrowed quite often without me knowing, suddenly returning, just when I don’t need them anymore, and looking at them today, brought back memories of their a
  • God in a Church, Mosque or Temple..!
    As I see the infighting in our country and across the world, over construction of mosque or Jewish temple, and church or other religious shrines, or hear arguments, even threats over the opening of religious pl
  • Holding Hands Too Late..!
    Was rather perplexed to hear that more old couples were filing for divorce than ever before, “But why would people in their old age move to end decades of togetherness?” I wondered and walked to the park fo
  • A Heart On Fire..!
    Much before the pandemic I looked at a motley lot of people who had come to me to learn the art of public speaking from me. As I began the talk my heart sank; they looked anything but people who would one day g
  • The Naked Statue..!
    So many of us lead two lives, one for the public and another that is private; most often the private one isn’t fit for public scrutiny: I wonder how it would be if every time we did something bad in our priva
  • Don't Blame the Violin..!
    “You know,” says a complaining voice, “If only I’d been born healthy like you, I feel likewise:      J.F. Rowlands of South Africa was once holidaying in the south of France when he met a
  • Likee Speechee..!
    “Shout ‘HOW!”“How!” I shouted.“It means good!”“How” means ‘good’ in Chinese?” I asked with a smile.The young man smiled and nodded and we both went back to watching the program. He was S
  • Lost in Mere Rituals..!
    A few years ago I wrote a play for a church in which I showed people during prayer time. I showed one man mouthing his prayers but looking out of the window at the traffic outside, another yawning while the oth
  • The Cavity and the Tongue..!
    A patient told his dentist, “I can feel a huge cavity with my tongue,” The dentist examined the man’s teeth and said, “It’ll only be a small filling.”“But why does it feel so large?” asked the p
  • How Do You Park Your Car?
    I do believe, all our driving skills are seen not in how fast we drive, not with our ease of overtaking, our dexterity of working our way through traffic jams, but with how you and I park our cars!My wife and d
  • Gangsters and Public Speaking..!
    While taking a class on public speaking in the academy I run, I told my class how important public speaking was in life. Many of us I told my students would not get opportunities to speak on podiums or stages,
  • Not Yet..!
    A man who had just lost his job went over to a shop and with the last of his money decided to buy a beautiful teacup for his wife. On the display shelf, he saw the perfect cup and told the sales person to take
  • Tackle the Impossible..!
    Around the beginning of the last century, polio was rampant, irreversibly paralyzing thousands of children. Immunization programs were introduced and Rotary took this as their major project. In 1988 350,000 chi
  • Hurry Up and Be Patient..!
    I remember before the lockdown taking a long drive with a friend of mine to check out a problem with a trust in which we were both trustees. I enjoyed the drive and the comfortable car he took me in. He wasn't
  • Don’t Grieve too long, Move On..!
    One of the saddest sights seen is when a husband or wife dies and leaves behind a partner. You can literally see the one left behind asking silently, “Why did you leave me here? What will I do alone?” And t
  • Be Thankful It’s Only Your Rolex..!
    During this festival time, there will be many who will visit religious places asking and praying for this or that:“I want a new car!”“A big house!”“I want the latest cell phone!”“An iPad!”And th
  • Drawing Open the Curtain..!
    Monsoon weather isn’t the most cheerful weather! It certainly isn’t, and persistent rain, along with rumbling thunder adds to a feeling of impending doom. My daughter who studied in Seattle told me even the
  • A Library of Patience..!
    The mother of the little boy was intrigued. Her shy son, who liked more than anything else the company of only himself, had suddenly got attached to his grandfather. “He just loves going out with him!” she
  • A God of Miracles..!
    My grandmother a woman of God, was of simple but great faith, and it was while growing up on her knee I learnt to trust the same God she worshipped with same childlike faith she had. A lot of which came to me t
  • Breaking News Hangover..!
    This could happen after May, in the year 2024!“There’s something wrong!” I see myself shouting.“What’s wrong?” asks the wife.“I have been cheated, swindled, a fraud has taken place!”“What frau
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