The last thing I ever want to do is to bring down the name of a film actor who has just passed away. I loved his charisma and admired the powerful screen presence he carried into every role. But admiration does
Wednesday, 26th November, 2025
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Bob’s Banter
In my soon to be released book Hi Society, which I hope will soon be in your hands, there is a moment that still echoes in my mind. A massive election rally is underway. Loudspeakers scream, banners wave, drums
Somewhere in the nineties I bought what I believed was the most elegant machine on the Indian road. It was the Tata Estate and I must say that vehicle looked like a dream. It stood outside my house like royalty-
At a Sotheby’s auction in New York, a golden commode was sold for twelve point one million dollars. Yes, you read that right. Not a diamond. Not a painting. Not even a sculpture made by a genius who starved f
When Ashton, my grandson pointed out the empty bench near the Poconos mountains, I could not help wondering about the countless stories it must have held. And today I decided I would tell the twins just one. No-
There is something amusing about how we view the one who sits a little higher than us.We look at the boss in a cool cabin, or the owner in a comfortable car, and feel that life has dealt them a sweeter hand. Ma
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In my very fertile imagination, I can see it as clearly as if I were sitting in the room myself; a grand hall somewhere in the capital. The opposition parties have gathered once again after yet another round of
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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
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
