Bob’s Banter

  • The Dreaded 'S' Word..!
    And as the nation with a sense of shock finds the Maharashtra governor deriding a chief minister by calling him ‘secular’ I foresee a situation like this arising: “Ma,” cries a little fellow, as he retu
  • Through the Covid Mountain..!
    It loomed outside, fearful, menacing, growing bigger everyday: The Covid Mountain!I tried to look beyond, but the forbidding shadow of fear blocked my gaze. It stood, grim, evil, darkly foreboding!“Lord!” I
  • Are You A Rabbit?
    Got you, didn’t I? You thought I was calling you a Walt Disney bunny rabbit, didn’t you? One of those hopping four legged furry fellows who multiply as quickly as you put them together, but no, it’s not t
  • Oh Great Visionary Leader..!
    ‘Can you imagine,’ said the local corporator, poking a fat finger into my ribs, ‘the people want a new bus terminus.’‘Yes,’ I said, ‘I’ve heard about that.’‘What do we need a bus terminus fo
  • Peace in a Storm…!
    With loved ones testing positive, my head reeled, and as I often do, searched for some story from old columns of mine that could steady my worried mind.I found a story that had long fascinated me; that of an ol
  • A Solo for the Conductor..!
    “Sing the solo Bob!” the choir conductor told me.“No,” I said.“But it’s your old church!”“That’s why I don’t want to sing a solo!” I whisper “I just want to sit in the choir pew I sat in
  • Write Right..!
    The pen is mightier than the sword we say glibly, repeating an oft quoted line, but having no idea whether it’s true or not, or sometimes what it means!Swords! Gone are those days! Swords are not used anymore
  • Coffee or Coffee Cup..!
    When my children were quite tiny, I made a trip to New York to visit my parents, and when returning decided I would fill my suitcases with gifts for them and also my wife.  I stared at the amazing stuff be
  • Trump and the Virus..!
    With half of America rooting for the virus, in Trump, and the other half cursing the virus for attacking Trump, the Virus I soon found was nearly having a nervous breakdown. “Interview the Virus!” my editor
  • Full Cycle..!
    “Watch out!” I shouted as my driver swerved to avoid the cyclist then jumped out of the car and ran to pick up the fallen man.That’s when I saw his bicycle.It lay old and rusty. I looked down at it and it
  • The Gandhi Vaccine..!
    The newspaper boy, clutching his newspapers like diamonds in his hand, shouted, “Vaccine found! Vaccine available!” And people hearing him at the railway station and street outside, rushed to get a copy of
  • The Ugliest Man In The World..!
    The other day while scanning the news in the local papers I saw this hideous picture of an ugly man; face all patched up, hardly any nose, no eyebrows and two skin projections for ears! He had been through a gr
  • 'Doob' and Bollywood..!
    With so many actors and actresses dragged to jail by the Narcotics Control Bureau, or for questioning, many hardcore fans and film addicts are beginning to come up with strange thoughts and theories.My neighbor
  • Untangled..!
    There were tears in her eyes, my daughter’s, as she led me up to the terrace “Look what they’ve done dad,” she wept. I stared with horror. The bird, a pigeon, hung by its neck, held by a thin string, on
  • Whistling Spectacles..!
    I’ve found the easiest way to find a misplaced cell phone is to call my number and find the instrument ringing from under a pile of clothes, an upturned book or sometimes screaming from my very own pocket, wh
  • Hitting Below the Belt..!
    As fair play evolved and even warfare rules changed from barbaric methods to slightly more civilized ways, certain unsporting practices were frowned on, and finally declared as foul. In sports, one of them, was
  • War on the Cricket Field..!
    And as cricket our passionate, frenzied, national sport starts, I know soon there will be an Indo-Pak match to get all our Covid frustration anger out. To most fans, spectators and their countrymen, an Indo-Pak
  • Trump and the Tramp’s Tale..!
    It was early one morning the people of New York, some of them anyway heard the Statue of Liberty had been speaking to someone down below, the previous night. A drunk, who had made his home on the same island, t
  • Building Crashes and No Room..!
    And as I heard about the building collapse in Mumbai, with sixteen dead and counting, and other concrete structures crumbling during the rains, I hear knowing voices asking, “Why do they stay in such building
  • Swimming Pool In A Church..!
    The busy architect picked up his ringing phone, ““Yes Father?” he asked, “What can I do for you?”“I am in a fix,” said the worried voice of the priest.“Why? Has your church collapsed? Is the roo
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