Bob’s Banter

  • Lust, Power and the Talented..!
    This mornings Times of India did not just carry a headline. It carried a memory.Three men sentenced to death for gang rape and murder. Clinical words. Legal words. Necessary words. And in the middle of it all,
  • No Confidence and The Speaker..!
    The opposition has very kindly sponsored a no confidence motion against the Speaker of the Lok Sabha. It is almost certain to fail. Arithmetic is a stubborn creature.If you have the numbers, you win.But numbers
  • Anti- Narrow Pants..!
    A few weeks ago, in a moment of generosity I still consider Nobel Prize worthy, I offered someone close to me, a pair of black pants. I seem to have collected quite a few over time. Black trousers multiply in c
  • Why Truthteller’s are Never Invited Twice..!
    People say they want honesty. They demand it. They post about it. They frame it on their office walls. Speak the truth, they declare with moral authority, usually while hoping nobody actually does.Because the m
  • Enough Is Not Enough..!
    There is something deeply exhausting about watching very wealthy people argue about who gets the slightly bigger slice of an already enormous cake. In the ongoing court case over the wealth of the late Sunjay K
  • Coffee, Me and Dementia..!
    Todays article in the Times brought me unexpected medical validation.According to learned people with graphs and charts, two to three cups of coffee a day may help keep dementia at bay.I read it slowly, reveren
  • Not Worth Resuscitating...!
    I spent the entire morning at the hospital for my half yearly eye check-up. Since it happens to be the hospital where my wife works as a doctor, I make a modest effort to look respectable. Not power suit respec
  • The Indian Budget Tamasha..!
    It is no wonder that politicians and priests get away with almost anything in our country.Frankly, they deserve an award for consistency. We have spent generations training them by practising obedience with Oly
  • Don’t Become a Bore..!
    There is a strange epidemic sweeping across drawing rooms, coffee shops, family lunches, office corridors, and unfortunately, even national television studios. It is called Opinion Diarrhoea. The uncontrollable
  • Only One Speed Saar..!
    Because a wedding party was arriving at the YWCA International Guest House in Chennai, we were moved from an air conditioned room to a non AC one. Chennai weather being kind at this time of year, I was not both
  • Your Simple Lie Detector..!
    One of the toughest challenges today is not traffic, pollution, or even rising blood pressure. It is figuring out whether the government is speaking the truth or performing for the national stage.Every morning,
  • The Indian Budget Tamasha..!
    The Indian Budget is that annual national festival which arrives with great fanfare, deep mystery, and absolutely no guarantee of happiness.For one week before Budget Day, every Indian suddenly becomes an econo
  • In the Debris of a Plane Crash..!
    The news came like news always does these days. Casually. Between a cricket score and a discount sale. Someone powerful is suddenly no more. Not someone I supported. Not someone whose speeches I memorised. But
  • Therapy without Walls..!
    The school buildings had been torn down a year ago. Flattened. Cleared. Wiped out. All to make way for something modern. Something glassy. Something that probably has air conditioning that actually works.Where
  • Unfurling and Hoisting the Flag..!
    There is a brand-new national pastime that has quietly overtaken cricket, it is the sacred art of correcting someone who says the wrong word on the wrong day.You do not hoist the flag on Republic Day, someone d
  • Bleak…!
    Bleak is one of those words that does not rush at you. It sits. It lingers. It looks around the room and makes itself comfortable. It does not scream like terror or shout like anger. It simply lowers the lights
  • The Silent Piano..!
    At home my piano is a silent one. It stands there in the sitting room, polished, upright, respectable. Visitors notice it immediately. They nod approvingly and say things like old world charm, classic taste, el
  • Wrong Questions, Wrong Solutions..!
    The municipal elections in Mumbai are over, the banners have been taken down, the loudspeakers have finally fallen silent, and the city has returned to its favourite sport: complaining. I am part of a WhatsApp
  • From Politicians to Statesmen..!
    Winning elections is exhilarating. Slogans work, crowds cheer, numbers add up, and victory music is played. It is a moment when every politician feels ten feet tall and slightly immortal. But once the fireworks
  • Herding Corporators into a Resort..!
    There is something profoundly touching about the sight of elected representatives being escorted to a luxury resort, not for a holiday, not for reflection, but for safekeeping.It is democracy wrapped in room se
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