hidden image

Bob’s Banter by Robert Clements New Olympian Democracy Game..!

Robert Clements Robert Clements
09 Aug 2021

Members of the Olympics Committee sitting in Tokyo, looked tiredly at each other, “Handling all the complaints makes me wonder whether it’s worth the trouble of actually having these games!” said the Chairman, as his secretary whispered in his ear, that an Indian delegation wanted to meet him. “What’s it this time?” he asked loudly, “We did include kabaddi, now what?”
“Our men are not winning enough medals!” said the leader of the delegation entering with his disgruntled group, “They are playing games we don’t play back home!”
“So, what do you play back home?” asked the Chairman looking at the other members mischievously.
“Democracy!” said the leader as his other colleagues shook their heads in approval, “It is a game we have perfected. We know how to..
“Protest!” said one of the members.
“Snoop on other’s telephonic calls!” said another.
“Put people in jail without any cause other than…”
“Sedition!”
“Or not being a nationalist!” said another.
“We want Democracy included as one of the events!” said the leader of the delegation, “It’s a game we have near perfected! Here’s a video, just play it on your giant screen!”
The video was played. The noise and ruckus was near that of an Olympic stadium in Tokyo, “It’s really a game!” shouted a committee member from Brazil, “I have seen it played in my own country!”
“What are they throwing?” asked the Chairman, his voice hardly heard with the din from the video.
“They are throwing the Speaker’s mike!”
“And there’s a bit of tearing of paper too!” said the member from Paraguay.   
“That’s the speaker’s report on farmers!” said the leader of the delegation with a smile.
“And what’s that?” asked all the members as the game changed to show an old man inside a cage like room.
“That’s an old priest put in jail for inciting an uprising!”
“Hardly looks capable of doing something like that!” observed the member from the US.
“You may be right, he died recently!” said the leader of the delegation, “but other than members of his community, everybody else liked our game..”
“..of Democracy?” asked the Chairman incredulously.
“Yes,” said the leader of the delegation, “We have taken something you taught us to play, Indianized it and perfected it according to our high standards. Which is why we feel we can beat the world at it!”
“You make a powerful point!” said the Chairman thoughtfully, I will put it up next year in our committee meeting! Hey what’s that on the video? That’s me!”
“A clandestine meeting you had with a Geisha woman last night. No one knows yet, but will soon, unless you say yes to us right now!”
“How did you get it?” asked the Chairman weakly, signing the approval form.
“Democracy, with a touch of Pegasus!” laughed the leader, leading his delegation out..!

bobsbanter@gmail.com 
 

Recent Posts

On April 9, I was in Karnal as a resource person at the 2026 Delhi Province Assembly of the Indian Missionary Society (IMS), an indigenous order of the Catholic Church. One thing that attracted me to
apicture A. J. Philip
13 Apr 2026
The proposed FCRA Amendment Bill, 2026, has sparked fears that expanded state powers to seize NGO assets may bypass constitutional safeguards, disproportionately affect minority institutions, and shri
apicture Jacob Peenikaparambil
13 Apr 2026
A comforting myth of Congress–Christian affinity masks a harder truth: when justice required administrative fixes, the state acted; when it demanded constitutional courage for Dalit Christians, it hes
apicture John Dayal
13 Apr 2026
The Supreme Court of India affirmed marriage as a partnership of equals, ruling that a wife's refusal to perform chores is not cruelty. By declaring "wife is a life partner, not a maid," it reinforces
apicture Jessy Kurian
13 Apr 2026
Public Interest Litigation transformed access to justice in India, empowering courts to defend the marginalised. As calls to curb it emerge, the debate centres on balancing concerns about misuse with
apicture Joseph Maliakan
13 Apr 2026
Amid the fallout from the Iran war, India's LPG shortage exposes a widening gap between official assurances and lived reality—fuel scarcity, rising prices, and migrant distress reveal a fragile energy
apicture Frank Krishner
13 Apr 2026
The Strait of Hormuz remains a volatile global lifeline, where Iran's "Hormuz Gambit" leverages geography to wield outsized influence—threatening energy flows, unsettling markets, and forcing major po
apicture Fr John Felix Raj & Dr Sovik Mukherjee
13 Apr 2026
In the muddy piece of a Hindu land, Where caste was stitched into human skin, And untouchability carried chains heavier than iron, A child was born beneath a fractured sky Not to inherit the Hindu
apicture Dr Suryaraju Mattimalla
13 Apr 2026
Amid escalating Middle East conflicts, petrodollar power and Zionist geopolitics frame a world gripped by conflict, moral crisis, and competing national visions. Unchecked ambition, ideological absolu
apicture Peter Fernandes
13 Apr 2026
nobody calls a selfish person aunty with affection. That title, in our country at least, comes with invisible expectations. To care. To guide. To smile even when the knees protest.
apicture Robert Clements
13 Apr 2026