hidden image

Bob’s Banter by Robert Clements Go Back Waves, Go Back..!

Robert Clements Robert Clements
07 Jun 2021

And as the second wave that mercilessly killed thousands in the country, exhausted the logs of wood in crematoriums, had bodies lying in queue, like they’d never done when alive, muzzled oxygen supply so that men and women could not avail the most basic requirement to live; to breathe, floated bloated bodies on sacred rivers, forcing policemen and soldiers to cover them up in the dead of night so that the press would not get wind of telltale stench, made mockery of vaccine supply so that the highest court of the land had to intercede to balance an equality that had disappeared, and as that second wave after being allowed by default to create such disaster now recedes, politicians rise from the wormwood, where they’d lain hidden from the wrath of their people, and proclaim, “We controlled the second wave!”
“He pushed the wave back!”
The exhausted people of the country, those still alive, wearily hear their boisterous proclamations of victory, till one among them, pushes back the pages of history, and says, “Read!”
The pages turn, and fit story confronts the proclaimers: The story of King Canute!
Long, long ago, England was ruled by King Canute. Like many leaders and men of power, Canute was surrounded by people, always praising him. Every time he walked into a room the flattery began.
One day while walking by the seashore, his officers and courtiers with him, praising him as usual, Canute decided to teach them a lesson. “Bring me my chair and put it right at the water’s edge.” He sat down and surveyed the ocean before him. He noticed the tide was coming in, “Waves,” cried Canute, “I command you to come no further!” 
He waited a moment, quietly, and a tiny wave rushed up the sand and lapped at his feet. “How dare you!” Canute shouted. “Go back!”
And in answer another wave swept forward and curled around the king’s feet. The tide came in, just as it always did. The water rose higher and higher. It came up around the king’s chair, and wet not only his feet, but also his robe. His officers stood about him, alarmed, and wondering whether he was mad. 
“Well, my friends,” Canute said, “it seems I do not have quite so much power as you would have me believe. Perhaps you have learned something today. Perhaps now you will remember there is only God who is all-powerful, and it is he who rules the sea, and holds the waves in the hollow of his hand. I suggest you reserve your praises for him.”
It was a cruel second wave that killed thousands mercilessly in our country, shouldn’t we like Canute, realize it was no politician who rescued us, or do we need a third wave to hammer the truth into us?

bobsbanter@gmail.com

Recent Posts

Dear fellow Indians, friends of India, and all well-wishers: Not often does one get to witness history being written. Before our eyes, we see history happen in the very NOW. We read in history book
apicture Stanislaus Alla
12 Oct 2026
A fundamental distinction must be maintained between carefully examining a case's facts and rejecting an institution's application on that basis, and making sweeping generalisations about an entire re
apicture Adv. Rev. Dr George Thekkekara
12 Oct 2026
Vismaya's public dissent, Riya's demand for justice, and Yashaswinee's defiance of political inheritance are a growing sign that young women are refusing to remain silent spectators. Their courage in
apicture A. J. Philip
12 Oct 2026
The book "Politics, Policy and Predictions: Views from the Front Row of Parliament" by Derek O'Brien, Rajya Sabha MP and leader of the All India Trinamool Congress Parliamentary Party, throws light on
apicture Marydasan John
12 Oct 2026
As Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi waves the national Tricolour from atop police barricades, and Union Cabinet ministers celebrate Prime Minister Narendra Modi's dubious silver jubilee—13 years
apicture John Dayal
12 Oct 2026
Gandhi need not return as another Mahatma. He can live through a generation that resists hatred without hatred, confronts injustice without violence, challenges consumerism, defends the marginalised a
apicture Jacob Peenikaparambil
12 Oct 2026
Formation is not merely about producing priests and religious who follow rules, recite the Creed and wear habits. It is about nurturing conviction, maturity and integrity.
apicture Fr. Anil Prakash D'Souza, OP
12 Oct 2026
What exactly are we celebrating when our festivities leave children gasping, elders struggling to breathe, animals terrified, and the air poisoned? Culture evolves with human understanding. The real t
apicture P. A. Chacko
12 Oct 2026
The press is the voice of the people. It carries the complaint of the pensioner, the cry of the assaulted woman, the anger of the unemployed graduate and the question the powerful would prefer nobody
apicture Robert Clements
12 Oct 2026
Corrective press notes are not substitutes for accountability. This crisis demands independent investigation, judicial scrutiny and reversal of the SIR. Institutional complicity is the gravest betraya
apicture Oliver D'Souza
05 Oct 2026