“A kind salesman has offered to visit our house,” said the wife to me. “What kind of kind salesman?” I asked. “He’s going to tell us what we need to buy!” “A salesman is going to come to my house and tell me what I need to buy?” I asked…
Robert Clements is a journalist and newspaper columnist. With an estimated 6 million readership, his column, Bob’s Banter is published in over 30 newspapers and magazines in nearly every state in India, as well as in the top newspapers of Bangladesh, London and Dubai and is also translated into Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu.
Gun Control and Agents of Fear..!
Bang! Bang! Bang! And sadly, another twenty-one bangs from the shooter’s deadly gun, saw children sprawled all over the classroom, dead! What kind of a stupid country is this, that has one of the safest security forces in the world, and still allows people to carry guns to defend themselves?…
Fooled by the Golden Glow..!
The other day an employee of mine showed me his phone worth a huge amount. “But that’s a costly phone!” I said. “With my credit card sir!” he said. And today, that’s what I see; with no money in the wallet but with a piece of plastic in hand more…
Giving and Receiving Help..!
The other day I decided to do something a bit wicked, not too naughty to make you stop reading farther, but just a wee bit wicked. I’d often found people leaning across and telling me, when there was about to be a event of any kind, “Bob, if you ever…
Pop Up Toaster..!
“We need a new pop up toaster?” I told my wife. “What’s wrong with the old one?” “Too much pop in its up!” I said and screamed as there was the sound of gunfire and I dived for cover. “Bob! It’s only the pop up!” “I told you,” I whispered…
Their Only Moments of Passion..!
They were holding hands at the next table. I have nothing against holding hands, I’ve held my own fair share and more during the springtime of my youth, but these two at the next table seemed to have hands meant for nothing else but each other! Danny who was sitting…
Mary’s True Peace..!
‘Oh Mary! Mother of Jesus!’ I said as I stood in front of her, And suddenly in the painting, I felt the Mother stir. ‘What is it, dear child?’ she looked at me, and said, ‘What question is it that I see, rankling in your head?’ ‘Mary Mother of Jesus,’…
Clever Packaging or Good Content?
Am I a better salesman than a content giver? This is a question I wrestle with, even as I try to check myself every now and then to see whether the content of my motivational talks, workshops, and also my writing justifies the sales pitch! Last Diwali, I received many…
Cheerleader Shouts vs Stillness..!
‘Laughter can conceal a heavy heart; when the laughter ends, the grief remains.” Proverbs 14:13. This actually happened after a session with a group of company executives, where I’d spent almost a day training them in the art of being still. “From stillness,” I had told them, “Comes a mighty…
Your Chair and You..!
As a writer and journalist, I often had to visit men and women in different leadership positions at their offices. As soon as I was ushered into their offices, the chair on which they sat told me where I stood. The chairs came in all shapes and sizes. Small made…
Robert Clements is a newspaper columnist and writes a daily column, which has graced the pages of over 60 newspapers and magazines, from a daily column in the Khaleej Times, Dubai, the Morning Star, London, and in nearly every state in India, from The Statesman in Kolkata, to the Kashmir Times in Kashmir to the Trinity Mirror in Chennai.