Yesterday, returning from New York, I flew First Class. Now I’ve flown first and business class many times in my life, but yesterday’s was different; I flew first, while all around me was economy. As I sat myself down, I felt a strange sense of joy. It was indescribable, till…
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.
Dead Living Rooms..!
There was once a time not too long ago when the living room of a home reflected the kind of people living it; not how much money they possessed but how much warmth existed within. You could sink into an inviting easy chair and be sure moments later your host…
Strict Rules for a Talking People..!
People are talking, but not to each other and just like cigarette smoking has restrictions, we need to have strict rules that need to be implemented immediately: Rule One: The size of the mobile should be such that other people know when he has switched onto talking into his mobile and…
Leadership is Building Leaders…!
There’s an aspect of leadership, most so-called leaders don’t like, and that is building others to become leaders. Many don’t realise that ‘building’ is as much an important part of leadership as ‘leading’! Some pretend to build, but just install a weak, proxy leader and hold court from behind. Which…
A Little Too Much Wine..!
T’was a fancy restaurant we went to in my imagination. The waiter not only had stiff upper lip, but same surgeon had turned his nose up in the air. “What will you have sir?” he smirked. “Wine!” I said “Which one?” “Red!” “Which one sir?” “Any wine that’s red!” I…
This New Year, Reach Out to Someone Lonelier Than You..!
And as I look at the New Year messages that’s flooding my phone, I see something that may have escaped many of us, it is that many of us are reaching out! A reaching out to the new year, asking for a change in circumstances, a change from misery, a…
Following Dad..!
It was the night before the New Year! The old man sighed as he watched his family sit together that night. He knew they would be leaving soon for the New Year dance, and he had also got his best suit pressed by the maid, so he would look good…
Resolutions, Purpose and Reality..!
Nothing like the New Year to make resolutions, right? But most of them hardly last a week, and here’s why. Most of us make resolutions that have to do only with ourselves, but if we look around, we will notice that we are all part of a bigger social network,…
Thank You for the Old Year..!
A principal of a school, a dear friend of mine, was telling me of an incident where he’d seen a girl crying outside her classroom: “I asked her what the matter was and she told me her cat had died. Did it have any kittens?” I asked. “Yes,” said the…
Looking at the Bright Side..!
A couple of years ago, Christmas turned out to be a little different for me. I had planned after church to partake of a sumptuous lunch and then have a long nap, but suddenly heard a noise on my terrace and found the plumber had sent his men to do…
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.