No One to Talk To..!
Many years ago, my secretary, who used to travel by the good old suburban trains of Mumbai, told me stories of the strange therapy sessions that happened on the rails. Total strangers, wedged together on a wooden bench, would whisper their deepest troubles. She once confessed to me that she…
Pretending to Play the Second Fiddle..!
Last week I wrote about people who played second fiddle and changed the world, but alongside that had written another about many who pretend to play second fiddle and find it convenient to remain doing so, because they are actually playing first fiddle. Initially I wasn’t sure there was anybody…
The Alexandra Limp and Us..!
Have you heard of the “Alexandra Limp”? A curious bit of history, really. In the late 1860s, Queen Alexandra, wife of Edward VII, walked with a limp after illness. Soon, society ladies—perfectly healthy—decided to copy her. Out they went, wobbling down London streets, limping in step with their Queen. Now…
Tariffs, Tyrants and Truth..!
Sometimes, dear reader, we get so busy winning a little skirmish that we forget there’s a full-blown war still raging. Right now, our television screens are filled with chest-thumping over the “battle” with the US on tariffs. Ministers wag fingers. News anchors thump tables. Hashtags scream “We Will Not Be…
Automatic Doors After They Are Dead..!
So, the Railways have announced—with the solemnity of a priest at a last rites service—that they’ll finally install automatic doors on Mumbai’s local trains. Not before the tragedy.Not to prevent it.But after four lives were crushed, mangled, and tossed aside like used tickets on a Mumbra platform. Only then did…
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.