It was a quote that made me smile this morning. “We have to find landing ground for our trade discussions,” said our External Affairs Minister, reported The Times of India.
Now, in my vivid imagination—one that has a life of its own—I see the weary minister flying to yet another one of the hundred countries his boss sends him to. Poor man. He’s barely finished negotiating in one capital before he’s shipped off to the next, his briefcase packed with dossiers, diplomacy, and dark circles under his eyes.
As he’s finally about to doze off midair, dreaming perhaps of a quiet weekend at home with a cup of chai that doesn’t taste like recycled aircraft water, an air hostess taps his shoulder. “Sir,” she says politely, “the pilot wants to see you.”
Now that’s not the kind of message any passenger wants to hear at 30,000 feet. But a minister can’t refuse, so off he trudges to the cockpit.
The pilot turns, smiles, and says, “Sir, I heard you’re looking for ‘landing ground’ for your talks. Thought I’d ask—does that patch below look good enough for us to land?”
The minister peers through the window. “Hmm,” he says wisely, “it looks calm and inviting.”
“That, sir,” says the pilot dryly, “is the Arabian Sea.”
The minister looks agitated. “Oh no, we shouldn’t be landing there!”
“Well, we would if you were the pilot,” the pilot says cheerfully, “and with that, the aircraft, you, and your trade deals will all go straight to the bottom. Because, sir, a landing ground isn’t about calm appearances. It’s about solid foundations. Rock. Earth. Runway.”
The minister nods slowly. “Ah yes, solid ground.”
“And that,” says the pilot, “is what your policies need too—solid landing ground. You can’t land foreign policy on shifting waves of convenience. You can’t support a bully invading a smaller country just because he offers you cheaper oil. You can’t say one thing abroad about democracy and do the opposite back home. A plane doesn’t land on slogans, sir. It lands on truth.”
The minister blinks. “Truth?”
“Yes,” says the pilot, “truth that your domestic runway must be made of equality and justice. Where minorities are not persecuted and made to feel insecure. Where women aren’t raped with impunity. Where the machinery of government isn’t used to flatten the opposition. That’s the kind of landing the world wants to see you make.”
The minister looks thoughtful. “And if we don’t?”
The pilot shrugs. “Then, Mr. Minister, we’ll be circling forever—burning fuel, losing altitude, and when we finally land, it’ll be into the sea of our own hypocrisy.”
And as the minister returns to his seat, one hopes he realizes the wisdom in the pilot’s words—that in diplomacy, politics, and life itself, smooth landings happen only on runways built of truth. Anything else, dear reader, is just a crash waiting to happen…!
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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.
Wow, what a vivid imagination you’ve got sirji! Only you could turn a simple phrase like “landing ground for trade discussions” into a full-blown aviation drama complete with a philosophical pilot and a moral lecture at 30,000 feet. Truly, your creativity took off—but sadly, your logic didn’t board the same flight.
Our minister wasn’t looking for a literal runway, my friend. He meant diplomatic common ground, not an emergency landing in the Arabian Sea. But you flew straight into turbulence—mixing metaphors, politics, and poetry till even the pilot got confused.
You say, “a plane doesn’t land on slogans.” Correct! But your article seems to have taken off on them. If international relations worked on emotional monologues, half the world’s summits could be replaced by your next column.
So next time you talk about “landing ground,” try something firmer—facts, context, or maybe a touch of realism. Because right now, you’re just circling above the Sea of Self-Righteousness… with zero chance of a safe landing
Superb! Loved it.
We fasten our seatbelts in the hope of a safe landing ahead, not on the turbulent waves but on solid ground. Amen.
This article uses the minister’s phrase—“landing ground”—as a creative springboard to explore deeper diplomatic issues. It’s a satire, using metaphor to reflect real tensions—not a literal analysis.
It is, in essence, a political cartoon in words.
The calm Arabian Sea becomes a symbol of deceptive appearances—reminding us there are no shortcuts in hard bargaining. True progress needs hard negotiation and solid foundations.
Beneath the surface, the logic holds. It just requires the reader to look beyond the literal.
Thank you, Ayesha for your kind response!
When I stated “safe landing” that is exactly what I meant, on “political grounds.” A “solid ground” of discipline, honesty and good values and not “oscillating” like the turbulent waves of the sea because as we all know, political values and ideologies keep changing when a new leader takes charge.
After all “smooth landings take place only on a runaway of truth.”
I just emphasized on the superb thoughts described in the banter as a reader and a student despite being an amateur in the literary field.
I was just stopping by the literary woods in appreciation and “I know that I have miles to go before I sleep.”
I agree with Ayesha, this is a metaphorical piece of writing.
The author has creatively used metaphors like “landing ground” to explain our turbulent politically imbalanced international flight, likely to explode in mid air or crash into our bumpy domestic runway.
Smooth landings can happen only if runways are built on truth.
One needs to understand these metaphors to appreciate this Banter.
Thank you Shylaja!
‘ Smooth landings happen only on runways built on truth!’ Glad that , unlike some , Bobby isn’t mixed up when it comes to moral values v/s hypocrisy.