Something that excites me after the excitement of writing is teaching and sales! Now that’s a very strange combination isn’t it? “Your passion for writing, we understand, teaching too,” say relatives and friends, “but isn’t sales an area with a lot of uncertainty?” “Yes, indeed it is, but that’s one…
Adulation, Checks, and Balances..!
Bob’s Banter No man is a god! When man comes to power, he comes with a suitcase full of weaknesses, and one of them is adulation! Which man doesn’t love to hear the roar of a crowd as he walks on stage? Which man doesn’t love seeing looks of adoration…
The Garden and the Gardener..!
Was sitting in my garden this morning, when I was struck by the sheer beauty all around, the joy the different shades of green gave out, and looking more closely realized how the leaves of the different plants were shaped so elegantly different! Yes, elegantly, because, it was as if…
The Charge of Our Light Brigade..!
“Forward, the Light Brigade! Charge for the guns!” he said. Into the valley of Death Rode the six hundred. “Forward, the Light Brigade!” Was there a man dismayed? Not though the soldier knew Someone had blundered. Theirs not to make reply, Theirs not to reason why, Theirs but to do…
Your Taxes as Bribes..!
And during the next elections as different parties promise freebies to the poor, and the same poor people with stars in their eyes jump to claim them, remember it’s your tax money that is being paid in exchange for votes! Free colour TV’s, waiver of farmer loans, free electricity and…
Don’t Run, Face It..!
“I’ll have another drink,” he told the waiter. “It’s your fourth,” I said. “So you’re good at counting,” he acknowledged. “Don’t you think you’ve had enough?” “I know when to stop,” he said, looking at me red faced and eyes glazed, “D’you know what my commanding officer called me today?”…
Become Childlike..!
“For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these..” Jesus I remember once, watching astonished as Jeff, my huge, scary German- Shepherd dog, became a little pup and followed my nephew around the room, nuzzling into his ear and behaving as if he’d found a long lost friend: All…
Read and Lead..!
A writer rarely has free time, not because he’s always writing, but that he’s thinking his next article or story or play or plot. But, on those delightfully glorious occasions I find I have that odd hour or two, I pull out a huge volume of short stories by Roald…
Those Small Annoyances..!
I pressed the horn, stomped on the accelerator, cursed the driver in the next car and nearly shouted at the traffic policeman. “What’s the matter dad?” she asked. “I hate being late,” I grumbled. “D’you know of all the people whose lives were saved because they were late?” That evening…
Build Bridges not Walls..!
Here’s a small story of two brothers who lived side by side in their own farms for many years, until one day, a foolish argument caused a rift between them. This was the first serious disagreement the brothers had in all of their 50 years. Up until that day, they…
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.