It was a class reunion, “Hi, aren’t you Charles who got 100%?” “Yes!” “How you doing? And what are you doing?” “I’m a banker, and might make it to manager next year!” “And you? You were known as Crazy Gates, weren’t you?” “Ah well, I guess you know I’m the…
A Police Encounter..!
Since police encounter deaths are making news again, I decided to visit a police station for an informal chat, “Whenever we do something right we are criticized!” said the police chief, offering me my mandatory plate of batata vada and hot Telangana chutney from the police canteen downstairs, “we have…
Mountain Top Experiences..!
What exactly do you think is a mountain top experience? Yes, it’s the exhilarating feeling of standing on the peak of a mountain, a feeling of victory, of adrenalin rushing in after a long, tedious climb, and finally the reaching of the pinnacle. What a great feeling! You are on…
Sharing From Our Little..!
Every morning, I sit in my garden and read my newspapers! It’s about the happiest time of my day as I also feed the birds and squirrels and watch them shed their timidity and come close to get a morsel of bread that’s fallen close to where I sit. Very…
Nehru and Napoleon: Men of Stuff..!
As I look at today’s world leaders I wonder where men and women with stuff in them have disappeared; statesmen, who when they rose to speak, spoke without jeer and sarcasm. Leaders who were loved and revered not feared. Where have such people gone? There’s this story that when Napoleon…
Trapdoor of Lust..!
As I look at those who raise their hands in worship in a church, temple or masjid, I realize for me my soul lifts up in praise to my Maker and Creator at moments when I view or hear beauty in creativity! I saw so much of this ecstatic worship…
Look! Can You See A Child Inside?
People donate for the blind, give generously towards old age homes and orphanages, but it is difficult having them part so liberally towards charities or NGOs who work for the mentally challenged. I pondered on this as I drove back that evening: I’d seen the sterling work done by an…
Trifles Make Perfection..!
Many years ago, as a young man, I sat on the board of an organization which was planning a huge function in the city and for which they had sent invitations to members all across the country. It was important to have the maximum number of members attending along with…
Handling Grief through Happiness..!
It was a midnight call that woke me ten years ago. A call from my wife who was on holiday in New York, “Bob, mummy passed away in her sleep!” I was devastated. I was alone at home, with the whole family in America. “Ma,” I cried, “I’m sorry I…
Book of Strategies and Surgical Strikes..!
“Any more strategies? Your midnight one wasn’t very effective, nor the secretive early morning swearing in!” “I don’t know, but they seem to be beating me nowadays!” “I noticed!” “I wonder whether they’ve peeked into my book!” “What book?” “The one I use to make my moves! This one!” “It…
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.