Anyone who has grown up in Delhi knows it's horrible.

The more languages you know, the less likely you are to become a terrorist.

We are men without ambition, and all we want is to be left alone, in peace so that we can try and be happy. So few people will understand this simplicity.

I need to have some depth in my characters. That's why they are all Bengalis. I can't imagine writing a book with someone called Saxena as the hero.

Amidst one's daily clutter, one doesn't usually reflect on the splendour of being free because - naturally - one has to get on with the business of living.

Well, life is dark, isn't it? Mostly, it's dreadful. At the same time, death is funny too. I mean, look at the fuss we make of it.

So much better to write pen on paper; you can do it anywhere, say, while stuck at the airport.

People should have literary and cultural taste and should not bomb hotels.

It's a huge headache - the more money you have, the more hassles. I find money very uncomfortable.

I feel completely at home in the absurdities of India.

I don't think I would do better books if I wrote full time. I write for amateurish reasons.

Life is better than any movie or TV show. In real life there is no plot and there are billions of characters.

It seems farther away now because there are no rockets getting there. Nobody is going.

It makes me crazy to think that somebody might attack my city or any other city.

Life's mysterious, strange, and full of wonders - and only a fool withdraws from it willingly and lets it pass him by.

To be wise and eke to love, Is granted scarce to gods above.

Hearing people clapping draws you in pretty quick. It's like bungee cord jumping - it's a rush; you just want to do it again.

Sin is what you do when you are not satisfied in God.

I know that I have a special stomach.

I am a sect by myself, as far as I know.

Being an artist is a lifestyle.