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.

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.

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.

People ugly from ignorance and broken from being poor.

Do not allow the opinions of others to oppress you.

Nothing like a little judicious levity.

Homer must have felt this pressure to come up with an epic poem that would sound totally new to an audience that had loved his previous best-seller.

In one important respect a man is fortunate in being poor. His responsibility to God is so much the less

I don't care about anything I don't need to care about.

I stood staring, not as yet realising that this was death leaping from man to man in that little distant crowd.

Do not mind anything that anyone tells you about anyone else. Judge everyone and everything for yourself.

Embracing the fear of freedom, deciding to determine your own path, this is the work of a grownup.

I think it is harder to write a story that appeals to the intellect. But, when you tie onto one, you can do it quite deeply. It really depends on the type of idea you have to begin with.