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.

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.

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.

The future is meant for those who are willing to let go of the worst parts of the past. When you cannot take two steps without turning around to inspect your footsteps, you are getting nowhere fast.

It just feels like meeting him again was like seeing a blank paper ready to be sketched, a different idea to be drawn.

Athletes need to enjoy their training. They don't enjoy going down to the track with a coach making them do repetitions until they're exhausted. From enjoyment comes the will to win.

Never forget Yourself in the wind of success!!

If you're an adult and you choose not to believe in science, fine, but please don't prevent your children from learning about it and letting them draw their own conclusions.

The soldiers never explained to the government when an Indian was wronged, but reported the misdeeds of the Indians.

It is through weakness and vulnerability that most of us learn empathy and compassion and discover our soul.

Ever eat so much you feel sick? Isn't that the best?

I don't think I'll write a large novel again because it was like being in jail for me. Even though that's the funniest book I've ever written, it was the saddest period of my life.

The sole "property" of matter with whose recognition philosophical materialism is bound up is the property of being an objective reality, of existing outside the mind.