I've always felt that if one was going to take seriously this vocation as an artist, you have to get beyond that decorative facade

I am Indian, and I'm proud of it. Indian life is mythologically rich and powerful.

It is important that artists are not outside the equation, we don't stand on the sidelines. Artists are part of the story of a response, we cannot stand aside and let others make the response.

I'm not necessarily interested in being the best Indian artist. I want to be the best artist I can be. That's enough of a declaration of intent.

Being an artist is a very long game. It is not a 10-year game. I hope I'll be around making art when I'm 80

If you get a bad review, you take that in your stride.

That freedom that Picasso afforded himself, to be an artist in a huge number of ways, seems to be a huge psychological liberation.