Yes, Manila had its slums; one saw them on the drive from the airport: vast districts of men in dirty white undershirts lounging idly in front of auto-repair shops - like a poorer version of the 1950s America depicted in such films as Grease.

And with a last stardrop, a last circle, I arrive, and she's there, chemical wonder in her eyes.

We're all united in this, that every human being migrates through time, that the place we grew up in in our childhood is gone when we're in our 50s and 60s and 70s.

I think there's really strong social stratification in South Asia.

What used to help us to cope with transience was stuff like, extended families all living in one place, or very strong religious beliefs, or a tribe that would outlive you. That stuff is getting weaker.

Only in novels can we take another human being into our head and create something jointly.

The world seems concerned with Pakistan primarily as an actor in global attempts to combat terrorism.