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.

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

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

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

Governance is complex, difficult, and on the whole, thankless - why ever should the Bright Young Things leave the management of their hotels, newspapers, banks, TV channels and corporations to join, like fleas on a behemoth, the government? Wherein lies the difference between the two worlds?

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

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.