...a rainy day ceases to have meaning for a person who has lived in the open under a monsoon cloud most of his life.

The writer's is an interior world, a world of the mind.

The first thing you have to understand is that I was not desperate to be a writer. I was never a closet writer filing away notes in a cupboard.

I want to show that the underdog can win. I believe were all the same: you, a slum girl, my mother.

I am the luckiest novelist in the world. I was a first-time novelist who wasn't awash in rejection slips, whose manuscript didn't disappear in slush piles. I have had a wonderful time.

You should take a good look at all sides of an issue before making a decision. Put something away in case of an emergency. New neighbors will bring good cheer. A small problem may occur at home base, but you will solve it quickly and correctly. Don't offer smart advice unless you are really asked to comment.

Mumbai may not be my city. But it is my kind of city.