I don't pick and choose subjects or settings; they pick and choose me.

There are plenty of good Indian writers in English, and none of us feel we are carrying the burden of being a poster boy.

In a painting, you can't make out whether the artist painted the left eye before the right eye. In Chinese calligraphy, you can see the progression of the artist's stroke.

Why do writers, say, give up a job in economics and decide to write poetry? Or, why do they give up a job in a bank and decide to paint, like Krishan Khanna? They want to convey something.

It's not the gods But our own hearts We need to fear. The evil starts Against all odds Not there but here.

All over India, all over the world, as the sun or the shadow of darkness moves from east to west, the call to prayer moves with it, and people kneel down in a wave to pray to God. Five waves each day - one for each namaaz - ripple across the globe from longitude to longitude. The component elements change direction, like iron filings near a magnet - towards the house of God in Mecca.

Think of many things. Never place your happiness in one person's power. Be just to yourself.