Revision has its own peculiar pleasures and its own peculiar frustrations. The ground rules are already established; the characters already exist. You don't have to bring the characters to life, but you do have to make them more convincing.

All you who sleep tonight Far from the ones you love, No hand to left or right, An emptiness above-- Know that you aren't alone. The whole world shares your tears, Some for two nights or one, And some for all your years.

I don't think people give Indian society enough credit. We may not like to talk much about things but we do, basically, want to live and let live.

I have a reputation for being hermitlike. I'm not. I'm just obsessed with my work.

To not be able to love the one you love is to have your life wrenched away.

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

You have to learn a few things, which you do along the way, but basically, poetry is a matter of the ear. Iambic pentameters or what constitutes a stanza comes naturally - your ears will know.