Gloom is but a shadow of a cloud passing by

To lose a brother is to lose someone with whom you can share the experience of growing old, who is supposed to bring you a sister-in-law and nieces and nephews, creatures who people the tree of your life and give it new branches. To lose your father is to lose the one whose guidance and help you seek, who supports you like a tree trunk supports its branches. To lose your mother, well, that is like losing the sun above you. It is like losing--I'm sorry, I would rather not go on.

It was as unbelievable as the moon catching fire.

Slice a pear and you will find that its flesh is incandescent white. It glows with inner light. Those who carry a knife and a pear are never afraid of the dark.

India is a place where all stories are possible. You forget that the imagination can take hold of anything and contemplate it and love it and describe it.

I felt I was beating a rainbow to death

My ears were full. Nothing more, not one more sound, could push into them and be registered.