Indian Authors Quotes

If I began to draw
myself away from you

we'd still be like
two mixed colors of paint
impossible to separate. ~ Sanober Khan

Farsi Couplet:
Agar firdaus bar roo-e zameen ast,
Hameen ast-o hameen ast-o hameen ast.


English Translation:
If there is a paradise on earth,
It is this, it is this, it is this ~ Amir Khusrau

your hand
touching mine.
this is how
galaxies
collide. ~ Sanober Khan

Whatever you get out of poetry - take it. take it. take it.
Words are better off felt than understood. ~ Sanober Khan

the saddest thing is to be
a minute to someone,
when you've made them your eternity. ~ Sanober Khan

When you left
you left behind a field
of silent flowers
under a sky
full of unstirred clouds...you left
a million butterflies
mid-silky flutters

You left like midnight rain
against my dreaming ears

Oh and how you left
leaving my coffee scentless
and my couch comfortless

leaving upon my fingers
the melting snow of you

you left behind
a calendar full of empty days
and seasons full of aimless wanders

leaving me alone
with an armful of sunsets

your reflection behind
in every puddle
your whispers
upon every curtain
your fragrance
inside every petal

you left your echoes in between
the silence of my eyes

Oh and how you left
leaving my sands footless
and my shores songless

leaving me with windows full of
moistened moonlight

nights and nights
of only a half-warmed soul

and when you left...
you left behind a lifetime
of moments untouched

the light of a million stars
unshed

and when you left
you somehow
left my poem...unfinished.



(Published in Taj Mahal Review Vol.11
Number 1 June 2012) ~ Sanober Khan

the sapphire depth
of my own love...startles
and warms
and wounds my soul. ~ Sanober Khan

words
like mysterious mermaids
come and live permanently
in the soft sweeps
and scars of my skin. ~ Sanober Khan

Every time you think of your dad, you're
resurrecting him. Why shouldn't he continue to live
in this world while resting in the other? ~ Clyde DeSouza

a silent night. - the most eloquent poem i have ever read. ~ Sanober Khan

I breathe in...the silence
of my own heart
aching with tenderness
with memories..
Of home. ~ Sanober Khan

My life had indeed become meaningless to me. Even lack of sleep was not a concern for me; only hunger remained a sensation worthy of articulation. Once that hunger was assuaged, I would return to my inert state. ~ Ashokamitran

some words
bring warmth
just by
being
next to each other. ~ Sanober Khan

it was the kind of moon
that I would want to
send back to my ancestors
and gift to my descendants

so they know that I too,
have been bruised...by beauty. ~ Sanober Khan

I live there...

where the birds are infinite
everywhere

where they flee
it's a place your eyes can wander
but never see

Where everyone accepts me,
Without any pretense

It's a place your mind can picture
but never really comprehend. ~ Sanober Khan

Farsi Couplet:
Naala-e zanjeer-e Majnun arghanoon-e aashiqanast
Zauq-e aan andaza-e gosh-e ulul-albaab neest


English Translation:
The creaking of the chain of Majnun is the orchestra of the lovers,
To appreciate its music is quite beyond the ears of the wise. ~ Amir Khusrau

The time is ripe for young Indian authors writing in the English language. ~ Anurag Shourie

because some things
sometimes

aren't ours to hold,

but just beautiful
to listen to. ~ Sanober Khan

What you are trying to let go of
...is already gone. ~ Sanober Khan

Maybe life is all about twirling under one of those midnight skies,
cutting a swathe through the breeze
and gently closing your eyes. ~ Sanober Khan

I wish to stay drenched
forever
in those rain-blue eyes
in those...soul-reaching crystals

not moving a muscle
nor breathing
just
savoring
this turquoise ache
against my heart. ~ Sanober Khan

But, my dear friend Wildfire," said Carl Peterson laying his hand on the Indian's shoulder, "this is not a policy to live by."

"Then let it be a policy to die by," defiantly spoke the Indian. "If we cannot be free, let us die. What is life to a caged bird, threatened with death on all sides? ~ S. Alice Callahan

So every dollar spent on finding some gene or hormone to explain why becoming fat is not because of sugary drinks, fried foods or unchecked gluttony is a dollar not spent on getting food for the hungry, vaccines for babies, shelter for the homeless. But the rules are made by the ones in power, these neo-Brahmins, and we must follow them if we want to survive in this global village. ~ Anirban Bose

Scatter as a prayer
escaping my lips...

as orchids
blooming in clouds. ~ Sanober Khan

Khusrau darya prem ka, ulti wa ki dhaar,
Jo utra so doob gaya, jo dooba so paar.

English Translation.

Oh Khusrau, the river of love
Runs in strange directions.
One who jumps into it drowns,
And one who drowns, gets across. ~ Amir Khusrau

When you have power and use it for destructive purpose: you don't deserve it. ~ Udai Yadla

I want to have a romance so grand,
it would have made Shakespeare fumble for words. ~ Sanober Khan

Sometimes the rain
falls
just for you and me

to be the violin
playing
in the background
of our loneliness's song. ~ Sanober Khan

Where perfumed rivers flow,
Is the home of my beloved.
Where passing breezes halt,
Is the home of my beloved.

Where dawn arrives on bare toes,
Where night paints henna-beams on feet,
Where fragrance bathes in moonlight,
Is the home of my beloved.

Where rays of light roam nakedly,
In green forests of sandalwood.
Where the flame seeks the lamp,
Is the home of my beloved.

Where sunsets sleep on wide waters,
And the deer leap.
Where tears fall for no reason,
Is the home of my beloved.

Where the farmer sleeps hungry,
Even though the wheat is the color of my beloved,
Where the wealthy ones lie in hiding,
Is the home of my beloved.

Where perfumed rivers flow,
Is the home of my beloved.
Where passing breezes halt,
Is the home of my beloved. ~ Shiv Kumar Batalvi

i am permanently
tanned
in the summer of poetry. ~ Sanober Khan

the ocean mist
engulfs me, like a lifetime's
friendship honored. ~ Sanober Khan

To fall in love with someone's thoughts - the most intimate, splendid romance. ~ Sanober Khan

I uttered the wisest thing that you must say to an angry woman - "I'm sorry. ~ Mita Jain

give me
a pillow of strong
ever-dependable shoulders
that i can bury my head in. ~ Sanober Khan

i have laughed
more than daffodils
and cried more than June. ~ Sanober Khan

a single poem
the thing that can keep me
light on my feet,
when my soul is
heavy with sorrow. ~ Sanober Khan

A rain like melting pillows…
a rain so beautiful

I could never
have let go of

if not certain
that someday...it would find its way
into my poem. ~ Sanober Khan

Live as many lives as you can. ~ Sanober Khan

Cliché: "The MBA changed my life."

What it really means:
"A fantastic career, a great social life and a healthy bank balance...three of the things I had before I started the program. ~ Sameer Kamat

kisses explode
when...
someone
believes in me

when my heart cries out
a song of thanks
to yours. ~ Sanober Khan

how these words, wait to die
in the arms of all the poetry..
yet to be written. ~ Sanober Khan

Watch, how the sun
slowly rises
from behind my ear

new lines, new countries
spring up in my palms

my rough hair
become swaying silk

and all the leaves
in my body
become lusher than fruits. ~ Sanober Khan

Dear Fellow Human Being,

You are born wild, You do not deserve to be tamed!

Tell yourself,

You do not deserve this!

All those toxic words you have to listen from people,

All those fears they try to pin on your mind,

All those giggles they aim at your dreams,

All those judgmental stares inspecting your individuality,

All those fingers pointing towards your crude character,

All those shackles that tie your feet to social expectations,

All those cages that do not let your imagination fly free,

Listen deeply, you do not deserve any of it.

My dear fellow human, you do not deserve this hostility.

You are born wild, You do not deserve to be tamed!

― Jasz Gill ~ Jasz Gill

Tea is just an excuse.
i am drinking this sunset, this evening.
and you. ~ Sanober Khan

funny how our hearts
were designed
to love
so fiercely.

but break
ever so gently. ~ Sanober Khan

People in Muzaffarnagar have a peculiar way of talking and walking. All over the India, an alert person can easily identify a person belonging to Muzaffarnagar. ~ Shiv Sangal

Yesterday, I was collecting words.
One was up there, sitting in the bo tree,
Another was in the banyan.
One was wandering in my street,
Another was lying in the earthen jar.
A green word lay in the fields,
A black one was eating flesh.
A blue word was flying
With a grain of the sun in its beak.
Every single thing in this world looks like a word to me.
The words of eyes,
The words of hands.
But I do not understand words I hear from a mouth.
I can only read words.
I can only read words. ~ Shiv Kumar Batalvi

We need a spark to lit a fire inside us. A spark is an inspiration to make art, a fear to find courage, and a pain to provoke strength. A spark is unplanned and unexpected incident that happens in the middle of your ordinary life. After that, it leaves a fire burning in your heart. A fire to achieve, a fire that will keep you going! ~ Jasz Gill

सदियों से चली आ रही इस प्रथा के पार्श्व में जातीय अहम की पराकाष्ठा है। समाज में जो गहरी खाई है उसे प्रथा और गहरा बनाती है। एक साजिश है हीनता के भँवर में फँसा देने की।

Caste pride is behind this centuries-old custom.
The deep chasm that divides the society is made even deeper by
this custom, a conspiracy to trap us in the whirlpool of inferiority. ~ Om Prakash Valimiki

A community that engages readers and culturally enabled people to connect, support and harness intellectual and cultural capabilities. ~ Ashwin Sanghi

We get out of life what we bring to it. There is not a dream which may not come true if we have the energy which determines our own fate. We can always get what we want if we will it intensely enough... So few people succeed greatly because so few people conceive a great end, working towards it without giving up. We all know that the man who works steadily for money gets rich; the man who works day and night for fame or power reaches his goal. And those who work deeper, more spiritual achievements will find them too. It may come when we no longer have any use of it, but if we have been willing it long enough, it will come! ~ Ruskin Bond

Poems are invisible flowers on my skin. ~ Sanober Khan

Chaap Tilak

Chhap tilak sab cheeni ray mosay naina milaikay
Chhap tilak sab cheeni ray mosay naina milaikay
Prem bhatee ka madhva pilaikay
Matvali kar leeni ray mosay naina milaikay
Gori gori bayyan, hari hari churiyan
Bayyan pakar dhar leeni ray mosay naina milaikay
Bal bal jaaon mein toray rang rajwa
Apni see kar leeni ray mosay naina milaikay
Khusrau Nijaam kay bal bal jayyiye
Mohay Suhaagan keeni ray mosay naina milaikay
Chhap tilak sab cheeni ray mosay naina milaikay


Translation
You've taken away my looks, my identity, by just a glance.
By making me drink the wine of love-potion,
You've intoxicated me by just a glance;
My fair, delicate wrists with green bangles in them,
Have been held tightly by you with just a glance.
I give my life to you, Oh my cloth-dyer,
You've dyed me in yourself, by just a glance.
I give my whole life to you Oh, Nijam,
You've made me your bride, by just a glance. ~ Amir Khusrau

may
this poetry
be the home
you will someday
come back to. ~ Sanober Khan

When it's possible for you to dream, it's not impossible to achieve. ~ Udai Yadla

You are that one breath. that puts all the remaining breaths. back into my body. ~ Sanober Khan

I wonder if the story (though not intended as such by my aunt) is a warning for me, a preview of my own life which I thought I had fashioned so cleverly, so differently from my mother's, but which is only a repetition, in a different raga, of her tragic song. Perhaps it is like this for all daughters, doomed to choose for ourselves, over and over, the men who have destroyed our mothers. ~ Chitra Bannerjee Divakaruni

violent storms. and beautiful smiles. both have electricity. both are equally destructive in nature. ~ Sanober Khan

love
wounds me
with soft pillows
with tender lips
and fingers ~ Sanober Khan

all my life
i have looked for poems

to elope with. ~ Sanober Khan

There is no man who is enterprising and keeps well up with the times but confesses that the women of to-day are in every respect, except political liberty, equal to the men. ~ S. Alice Callahan

In the West, people learn through the Socratic tradition. The education system was influenced by Western philosophy and is based on constantly questioning the knowledge that's handed to you and arriving at the truth through that process of questioning. The Indian system took off from the Guru-Shishyha tradition in which your virtue as a student lay in taking tradition or parampara as it is given to you and passing it on to the next generation in the exact same way. ~ Sharanya Haridas

i want to
stay curled and cosied
and chocolated....forever
in my mother's arms. ~ Sanober Khan

i am infinitely yearning
brimming
and overflowing
in words

i discover
it's another way
for me
to be in tears. ~ Sanober Khan

You touched my heart...ever so softly
and I realized
tears had never been...merely salt

and the rain
Oh the Rain!
had never been merely water. ~ Sanober Khan

when whispered
what an exquisite
song, it makes-
your name. ~ Sanober Khan

this heart yearns...
for the salt of unsmelt air
unswept thunderstorms...
unknown adventures. ~ Sanober Khan

No, no, my friend. You are kind, and you mean well, but you can never understand these things as I do. You've never been oppressed. ~ S. Alice Callahan

you were
and always will be

that first ever touch
to have fertilized
the ground
beneath my life's trees

that first ever rose
to have fragranced
the rest of my memories. ~ Sanober Khan

Not words.
nor laughter.
but rather someone
who will fall in love
with your silence. ~ Sanober Khan

when i speak to you
i speak as though
i am offering a rose
in your hand. ~ Sanober Khan

Ebb and flow, ebb and flow, our lives. Is that why we're fascinated by the steadfastness of stars? The water reaches my calves. I begin the story of the Pleiades, women transformed into birds so Swift and bright that no man could snare them. ~ Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

There is
something
mystically
sad
and beautiful
about
how
i will
never
see you
again

but
meet you
again
and again

in poetry. ~ Sanober Khan

You ask
if I will write a poem
I could,
I suppose
write the most
splendiferous
one of all

but not
right
now
not when

your hands
are brewing
warm
cinnamon tea
across my skin

not when I'm
trying to imagine
what might happen
if you began
flowering
kisses
upon
me

My dear,
how can
I write
a poem
when I'm already
inside one? ~ Sanober Khan

what is
more beautiful

tears, in someone's eyes
for me
or in my eyes
for them. ~ Sanober Khan

Srinagar is a medieval city dying in a modern war. It is empty streets, locked shops, angry soldiers and boys with stones. It is several thousand military bunkers, four golf courses, and three book-shops. It is wily politicians repeating their lies about war and peace to television cameras and small crowds gathered by the promise of an elusive job or a daily fee of a few hundred rupees. It is stopping at sidewalks and traffic lights when the convoys of rulers and their patrons in armored cars, secured by machine guns, rumble on broken roads. It is staring back or looking away, resigned. Srinagar is never winning and never being defeated. ~ Basharat Peer

for those memories are now
just like these little kittens
I hold in my hands

those can be kissed
and treasured
but not held too tightly. ~ Sanober Khan

For you
i have saved poems
under my skin. ~ Sanober Khan

I live there...
Far above the song-filled clouds,
where the dewdrops touch my skin so bare
I live there. ~ Sanober Khan

Change the world, I know I won't,
Enthralling as always I hope it remains,
A kaleidoscope of joy, sorrow and pain.
But my only wish as I take this jaunt,
Is for my words on you to impress upon,
A smile, a tear or even an angry frown. ~ Anurag Anand

Words
are powerful
forces of nature.

they are destruction.
they are nourishment.
they are flesh.
they are water.
they are flowers
and bone.

they burn. they cleanse
they erase. they etch.

they can either
leave you
feeling
homeless

or brimming
with home. ~ Sanober Khan

When it comes
to love
do not ever
settle
for anything
less than magical. ~ Sanober Khan

A girl whose name is Love
Is lost.
Simple, beautiful,
She is lost. ~ Shiv Kumar Batalvi

The real reason for Father Braganza's laughter was the history of Amrapur. It was a quaint town, nestled amidst barren mountains. The Hindus and Muslims living there were perpetually warring with each other, reacting violently at the slightest provocation. It had started a long time ago, this squabble, and had escalated into a terrible war. Some people say it started centuries ago, but many believe it started when the country gave one final, fierce shrug to rid itself of British rule. The shrug quickly became a relentless shuddering, and countless people were uprooted and flung into the air. Many didn't survive. Perhaps the mountains of Amrapur absorbed the deracinating wave. People weren't cruelly plucked from the town. They remained there, festering, becoming irate and harbouring murderous desires. And while the country was desperately trying to heal its near-mortal wounds and move on, Amrapur's dormant volcano erupted. Momentary and overlooked, but devastating. Leaders emerged on both sides and, driven by greed, they fed off the town's ignored bloodshed. They created ravines out of cracks, fostered hatred and grew richer. The Bhoite family, the erstwhile rulers of the ancient town, adopted the legacy of their British rulers---divide and conquer. ~ Rohit Gore

I breathe in...
the fragrance
of love, and moist sand
the one
his roses left
on both my hands

I just keep on breathing
every moment
as much as I can
preserving it, in my body
for the day
it can't. ~ Sanober Khan

Once in a while i am struck
all over again... by just how blue
the sky appears .. on wind-played
autumn mornings, blue enough

to bruise a heart. ~ Sanober Khan

i write
because

it is
the only way

i can
reach you. ~ Sanober Khan

I'm sorry that I hurt you."
"You didn't hurt me." There was a long pause on the phone. Then she said,"You are going to hurt from this longer than I ever will. It's true that I didn't know what kind of Indian you were. But what hurts me most is to know what kind of man. ~ Tony D'Souza

Life is uncertain.
Today you get a rose.
Tomorrow you feel the thorns.
But the end result is red, always!! ~ Shillpi S Banerrji

i would rather have
feelings without words
than words without feelings. ~ Sanober Khan

Children, as well as grown-ups, in their individual, glorified, drudgery-proof homes of Labrador, the tropics, the Orient, or where you will, to which they can pass with pleasure and
expedition by means of ever-improving transportation, will be able to tune in their television and radio to the moving picture lecture of, let us say, President Lowell of Harvard; the
professor of Mathematics of Oxford; of the doctor of Indian antiquities of Delhi, etc. ~ R. Buckminster Fuller

In 2016, white conservatives elected as president a serial liar who is likely the most fearful and paranoid and wildly insecure white man who has ever run for office.
And those white folks elected him because they believe they are victims. Yes, I am a Spokane Indian-an indigenous American-who grew up with white folks who think this country is being stolen from them.
Hahahahahaahahahahaahahahaahahaha. ~ Sherman Alexie

If you want to defeat a country, defeat it with your ideas! If you want to defeat your enemies, defeat them with your ideas! Let your only sword and gun be your sharp and powerful ideas! ~ Mehmet Murat Ildan

Most teachers of the humanities lived itinerant lives, traveling from city to city, giving lectures on a few favorite authors, and then restlessly moving on, in the hope of finding new patrons. ~ Stephen Greenblatt

If my public existence does anything worthwhile, hopefully it at least demystifies the author a bit, because I know when I was younger I felt like authors were like wizards or something. Turns out they're total muggles. ~ John Green

I love to talk with children. I try to visit schools but it's hard for me to travel when I'm trying to write. Some authors are able to do both. ~ Judy Blume

Paper is patient; authors never are.) At ~ Nina George

Take an Indian home to lunch. ~ Jim Morrison

Jacques Doillon wanted me to be in his film, 'La Fille Prodigue,' and there I was, expecting, for some reason, this great bearded man, when a splendid looking red-Indian style man appeared at my door. I said no to his film because I knew that if I said yes, I would run off with him. ~ Jane Birkin

He had started out the way nearly all writers do, and I'd seen it a hundred times--amateurs transformed into gibbering wrecks by actually being published; what once they'd done for fun ruined forever by the burden of expectation, the hope of sales and good reviews and riches, hobbyists turned authors made bitter by the knowledge that they'd missed their main chance. ~ Colin Bateman