Malavika Menon Quotes

Maybe this was how it would begin, her transformation from Sweetie the Softie to Sweetie the Sassy: one statement at a time. Watch out, world. I'm coming. ~ Sandhya Menon

Eating was so fraught when you were fat: If you ate something unhealthy, thin people would say it was no wonder you were fat. But if you ate something healthy, they'd roll their eyes, laugh, and say, "Yeah, right. ~ Sandhya Menon

where do all of the sad girls go?

in this world that requires us
to write poems about the people who have their hands
wrapped around our necks for the very people who have
their hands wrapped around our necks to recognize
that they indeed have their hands wrapped around our
necks? ~ Alok Vaid-Menon

The dividing line between a journalist and an author is very thin. If a journalist is not author, it is his or her call. ~ K.S.R. Menon

May the radiance of what you love, reflect in whatever you do. ~ Shilpa Menon

leadership is about courage and the ability to overcome unsurmountable challenges, ~ Sudha Menon

The quality of your awareness determines the quality of life you experience. ~ Shilpa Menon

One's longing is not so much there for sense-gratification, profit and self-preservation, instead one's karma is there for no other purpose than inquiring after the Absolute Truth. ~ Ramesh Menon

I feel like I need to speak out, because if no one speaks out, if no one says, this is me, this is what I believe in, and this is why I'm different, and this is why that's okay, then what's the point? What's the point of living in this beautiful, great melting pot where everyone can dare be anything they want to be? ~ Sandhya Menon

A roof of harmony can only be built on top of pillars of tolerance. ~ Shilpa Menon

You're going to see a lot of it. People getting ahead unfairly because of the category into which they were born: male or white or straight or rich. I'm in a few of those categories myself, which is why I make it a point to reach out and help those who aren't, those who might not necessarily be seen if I didn't make the effort. We need to shake this field up, you know? We need more people with different points of view and experiences and thought processes so we can keep innovating and moving ahead. ~ Sandhya Menon

The thought of hope is the seed to healing. ~ Shilpa Menon

When you start loving yourself, others around you will also start loving you. ~ Lakshmy Menon Chatterjee

Dimple could see, flush from the endorphins of a great performance, why actors and performers got addicted to this kind of thing. It had always seemed unfathomable to her, choosing a career where all you did was put yourself out in front of hundreds or thousands of people and risked rejection in real time. But if they felt even half of what she was feeling now when it went well... ~ Sandhya Menon

The funny thing about a smile is that once you wear a smile, the darkness lightens and one does not feel frightened or sad any more. ~ Deepak Menon

If you want to make breakthroughs to reach the stars, it is best that you board a ship that has already started its journey in that direction. ~ Sanju Menon

Awareness is the eye through which we can experience abundance. ~ Shilpa Menon

The poorest of women is the one without close girlfriends ~ Lakshmy Menon Chatterjee

My story - the story of the son of Jainulabdeen, who lived for over a hundred years on Mosque Street in Rameswaram island and died there; the story of a lad who sold newspapers to help his brother; the story of a pupil reared by Sivasubramania Iyer and Iyadurai Solomon; the story of a student taught by teachers like Pandalai; the story of an engineer spotted by MGK Menon and groomed by the legendary Prof. Sarabhai; the story of a scientist tested by failures and setbacks; the story of a leader supported by a large team of brilliant and dedicated professionals. This story will end with me, for I have no belongings in the worldly sense. I have acquired nothing, built nothing, possess nothing - no family, sons, daughters. ~ A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

The fact is, no man can ever know whether a child is his. A woman knows a child is hers, but a man can never know whether it is his, not even with a DNA test. A DNA test can only tell you if the child is not yours, but if your DNA matches, it only indicates 'a high statistical probability' that it is your child. As they say, 'Motherhood is a biological fact, fatherhood is a sociological fiction.' It is this knowledge that creates permanent anxiety for patriarchy, an anxiety that requires women's sexuality to be strictly policed. ~ Nivedita Menon

The whole point about 'romance' is that the woman is somehow always smaller, more diminutive in a cute sort of way, while the man is adult. ~ Nivedita Menon

Most scars are destined long before they are experienced. Healing is however, a choice. ~ Shilpa Menon

Geeks are smart and talented and passionate. I don't think that's a bad thing. ~ Sandhya Menon

We humans think we exist like this." Dadi gestured to the powders in their individual bowls. "Apart. Single. Beautiful and vivid, but alone." … She upended the two bowls into the center of the larger container, and the powders came together. They were mixed somewhat, but still in their separate piles for the most part - "Then" Dad continued, " with each interaction with another soul, we begin to change." She put a finger into the pile of powders and began to stir gently. The powders mixed more the longer she stirred, red mingling with orange, losing its distinct form. "We take pieces of them, and they take pieces of us. It's not bad. It's not good. It just is." By now the powders were completely mixed together, indistinguishable from each other. "Our best friends, the ones we love the most, are the ones who can hurt us the most. Because look." She pointed down to the powders. "We have had so many interactions, that we cannot separate their pieces from ours. And if we try, we would only be getting rid of ourselves. ~ Sandhya Menon

She wept for her hardheadedness, and for a world that couldn't just let her be both, a woman in love and a woman with a career, without flares of guilt and self-doubt seeping in and wreaking havoc. ~ Sandhya Menon

When the finally pulled apart, Rishi's mouth tingling still, Dimple smiled shyly and looked down at their hands, entwined between them on the bench. "So," she said softly. "That was unexpected."

He leaned over and kissed her forehead, like it was the most natural thing to do. Was this going to be their thing now, casual kissing? He hoped so. "Unexpected but awesome." Rishi paused. "Right?"

She laughed and looked up at him. "Definitely."

He grinned, his heart soaked in happy. ~ Sandhya Menon

Sahil: Sometimes I worry I don't know who I really am. Sometimes I'm afraid nothing I do will ever be enough to set me apart. ~ Sandhya Menon

The well padded astrologer stroked his corpulent belly, as he stared down intently at his cowrie board. There was a frown on his moon shaped face, a face that had always considered good rich food his birthright, even as he strove to read the cryptic messages that the Gods were strewing before him. ~ Deepti Menon

The absence of dissent does not necessarily imply acceptance; just tolerance. ~ Lakshmy Menon Chatterjee

Lila smiles, reaches into the cloth covering whatever goodies are in the basket, and pulls out a concha. The top of the pastry is a swirl of colors- deep purple, inky blue, pink, green, gold. It reminds me of the galaxy, and I stare for a moment, mesmerized, before I take it from her.
My mouth begins to water. "This smells incredible," I say. "What do I owe you?"
"It's on the house," she says, already turning away. "Enjoy."
I want to argue, but the urge to bite into the pastry is nearly irresistible now. I've never had Mexican pastries before. But first... I pick up my phone from the bench and take a picture of the gorgeous creation. Then, putting it back down, I take a big bite and close my eyes. My mouth explodes with flavors and sensations- sweet, yeasty, warm. In another three bites, I've eaten the entire four-inch ball of dough and am licking my fingers. ~ Sandhya Menon

[E]ven today, when confident and self-affirmative lesbian identities have emerged and are available to women, images of `lesbianism' are still regularly appropriated by a male heterosexual pornographic imagination which cannot accept that this is one party to which men are not invited and at which their presence is not necessary. ~ Nivedita Menon

Healing is not a process, it is a choice. Nothing can heal your scars until you decide to. ~ Shilpa Menon

[D]emanding wages for housework (…) forced recognition of the fact that the domestic work which women do has economic value. But many feminists feel that this demand leaves untouched the sexual division of labour - indeed, measures like paid maternity leave (…) can be seen as a form of'wages for motherhood' but(…) it fixes women more rigidly into work defined as 'women's work'. ~ Nivedita Menon

Achchan would make these random comments, just interject them into the silence. Like, "Oh! Bob's Air-Conditioning!" because he'd literally seen a billboard and wanted to talk about it since that was better than what was going on in the car. Sweetie would've laughed if she hadn't been so pissed off. ~ Sandhya Menon

Why Menon got where he did under the patronage of Pandit Nehru remains, and probably will remain, unexplained. Panditji had him elected to Parliament and sent to the United Nations to lead the Indian delegation. His marathon thirteen-hour speech on Kashmir won India a unanimous vote against it. He was then made Defence Minister against the wishes of almost all the members of the Cabinet. He wrecked army discipline by promoting favourites over the heads of senior officers. He was vindictive against those who stood up to him. More than anyone else he was responsible for the humiliating defeat of our army at the hands of the Chinese in 1962. Pandit Nehru stuck by him to the last. ~ Khushwant Singh

Life can be a beautiful journey if you accept who you are and accept the people around you for what they are. ~ Lakshmy Menon Chatterjee

Dimple didn't want to admit how much what he was saying resonated with her. Loneliness. That's what he was describing. And she'd felt it so much it had become like a constant presence in her life, curled up against her like a sleeping cat. "I know what you mean," she said softly. "Unfortunately. ~ Sandhya Menon

He should just say it. 'That's because we . . . we're supposed to be getting married. ~ Sandhya Menon

We are eternal beings, existing in time. ~ Shilpa Menon

Against all odds, beyond every logic, there is hope. ~ Shilpa Menon