Vikram Quotes

You can or you can't is not the matter.You wanted to or you tried is the whole game about. ~ Vikrmn

Black and white is as if phoenix of colors has eloped into opacity. ~ Vikrmn

Workers of lungless labs- when dying
Will you be proud you were midwife
To implements exemplifying
Assaults against the heart of life?
You knew their purpose, yet you made them.
If you had scruples, you betrayed them.
What pastoral response acquits
Those who made ovens for Auschwitz?
Indeed it is said that the banality
Of evil is its greatest shock.
It jokes. It punches its time clock,
Plays with its kids. The triviality
Of slaughtering millions can't impinge
Upon its peace, or make it cringe. ~ Vikram Seth

They go to work, attend a meeting
Write an equation, have a beer,
Hail colleagues with a cheerful greeting,
Are conscientious, sane and sincere,
Rational, able and fastidious.
Through hardened casing no invidious
Tapeworm of doubt, no guilt, no qualm,
Pierces to Sabotage their claim.
When something's technically attractive,
You follow the conception through,
That's all. What if you leave a slew
Of living dead, of radioactive
"Collateral damage" in its wake?
It's just a job, for heaven's sake. ~ Vikram Seth

After 'A Suitable Boy,' I didn't write anything, not even a short story. I thought to myself: 'I ought to start writing.' But I can never force myself to write. ~ Vikram Seth

Fear can make anything real," said Vikram. "The black-cloaks are afraid you're a sorcerer. If they condemn you as a sorcerer and burn you for it, then you are, for all practical purposes, a sorcerer, whether you began as one or not. Fear doesn't need to make sense in order to have consequences. ~ G. Willow Wilson

Expectations hurt, be it sorry, be it thank you. ~ Vikrmn

Challenges in the rear view appear smaller than they are.. But keep your spirits higher than the Challenges are. ~ Vikrmn

Early in my investment-banking career, I realized I was on a path that others had set out for me. ~ Vikram Chatwal

Hurting a softhearted caring person would please you but loss is yours; you would have friends less one. ~ Vikrmn

Every point, every person, every philosophy and every thing is contradictory, if stated out of context. ~ Rana Vikram Singh

Strange to be a man and never grow big with child. To feel a part of you opening, and a part of you leaving, and howling as if it were not a part of you. ~ Vikram Seth

When problems come, remain calm in two cases. One when you know you can solve them so smile; second when you know you can't so be silent. ~ Vikrmn

Decide. What you want? Life full of years or Years full of life. NOW. ~ Vikrmn

She had dispersed. She was the garden at Prem Nivas (soon to be entered into the annual Flower Show), she was Veena's love of music, Pran's asthma, Maan's generosity, the survival of some refugees four years ago, the neem leaves that would preserve quilts stored in the great zinc trunks of Prem Nivas, the moulting feather of some pond-heron, a small unrung brass bell, the memory of decency in an indecent time, the temperament of Bhaskar's great-grandchildren. Indeed, for all the Minsisster of Revenue's impatience with her, she was his regret.
And it was right that she should continue to be so, for he should have treated her better while she lived, the poor, ignorant, grieving fool. ~ Vikram Seth

I thought you were going to stay away from me," she said.
He looked at her, this princess who seemed so dangerously sharp that he might cut himself just brushing against her shadow.
"I don't know how."
"Then don't. ~ Roshani Chokshi

One sock can't house two feet. If it does, it's of no use. ~ Vikrmn

Sunshine, external, is universal; internal, the eternal. Choose; shine. ~ Vikrmn: CA Vikram Verma

You're certain that rakshasi fruit is out of your system?" asked Vikram.
"Yes?"
"Good." He took a deep breath. "Because, once more, I told you so."
"You do realize that I don't need the enhancements of demon fruit to knock you to the ground?"
"I do. But I concede that some bodily harm from you is inevitable. I'm just trying to minimize the damage."
"How very wise," I said, rolling my eyes. ~ Roshani Chokshi

One religion, one civilisation, above all is Love and Humanity, respectively. ~ Vikrmn

The moment you think you are out of resources; you still have one thing, Will to Win. Ignite it. ~ Vikrmn

Music used to be a lot more about angst for me. Now it's the only form of meditation I do. ~ Vikram Chatwal

Your good friends can write a book on you; but Your best friends can create an embarrassing full fledged 3 hours movie on you, with silliest jingles and animation made ever. ~ Vikrmn

First love yourself.. the real inner-self.. then only you'll be able to love the world.. the lives.. the souls. ~ Vikrmn

Don't kill but conquer, the Ravana in you. ~ Vikrmn

I wish you happiness, Vikram Singh." "And I you, meraa dost - my greatest friend. ~ Renee Ahdieh

I can't believe you didn't have a real weapon on hand," I said.
"I have my mind," he said. "You should thank me."
I raised my chained hands. "I am bursting with gratitude. ~ Roshani Chokshi

Power of dreams is not measured by the frequency of dreaming, but by speed of actions to make them come true. ~ Vikrmn

I need my natural laziness to be counteracted by obsession in order to do anything. ~ Vikram Seth

In life's brief game to be a winner
A man must have ... oh yes, above
All else, of course, someone to love. ~ Vikram Seth

Nirvana; closing the eyes to see the world inside. ~ Vikrmn: CA Vikram Verma

There are some who question the relevance of space activities in a developing nation. To us, there is no ambiguity of purpose. We do not have the fantasy of competing with the economically advanced nations in the exploration of the moon or the planets or manned space-flight. But we are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally, and in the community of nations, we must be second to none in the application of advanced technologies to the real problems of man and society. ~ Vikram Sarabhai

Be the one for others who they can look up to; the one you too want to. ~ Vikrmn

Children dwell in their dreams. Get them the wings and they'll fly. ~ Vikrmn

Life is like a painting; make yours a masterpiece. ~ Vikrmn

I think it's possible to be multi-rooted, rather like a banyan tree, without being deracinated. ~ Vikram Seth

Basically, my mother couldn't hold a tune and when I was a baby, a rather tactless baby, I would ask her not to sing ... you can't get to sleep if someone is singing off key nearby. ~ Vikram Seth

Behind every door on every ordinary street, in every hut in every ordinary village in this middling planet of a trivial star, such riches are to be found. The strange journeys we undertake on our earthly pilgrimage, the joy and suffering we taste or confer, the chance events that leave us together or apart, what a complex trace they leave: so personal as to be almost incommunicable, so fugitive as to be almost irrecoverable. ~ Vikram Seth

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

Austerity, if I were to define, I'll say, It's YOU. ~ Vikrmn

You are the best at life and shine when you just be YOURSELF. Let nobody tell you that you are not capable of doing what you believe in. ~ Vikrmn

Let's not call cancer patients as patients, they are cancer fighters. They are brave hearts. ~ Vikrmn

Defeat none but one; yourself; for a better self than you were before. ~ Vikrmn

The people in a position to resolve the financial crisis were, of course, the very same people who had failed to foresee it: Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, future Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein, Morgan Stanley CEO John Mack, Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit, and so on. A few Wall Street CEOs had been fired for their roles in the subprime mortgage catastrophe, but most remained in their jobs, and they, of all people, became important characters operating behind the closed doors, trying to figure out what to do next. With them were a handful of government officials - the same government officials who should have known a lot more about what Wall Street firms were doing, back when they were doing it. All shared a distinction: They had proven far less capable of grasping basic truths in the heart of the U.S. financial system than a one-eyed money manager with Asperger's syndrome. ~ Michael Lewis

Idea-less steps and step-less ideas are greatest wastes. ~ Vikrmn

Let us change our traditional attitude to the construction of programs: Instead of imagining that our main task is to instruct a computer what to do, let us concentrate rather on explaining to human beings what we want a computer to do. ~ Vikram Chandra

Silent words are heard through eyes. ~ Vikrmn

He stared at me. "Are you done? "
"Yes."
"May I get up? "
"No."
"I see you like your men with their egos gutted."
"Only when I'm feeling generous. ~ Roshani Chokshi

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

Happiness is.. looking at the closing door, then bolting them from outside and fleeing. ~ Vikrmn

Shh! It happens. Sh!it happens. ~ Vikrmn

Everyone sort of sees his own life and times as being ephemeral. One thinks that everything good or important that happened, happened in the past. But I think that seeing scenes that you are used to, but with the heightening effects of poetry, perhaps makes you value your life and times more than you might otherwise do. ~ Vikram Seth

My main motivation is not to get bored. I'm just hoping I get a vaguely maverick reputation. ~ Vikram Seth

The fact is that at different stages of your life, and under the influence of different inspirations, you write different things. The point is not necessarily to find your voice, which grinds out the same sort of thing again and again, but to find a vehicle for people who are far more important than the author: the characters. ~ Vikram Seth

Home-work grew-up and became work-from-home. ~ Vikrmn: CA Vikram Verma

Have some faith."
"Between faith and distrust, which one is more likely to keep you alive?"
"And which one is more likely to let you experience living?"
I threw up my hands. "Why is everything so philosophical with you?"
He shrugged. "I like thinking. ~ Roshani Chokshi

The difference between a signature and an autograph is that the second one has higher face value on a plain paper than the first one even on a cheque. ~ Vikrmn

Sometimes i write the best about the things that I care about least ~ Vikram Seth

Ladder of success is made by nails of Patience. ~ Vikrmn

Character builds on characters. Very few recognised them as a character, others should look for it until they get one. ~ Vikram Roy

Black and white, severally incomplete and at the same time completely several. ~ Vikrmn

He had come to a decision about the next step in his life. This decision was irrevocable unless he changed his mind. ~ Vikram Seth

All translations are made up" opined Vikram, "Languages are different for a reason. You can't move ideas between them without losing something ~ G. Willow Wilson

When you're a writer, sometimes you have to spend time poking at a part of yourself that normal, sane people leave alone. ~ Vikram Chandra

Science can make a heart beat with ventilator, but there is only one power that makes it live, that is LOVE which is the purest form of FAITH. ~ Vikrmn

Dreams you sow, happiness shall you reap. ~ Vikrmn

Poetry, I think, intensifies the reader's experience. If it's a humorous facet of the story, poetry makes it more exuberant. If it's a sad facet, poetry can make it more poignant. ~ Vikram Seth

It was Vikram Bhatt and 'Raaz' that got me interested in the medium of cinema. Before that, I was like any other youngster dabbling with various things - modelling, films - without a definite direction or focus. Now that I'm working with all of them, life has come full circle for me. ~ Bipasha Basu

Music, such music, is a sufficient gift. Why ask for happiness; why hope not to grieve? It is enough, it is to be blessed enough, to live from day to day and to hear such music-not too much, or the soul could not sustain it-from time to time. ~ Vikram Seth

How can you tell drops not to fall when rain exists ...
How can you tell leaves not to fall when wind exist ...
And how can you tell me not to fall in love when you exist ... ~ Vikram

Life goes on.. no matter you are happy or not.. no matter you want someone to be happy or not. ~ Vikrmn

What could my mother be
to yours? What kin is my father
to yours anyway? And how
did you and I meet ever?
But in love
our hearts have mingled
like red earth and pouring rain. ~ Vikram Chandra

A Word Of Thanks
To these I know a debt past telling:
My several muses, harsh and kind;
My folks, who stood my sulks and yelling,
And (in the long run) did not mind;
Dead legislators, whose orations
I've filched to mix my own potations;
Indeed, all those whose brains I've pressed,
Unmerciful, because obsessed;
My own dumb soul, which on a pittance
Survived to weave this fictive spell;
And, gentle reader, you as well,
The fountainhead of all remittance.
Buy me before good sense insists
You'll strain your purse and sprain your wrists. ~ Vikram Seth

Gauri laughed when he stumbled through the movements of the dance.
"You are a discredit to your title, Vikram. Fox Prince, indeed," she said. "I've never seen a clumsier fox."
"What I lack in skill, I make up for in enthusiasm."
"Do you even know how to dance?"
"Not at all," he said, spinning her in a circle.
"I can tell. Were you lulled by the music?"
"The company."
"Now you're just trying to be sly and charming."
"I am a credit to my title, after all. ~ Roshani Chokshi

Let the pain of past not ruin the happiness of present and dreams of future. Move on. ~ Vikrmn

The world is a story we tell ourselves about the world. ~ Vikram Chandra

Yes, you were taught to waste your anger. It's convenient for girls to be angry about nothing. Girls who are angry about something are dangerous. If you want to live, you must learn to use your anger for your own benefit, not the benefit of those who would turn it against you.--Vikram ~ G. Willow Wilson

There is so a real poem," said Fatima, annoyed. "The real Conference of the Birds was written by someone, by a real person. He had certain intentions. I want to know what they are. He wrote the poem for a reason, and the reason matters."

"Does it?" Vikram stretched his toes, revealing a row of claws as black as obsidian. "Once a story leaves the hand of its author, it belongs to the reader. And the reader may see any number of things, conflicting things, contradictory things. The author goes silent. If what he intended matter so very much, there would be no need for inquisitions, schisms and wars. But he is silent, silent. The author of the poem is silent, the author of the world is silent. We are left with no intentions but our own. ~ G. Willow Wilson

But I too hate long books: the better, the worse. If they're bad they merely make me pant with the effort of holding them up for a few minutes. But if they're good, I turn into a social moron for days, refusing to go out of my room, scowling and growling at interruptions, ignoring weddings and funerals, and making enemies out of friends. I still bear the scars of Middlemarch. ~ Vikram Seth

'There is no completeness; nothing endures, nothing lives; there is only change, unreasoning unreasonable; only birth and death repeating the same story each time, yet different; why?' The voice laughed
'Why you know already; look in your hands. ~ Vikram Chandra

Art is not about beauty, art is an expression. ~ Vikram Roy

If you kill the Ravana in you, it's like killing the healthy cells along with cancer cells. Guru with Guitar. Happy Dussehra. ~ Vikrmn

Do as gas balloons do, while in depression; inhale helium of happiness and fly high. ~ Vikrmn

What I mean is,' continued Amit, 'it sprouts, and grows, and spreads, and drops down branches that become trunks or intertwine with other branches. Sometimes branches die. Sometimes the main trunk dies, and the structure is held up by the supporting trunks. When you go to the Botanical Garden you'll see what I mean. It has its own life - but so do the snakes and birds and bees and lizards and termites that live in it and on it and off it. But then it's also like the Ganges in its upper, middle and lower courses - including its delta - of course. ~ Vikram Seth

There are so many simple things getting unnoticed in me, it makes me feel I am a robot! ~ Vikram Roy

Dear Boss! Don't be a boss-hole. ~ Vikrmn

I'm not sure anyone can understand a whole life, even their own. ~ Vikram Seth

Those books of mine that are remunerative - I'm not talking about poetry here - take years to write, and I am never sure they'll be successful. So writing is a risk in more senses than one. ~ Vikram Seth

Instinctively, I shoved Vikram behind me and brought out the dagger. ~ Roshani Chokshi

Every TODAY has a better version, called TOMORROW. ~ Vikrmn

It is exciting to write about the present once one gets beyond the trivia of the moment. As a time to live in, as a time to think about, the present is intriguing. ~ Vikram Seth

Let the smoky Käll sustain himself on Mars, and Yuko lay rue on Beethoven's grave. Let the lord of the manor of Rochdale clap his coffin into a canoe and disport himself on the waters. Let Zsa-Zsa sleep on a pillow of haddock in Maria's cello case. Let Mrs Wessen live to see her thousandth moon. Let Ysobel unknit her forehead. Let not poor Virginie weep. Let all and no things come to pass, for how will I pass these days? ~ Vikram Seth

How rarely these few years, as work keeps up aloof,
Or fares, or one thing or another,
How we had days to spend under our parents' roof;
Myself, my sister, and my brother.
All five of us will die; to reckon from the past
This flesh and blood is unforgiving.
What's hard is that just one of us will be the last
To bear it all and go on living. ~ Vikram Seth

Beware of will power. It damages your giving-up skills. ~ Vikrmn

ghazal that he had heard Saeeda Bai sing, but, oddly, ~ Vikram Seth

Trying something different won't ensure that you would be liked by everyone. Still.. Go on.. ~ Vikrmn

Higher you step up to the ladder of success.. lesser you need to speak about yourself.. your deeds should do so. ~ Vikrmn

HOPES may vanish; DREAMS never die. ~ Vikrmn

There is nothing you can do to assuage your conscience when you commit sins. Crime is a spiritual assault on the soul. ~ Vikram Chatwal

Anti-corruption policies are like cancer curing treatments. They affect good cells, say good people, in the short run; but make the life of a nation flourish in the long term. ~ Vikrmn