#m

There is no need for temples, no need for complicated philosophies. My brain and my heart are my temples; my philosophy is kindness. ↗

— Dalai Lama

#brain #complicated #heart #kindness #need

In New York I was always so scared of saying that I wrote fiction. It just seemed like, 'Who am I to dare to do that thing here? The epicenter of publishing and writers?' I found all that very intimidating and avoided writing as a response. ↗

— Jhumoa Lahiri

#am #avoided #dare #fiction #found

It didn't matter that I wore clothes from Sears; I was still different. I looked different. My name was different. I wanted to pull away from the things that marked my parents as being different. ↗

— Jhumoa Lahiri

#being #being different #clothes #different #i

It interests me to imagine characters shifting from one situation and one location to another for whatever the circumstances may be. ↗

— Jhumoa Lahiri

#characters #circumstances #imagine #interests #location

My parents had an arranged marriage, as did so many other people when I was growing up. My father came and had a life in the United States one way and my mother had a different one, and I was very aware of those things. I continue to wonder about it, and I will continue to write about it. ↗

— Jhumoa Lahiri

#arranged #aware #came #continue #did

On the screen I saw tanks rolling through dusty streets, and fallen buildings, and forests of unfamiliar trees into which East Pakistani refugees had fled, seeking safety over the Indian border. ↗

— Jhumoa Lahiri

#buildings #dusty #east #fallen #fled

Some Indians will come up and say that a story reminded them of something very specific to their experience. Which may or may not be the case for non-Indians. ↗

— Jhumoa Lahiri

#come #experience #indians #may #reminded

The first sentence of a book is a handshake, perhaps an embrace. ↗

— Jhumoa Lahiri

#embrace #first #handshake #perhaps #sentence

Relationships do not preclude issues of morality. ↗

— Jhumpa Lahiri

#morality #preclude #relationships

At 6:30, which was when the national news began, my father raised the volume and adjusted the antennas. Usually I occupied myself with a book, but that night my father insisted that I pay attention. ↗

— Jhumpa Lahiri

#attention #began #book #father #i