--- title: "113 Vikram Seth Quotes - Famous Poet (A Suitable Boy)" description: "Vikram Seth quotes on realism, boredom, and taking action." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b024/author-vikram-seth-93682.jpg" --- ![Portrait of Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b024/author-vikram-seth-93682.jpg) # Vikram Seth (1952) Poet India **113** quotes in **699** categories In a clear brook with joyful haste the whimsical trout shot past me like an arrow. Vikram Seth highlights realism in storytelling, urging writers to turn boredom into fuel. He also pushes people to act, saying excuses won’t help when you feel useless. Rate this collection: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet Vikram Seth is a poet from India, best known for *A Suitable Boy*. ## Quick Facts About Vikram Seth Born June 20, 1952 Nationality India Profession Poet Notable works A Suitable Boy Known for An Equal Music, The Golden Gate, A Suitable Boy ## About Vikram Seth His work has earned him the Padma Shri, the Sahitya Akademi Award, the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman, the WH Smith Literary Award and the Crossword Book Award. Poetry collections such as Mappings and Beastly Tales are noted as important contributions to Indian English language poetry. ## Awards & Honors Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature Sahitya Akademi Award in English Guggenheim Fellowship Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Alice Hunt Bartlett Prize Commander of the Order of the British Empire Padma Shri in literature and education ## Quotes by Vikram Seth > [And an equation is the same whether it's written in red or green ink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/and-an-equation-is-the-same-whether-it-s-written-in-red-or-green-ink/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) [Equation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/equation/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/183/vikram-seth-4208_equation_and-an-equation-is-the-same-whether-it-s_673010.jpg) > [I want my books to sell, to be read. I'm not interested in being obscure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/i-want-my-books-to-sell-to-be-read-i-m-not-interested-in-being-obscure/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb3/vikram-seth-4208_book_i-want-my-books-to-sell-to-be-read-i-m-n_1964115.jpg) > [I'm not sure anyone can understand a whole life, even their own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/i-m-not-sure-anyone-can-understand-a-whole-life-even-their-own/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f1/vikram-seth-4208_learning_i-m-not-sure-anyone-can-understand-a-who_2757616.jpg) > [Put your backbone where your wishbone is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/put-your-backbone-where-your-wishbone-is/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) [Backbone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/backbone/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/723/vikram-seth-4208_backbone_put-your-backbone-where-your-wishbone-is_1424374.jpg) > [Boredom provides a stronger inclination to write than anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/boredom-provides-a-stronger-inclination-to-write-than-anything/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) [Boredom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boredom/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efa/vikram-seth-4208_boredom_boredom-provides-a-stronger-inclination_337239.jpg) > [“I'm not a mouse or a tigress, she thought, I'm a hedgehog.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/i-m-not-a-mouse-or-a-tigress-she-thought-i-m-a-hedgehog/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) [Hedgehog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hedgehog/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48b/vikram-seth-4208_hedgehog_i-m-not-a-mouse-or-a-tigress-she-thought_610883.jpg) > [“Man without life companion is either god or beast.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/man-without-life-companion-is-either-god-or-beast/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) [Beast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beast/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa9/vikram-seth-4208_beast_man-without-life-companion-is-either-god_737869.jpg) > [For a writer, obsession is a good substitute for self-discipline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/for-a-writer-obsession-is-a-good-substitute-for-self-discipline/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) [Discipline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discipline/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d6/vikram-seth-4208_discipline_for-a-writer-obsession-is-a-good-substit_1903798.jpg) > [In life's brief game to be a winner A man must have...oh yes, above All else, of course, someone to love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/in-life-s-brief-game-to-be-a-winner-a-man-must-have-oh-yes-above-all/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) [Games](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/games/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d1/vikram-seth-4208_games_in-life-s-brief-game-to-be-a-winner-a-ma_588161.jpg) > [I am certainly not allergic to causes - particularly on subjects such as religious intolerance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/i-am-certainly-not-allergic-to-causes-particularly-on-subjects-such/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) [Allergic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/allergic/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b09/vikram-seth-4208_allergic_i-am-certainly-not-allergic-to-causes-pa_1742638.jpg) > [I just love music - by no stretch of the imagination am I professionally competent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/i-just-love-music-by-no-stretch-of-the-imagination-am-i/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) [Competent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/competent/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f61/vikram-seth-4208_competent_i-just-love-music-by-no-stretch-of-the-i_1778824.jpg) > [You get your inspiration - suggestions - wherever you have to, even from your mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/you-get-your-inspiration-suggestions-wherever-you-have-to-even-from/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) [Inspiration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspiration/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71f/vikram-seth-4208_inspiration_you-get-your-inspiration-suggestions-whe_1634146.jpg) > [I rarely listen to music while writing. If I don't like it, it bothers me, and if I like it, it absorbs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/i-rarely-listen-to-music-while-writing-if-i-don-t-like-it-it-bothers/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) [Bother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bother/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd1/vikram-seth-4208_bother_i-rarely-listen-to-music-while-writing-i_2289117.jpg) > [I sometimes seem to myself to wander around the world merely accumulating material for future nostalgias.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/i-sometimes-seem-to-myself-to-wander-around-the-world-merely/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) [Around the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/around-the-world/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70b/vikram-seth-4208_around-the-world_i-sometimes-seem-to-myself-to-wander-aro_2046890.jpg) > [Is it not love that knows how to make smooth things rough and rough things smooth?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/is-it-not-love-that-knows-how-to-make-smooth-things-rough-and-rough/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1e/vikram-seth-4208_love_is-it-not-love-that-knows-how-to-make-sm_428706.jpg) > [I often feel newspapers are just filling up space. Of course, I also know people who write really long books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/i-often-feel-newspapers-are-just-filling-up-space-of-course-i-also/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cab/vikram-seth-4208_book_i-often-feel-newspapers-are-just-filling_1223533.jpg) > [After 'A Suitable Boy,' I didn't write anything, not even a short story. I thought to myself: 'I ought to start writing.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/after-a-suitable-boy-i-didn-t-write-anything-not-even-a-short-story-i/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) [After](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/after/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19f/vikram-seth-4208_after_after-a-suitable-boy-i-didn-t-write-anyt_889202.jpg) > [It is exciting to write about the present once one gets beyond the trivia of the moment. As a time to live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/it-is-exciting-to-write-about-the-present-once-one-gets-beyond-the/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) [Exciting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exciting/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0a/vikram-seth-4208_exciting_it-is-exciting-to-write-about-the-presen_1735328.jpg) > [I certainly think it's very important that writers as citizens - not necessarily as writers, but just as ordinary citizens - should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/i-certainly-think-it-s-very-important-that-writers-as-citizens-not/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) [About](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/about/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4a/vikram-seth-4208_about_i-certainly-think-it-s-very-important-th_2066919.jpg) > [The problem with too beautiful a view is that it's alright for the mulling stage. But for the writing stage, you want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/the-problem-with-too-beautiful-a-view-is-that-it-s-alright-for-the/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) [Alright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alright/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63d/vikram-seth-4208_alright_the-problem-with-too-beautiful-a-view-is_381461.jpg) > [I spent many years of my life as an economist and demographer. I was finally distracted by writing my novels and poetry.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/i-spent-many-years-of-my-life-as-an-economist-and-demographer-i-was/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/693/vikram-seth-4208_books_i-spent-many-years-of-my-life-as-an-econ_2481009.jpg) > [I don't read as much as people may expect. In fact, sometimes I feel that I should probably read more, but then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/i-don-t-read-as-much-as-people-may-expect-in-fact-sometimes-i-feel/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/479/vikram-seth-4208_believe_i-don-t-read-as-much-as-people-may-expec_2775832.jpg) > [“And sometimes both of them forgot that what they were undergoing amid the clink of cutlery and crockery was a mutual interview…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/and-sometimes-both-of-them-forgot-that-what-they-were-undergoing-amid/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) [Dating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dating/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dab/vikram-seth-4208_dating_and-sometimes-both-of-them-forgot-that-w_2964148.jpg) > [“I triumph and rejoice that my action should have obtained your approval; nor am I disturbed when I hear it said that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/i-triumph-and-rejoice-that-my-action-should-have-obtained-your/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) [Approval](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/approval/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10a/vikram-seth-4208_approval_i-triumph-and-rejoice-that-my-action-sho_506577.jpg) > [The fact is that at different stages of your life, and under the influence of different inspirations, you write different things. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/the-fact-is-that-at-different-stages-of-your-life-and-under-the/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) [Again](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/again/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5dd/vikram-seth-4208_again_the-fact-is-that-at-different-stages-of_1874945.jpg) > [“But I was her first love, as she was mine. Nor have I ever been in love since. But then I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/but-i-was-her-first-love-as-she-was-mine-nor-have-i-ever-been-in-love/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) [Changed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/changed/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/624/vikram-seth-4208_changed_but-i-was-her-first-love-as-she-was-mine_2475133.jpg) > [I'm actually a very lazy person. Most of the time, I'm happy to sit around and stare. Or watch bad TV soaps.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/i-m-actually-a-very-lazy-person-most-of-the-time-i-m-happy-to-sit/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) [Actually](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actually/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/825/vikram-seth-4208_actually_i-m-actually-a-very-lazy-person-most-of_2262811.jpg) > [“But what should I do?' Varun was saying. 'I'm not good for anything.' 'Write a book! Pull a rickshaw! Live! Don't make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/but-what-should-i-do-varun-was-saying-i-m-not-good-for-anything-write/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e0/vikram-seth-4208_books_but-what-should-i-do-varun-was-saying-i_275127.jpg) > [“You can't blame her,' said Amit. 'After a life so full of tragedy anyone would become hard.' 'What tragedy?' asked Mrs. Chatterji.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/you-can-t-blame-her-said-amit-after-a-life-so-full-of-tragedy-anyone/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb3/vikram-seth-4208_humor_you-can-t-blame-her-said-amit-after-a-li_532143.jpg) > [But I too hate long books: the better, the worse. If they're bad they merely make me pant with the effort of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/but-i-too-hate-long-books-the-better-the-worse-if-they-re-bad-they/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) [Bears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bears/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c6/vikram-seth-4208_bears_but-i-too-hate-long-books-the-better-the_958219.jpg) > [I am careful about fiction. A novel is not a tract or an essay. If I want to write about land reforms,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/i-am-careful-about-fiction-a-novel-is-not-a-tract-or-an-essay-if-i/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) [About](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/about/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/006/vikram-seth-4208_about_i-am-careful-about-fiction-a-novel-is-no_539809.jpg) > [“My tea has overbrewed: it is bitter, but still drinkable. I turn on the television and return to the present. Four plump…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/my-tea-has-overbrewed-it-is-bitter-but-still-drinkable-i-turn-on-the/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) [Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84f/vikram-seth-4208_animals_my-tea-has-overbrewed-it-is-bitter-but-s_1239264.jpg) > [“She was quite pretty too in those days; indeed, perhaps she still was. But for some reason none of her boyfriends remained…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/she-was-quite-pretty-too-in-those-days-indeed-perhaps-she-still-was/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) [Sooner or later](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sooner-or-later/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20b/vikram-seth-4208_sooner-or-later_she-was-quite-pretty-too-in-those-days-i_2200292.jpg) > [“Well, what do you think? Avanti?" "Avanti," cries everyone, and, after a few quick re-tunings of our instruments, and re-initialisings of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/well-what-do-you-think-avanti-avanti-cries-everyone-and-after-a-few/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) [Beethoven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beethoven/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/535/vikram-seth-4208_beethoven_well-what-do-you-think-avanti-avanti-cri_449084.jpg) > [“I've always felt that the performance of a raag resembles a novel - or at least the kind of novel I'm attempting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/i-ve-always-felt-that-the-performance-of-a-raag-resembles-a-novel-or/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcd/vikram-seth-4208_books_i-ve-always-felt-that-the-performance-of_2119700.jpg) > [“I walk across the park to her flat. It is over-heated and there is a great deal of pink. This used not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/i-walk-across-the-park-to-her-flat-it-is-over-heated-and-there-is-a/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) [Loneliness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loneliness/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c94/vikram-seth-4208_loneliness_i-walk-across-the-park-to-her-flat-it-is_2995554.jpg) > [“She had dispersed. She was the garden at Prem Nivas (soon to be entered into the annual Flower Show), she was Veena's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/she-had-dispersed-she-was-the-garden-at-prem-nivas-soon-to-be-entered/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2de/vikram-seth-4208_death_she-had-dispersed-she-was-the-garden-at_3060949.jpg) > [“There was just enough room for the tonga to get through among the bullock-carts, rickshaws, cycles and pedestrians who thronged both the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/there-was-just-enough-room-for-the-tonga-to-get-through-among-the/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) [Beggars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beggars/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d29/vikram-seth-4208_india_there-was-just-enough-room-for-the-tonga_1575796.jpg) > [“Romantic retrospect aside, the night spent in the truck is distinctly unpleasant. We are cramped and cold. The much-vaunted heating of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/romantic-retrospect-aside-the-night-spent-in-the-truck-is-distinctly/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) [Discomfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discomfort/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0f/vikram-seth-4208_discomfort_romantic-retrospect-aside-the-night-spen_425207.jpg) > [“The Fever Bird The fever bird sand out last night. I could not sleep, try as I might. My brain was split,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/the-fever-bird-the-fever-bird-sand-out-last-night-i-could-not-sleep/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) [Last night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/last-night/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/620/vikram-seth-4208_last-night_the-fever-bird-the-fever-bird-sand-out-l_3065708.jpg) ## Vikram Seth by topic [Books (23)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/vikram-seth/) [Writing (22)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/vikram-seth/) [Writer (17)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/vikram-seth/) [Life (14)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/vikram-seth/) [Thinking (11)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/vikram-seth/) [People (11)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/vikram-seth/) [Time (10)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/vikram-seth/) [Book (10)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/vikram-seth/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/#itemlist", "name": "Vikram Seth Quotes", "numberOfItems": 40, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "And an equation is the same whether it's written in red or green ink", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Vikram Seth" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/and-an-equation-is-the-same-whether-it-s-written-in-red-or-green-ink/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/183/vikram-seth-4208_equation_and-an-equation-is-the-same-whether-it-s_673010.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/183/vikram-seth-4208_equation_and-an-equation-is-the-same-whether-it-s_673010.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/183/vikram-seth-4208_equation_and-an-equation-is-the-same-whether-it-s_673010.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“And an equation is the same whether it's written in red or green ink” — Vikram Seth", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I want my books to sell, to be read. 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{ "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Man without life companion is either god or beast.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Vikram Seth" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/man-without-life-companion-is-either-god-or-beast/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa9/vikram-seth-4208_beast_man-without-life-companion-is-either-god_737869.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa9/vikram-seth-4208_beast_man-without-life-companion-is-either-god_737869.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa9/vikram-seth-4208_beast_man-without-life-companion-is-either-god_737869.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Man without life companion is either god or beast.” — Vikram Seth", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 8, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "For a writer, obsession is a good substitute for 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"text": "I just love music - by no stretch of the imagination am I professionally competent.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Vikram Seth" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/i-just-love-music-by-no-stretch-of-the-imagination-am-i/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f61/vikram-seth-4208_competent_i-just-love-music-by-no-stretch-of-the-i_1778824.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f61/vikram-seth-4208_competent_i-just-love-music-by-no-stretch-of-the-i_1778824.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f61/vikram-seth-4208_competent_i-just-love-music-by-no-stretch-of-the-i_1778824.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I just love music - by no stretch of the imagination am I professionally competent.” — Vikram Seth", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 12, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You get your inspiration - suggestions - wherever you have to, even from your mother.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Vikram Seth" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/you-get-your-inspiration-suggestions-wherever-you-have-to-even-from/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71f/vikram-seth-4208_inspiration_you-get-your-inspiration-suggestions-whe_1634146.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71f/vikram-seth-4208_inspiration_you-get-your-inspiration-suggestions-whe_1634146.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71f/vikram-seth-4208_inspiration_you-get-your-inspiration-suggestions-whe_1634146.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You get your inspiration - suggestions - wherever you have to, even from your mother.” — Vikram Seth", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 13, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I rarely listen to music while writing. If I don't like it, it bothers me, and if I like it, it absorbs me so much I can't write.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Vikram Seth" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/i-rarely-listen-to-music-while-writing-if-i-don-t-like-it-it-bothers/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd1/vikram-seth-4208_bother_i-rarely-listen-to-music-while-writing-i_2289117.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd1/vikram-seth-4208_bother_i-rarely-listen-to-music-while-writing-i_2289117.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd1/vikram-seth-4208_bother_i-rarely-listen-to-music-while-writing-i_2289117.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I rarely listen to music while writing. 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Of course, I also know people who write really long books.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Vikram Seth" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/i-often-feel-newspapers-are-just-filling-up-space-of-course-i-also/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cab/vikram-seth-4208_book_i-often-feel-newspapers-are-just-filling_1223533.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cab/vikram-seth-4208_book_i-often-feel-newspapers-are-just-filling_1223533.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cab/vikram-seth-4208_book_i-often-feel-newspapers-are-just-filling_1223533.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I often feel newspapers are just filling up space. 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I thought to myself: 'I ought to…” — Vikram Seth", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 18, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "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.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Vikram Seth" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/it-is-exciting-to-write-about-the-present-once-one-gets-beyond-the/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0a/vikram-seth-4208_exciting_it-is-exciting-to-write-about-the-presen_1735328.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0a/vikram-seth-4208_exciting_it-is-exciting-to-write-about-the-presen_1735328.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0a/vikram-seth-4208_exciting_it-is-exciting-to-write-about-the-presen_1735328.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is exciting to write about the present once one gets beyond the trivia of the moment. As a time to live…” — Vikram Seth", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 19, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I certainly think it's very important that writers as citizens - not necessarily as writers, but just as ordinary citizens - should talk about things that matter to them.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Vikram Seth" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/i-certainly-think-it-s-very-important-that-writers-as-citizens-not/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4a/vikram-seth-4208_about_i-certainly-think-it-s-very-important-th_2066919.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4a/vikram-seth-4208_about_i-certainly-think-it-s-very-important-th_2066919.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4a/vikram-seth-4208_about_i-certainly-think-it-s-very-important-th_2066919.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I certainly think it's very important that writers as citizens - not necessarily as writers, but just as…” — Vikram Seth", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 20, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The problem with too beautiful a view is that it's alright for the mulling stage. But for the writing stage, you want to be somewhere without a view, especially if it is very different from what you're writing.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Vikram Seth" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/the-problem-with-too-beautiful-a-view-is-that-it-s-alright-for-the/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63d/vikram-seth-4208_alright_the-problem-with-too-beautiful-a-view-is_381461.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63d/vikram-seth-4208_alright_the-problem-with-too-beautiful-a-view-is_381461.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63d/vikram-seth-4208_alright_the-problem-with-too-beautiful-a-view-is_381461.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The problem with too beautiful a view is that it's alright for the mulling stage. But for the writing stage…” — Vikram Seth", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 21, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I spent many years of my life as an economist and demographer. I was finally distracted by writing my novels and poetry. I'm enormously happy that was the case. I feel that with writing I have found my metier.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Vikram Seth" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/i-spent-many-years-of-my-life-as-an-economist-and-demographer-i-was/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/693/vikram-seth-4208_books_i-spent-many-years-of-my-life-as-an-econ_2481009.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/693/vikram-seth-4208_books_i-spent-many-years-of-my-life-as-an-econ_2481009.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/693/vikram-seth-4208_books_i-spent-many-years-of-my-life-as-an-econ_2481009.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I spent many years of my life as an economist and demographer. I was finally distracted by writing my novels…” — Vikram Seth", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 22, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I don't read as much as people may expect. In fact, sometimes I feel that I should probably read more, but then I do believe that one of the big problems of our times is that there's too much reading and not enough thinking.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Vikram Seth" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/i-don-t-read-as-much-as-people-may-expect-in-fact-sometimes-i-feel/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/479/vikram-seth-4208_believe_i-don-t-read-as-much-as-people-may-expec_2775832.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/479/vikram-seth-4208_believe_i-don-t-read-as-much-as-people-may-expec_2775832.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/479/vikram-seth-4208_believe_i-don-t-read-as-much-as-people-may-expec_2775832.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I don't read as much as people may expect. In fact, sometimes I feel that I should probably read more, but…” — Vikram Seth", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 23, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“And sometimes both of them forgot that what they were undergoing amid the clink of cutlery and crockery was a mutual interview that might decide whether or not they would own a common set of those items some time in the whimsical future.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Vikram Seth" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/and-sometimes-both-of-them-forgot-that-what-they-were-undergoing-amid/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dab/vikram-seth-4208_dating_and-sometimes-both-of-them-forgot-that-w_2964148.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dab/vikram-seth-4208_dating_and-sometimes-both-of-them-forgot-that-w_2964148.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dab/vikram-seth-4208_dating_and-sometimes-both-of-them-forgot-that-w_2964148.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“And sometimes both of them forgot that what they were undergoing amid the clink of cutlery and crockery was…” — Vikram Seth", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 24, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I triumph and rejoice that my action should have obtained your approval; nor am I disturbed when I hear it said that those whom I have sent off alive and free will again bear arms against me; for there is nothing which I so much covet as that I should be like myself, and they like themselves.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Vikram Seth" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/i-triumph-and-rejoice-that-my-action-should-have-obtained-your/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10a/vikram-seth-4208_approval_i-triumph-and-rejoice-that-my-action-sho_506577.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10a/vikram-seth-4208_approval_i-triumph-and-rejoice-that-my-action-sho_506577.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10a/vikram-seth-4208_approval_i-triumph-and-rejoice-that-my-action-sho_506577.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I triumph and rejoice that my action should have obtained your approval; nor am I disturbed when I hear it…” — Vikram Seth", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 25, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "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.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Vikram Seth" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/the-fact-is-that-at-different-stages-of-your-life-and-under-the/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5dd/vikram-seth-4208_again_the-fact-is-that-at-different-stages-of_1874945.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5dd/vikram-seth-4208_again_the-fact-is-that-at-different-stages-of_1874945.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5dd/vikram-seth-4208_again_the-fact-is-that-at-different-stages-of_1874945.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The fact is that at different stages of your life, and under the influence of different inspirations, you…” — Vikram Seth", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 26, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But I was her first love, as she was mine. Nor have I ever been in love since. But then I have never fallen out of love with her – with her, I suppose, as she then was, or as I grew afterwards to realize or imagine she had been. What is she now, who is she now? Am I with such inane fidelity fixated on someone who could have utterly changed (but could she have? could she really have changed so much?), who could have grown to hate me for leaving her, who could have forgotten me or learned deliberately to expunge me from her mind. How many seconds or weeks after seeing me…did I survive her thoughts?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Vikram Seth" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/but-i-was-her-first-love-as-she-was-mine-nor-have-i-ever-been-in-love/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/624/vikram-seth-4208_changed_but-i-was-her-first-love-as-she-was-mine_2475133.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/624/vikram-seth-4208_changed_but-i-was-her-first-love-as-she-was-mine_2475133.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/624/vikram-seth-4208_changed_but-i-was-her-first-love-as-she-was-mine_2475133.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But I was her first love, as she was mine. Nor have I ever been in love since. But then I have never fallen…” — Vikram Seth", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 27, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm actually a very lazy person. Most of the time, I'm happy to sit around and stare. Or watch bad TV soaps. It's quite rare for me to get inspired by anything, but it could be something small. A view of the Serpentine. A snatch of music. Or a little shred of conversation overheard on a bus, such as, 'You also will marry someone of my choice.'", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Vikram Seth" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/i-m-actually-a-very-lazy-person-most-of-the-time-i-m-happy-to-sit/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/825/vikram-seth-4208_actually_i-m-actually-a-very-lazy-person-most-of_2262811.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/825/vikram-seth-4208_actually_i-m-actually-a-very-lazy-person-most-of_2262811.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/825/vikram-seth-4208_actually_i-m-actually-a-very-lazy-person-most-of_2262811.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'm actually a very lazy person. Most of the time, I'm happy to sit around and stare. Or watch bad TV soaps…” — Vikram Seth", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 28, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But what should I do?' Varun was saying. 'I'm not good for anything.' 'Write a book! Pull a rickshaw! Live! Don't make excuses,' said Dr. Ila Chattopadhyay, shaking her grey hair vigorously. 'Renounce the world like Dipankar. No, he's joined a bank, hasn't he? How did you do in your exams anyway?' she added.\" - Vikram Seth, \"A Suitable Boy”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Vikram Seth" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/but-what-should-i-do-varun-was-saying-i-m-not-good-for-anything-write/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e0/vikram-seth-4208_books_but-what-should-i-do-varun-was-saying-i_275127.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e0/vikram-seth-4208_books_but-what-should-i-do-varun-was-saying-i_275127.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e0/vikram-seth-4208_books_but-what-should-i-do-varun-was-saying-i_275127.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But what should I do?' Varun was saying. 'I'm not good for anything.' 'Write a book! Pull a rickshaw! Live!…” — Vikram Seth", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 29, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“You can't blame her,' said Amit. 'After a life so full of tragedy anyone would become hard.' 'What tragedy?' asked Mrs. Chatterji. 'Well, when she was four,' said Amit, 'her mother slapped her--it was quite traumatic--and then things went on in that vein. When she was twelve she came in second in an exam...It hardens you.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Vikram Seth" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/you-can-t-blame-her-said-amit-after-a-life-so-full-of-tragedy-anyone/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb3/vikram-seth-4208_humor_you-can-t-blame-her-said-amit-after-a-li_532143.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb3/vikram-seth-4208_humor_you-can-t-blame-her-said-amit-after-a-li_532143.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb3/vikram-seth-4208_humor_you-can-t-blame-her-said-amit-after-a-li_532143.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You can't blame her,' said Amit. 'After a life so full of tragedy anyone would become hard.' 'What tragedy?'…” — Vikram Seth", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 30, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "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.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Vikram Seth" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/but-i-too-hate-long-books-the-better-the-worse-if-they-re-bad-they/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c6/vikram-seth-4208_bears_but-i-too-hate-long-books-the-better-the_958219.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c6/vikram-seth-4208_bears_but-i-too-hate-long-books-the-better-the_958219.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c6/vikram-seth-4208_bears_but-i-too-hate-long-books-the-better-the_958219.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But I too hate long books: the better, the worse. If they're bad they merely make me pant with the effort of…” — Vikram Seth", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 31, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I am careful about fiction. A novel is not a tract or an essay. If I want to write about land reforms, or Hindu-Muslim relations, or position of women, I can do it as it affects my characters as in 'A Suitable Boy.' I could only write about issues specifically through essays. But I'll do that only if I have something worthwhile to say.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Vikram Seth" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/i-am-careful-about-fiction-a-novel-is-not-a-tract-or-an-essay-if-i/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/006/vikram-seth-4208_about_i-am-careful-about-fiction-a-novel-is-no_539809.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/006/vikram-seth-4208_about_i-am-careful-about-fiction-a-novel-is-no_539809.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/006/vikram-seth-4208_about_i-am-careful-about-fiction-a-novel-is-no_539809.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I am careful about fiction. A novel is not a tract or an essay. If I want to write about land reforms, or…” — Vikram Seth", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 32, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“My tea has overbrewed: it is bitter, but still drinkable. I turn on the television and return to the present. Four plump humanoid creatures, red, yellow, green and purple, are frolicking on a grassy hill. Rabbits nibble the grass. The creatures hug each other. A periscope emerges from a knoll and tells them they must say goodbye. After a little protest, they do, jumping one by one into a hole in the ground.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Vikram Seth" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/my-tea-has-overbrewed-it-is-bitter-but-still-drinkable-i-turn-on-the/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84f/vikram-seth-4208_animals_my-tea-has-overbrewed-it-is-bitter-but-s_1239264.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84f/vikram-seth-4208_animals_my-tea-has-overbrewed-it-is-bitter-but-s_1239264.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84f/vikram-seth-4208_animals_my-tea-has-overbrewed-it-is-bitter-but-s_1239264.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My tea has overbrewed: it is bitter, but still drinkable. I turn on the television and return to the…” — Vikram Seth", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 33, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“She was quite pretty too in those days; indeed, perhaps she still was. But for some reason none of her boyfriends remained boyfriends for long. She had a very decided personality and fairly soon took to telling them what they should do with their lives and studies and work. She began to mother them or perhaps brother them (since she was something of a tomboy) - and this sooner or later took the edge off their romantic excitement. They even began to find her vivacity over-powering, and sooner or later edged away from her - with guilt on their side and pain on hers. This was a great pity, for Kalpana Gaur was a lively, affectionate, and intelligent woman, and deserved some recompense for the help and happiness she gave others”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Vikram Seth" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/she-was-quite-pretty-too-in-those-days-indeed-perhaps-she-still-was/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20b/vikram-seth-4208_sooner-or-later_she-was-quite-pretty-too-in-those-days-i_2200292.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20b/vikram-seth-4208_sooner-or-later_she-was-quite-pretty-too-in-those-days-i_2200292.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20b/vikram-seth-4208_sooner-or-later_she-was-quite-pretty-too-in-those-days-i_2200292.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“She was quite pretty too in those days; indeed, perhaps she still was. But for some reason none of her…” — Vikram Seth", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 34, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Well, what do you think? Avanti?\" \"Avanti,\" cries everyone, and, after a few quick re-tunings of our instruments, and re-initialisings of our hearts, we enter the slow theme-and-variations movement. How good it is to pay this quintet, to play it, not to work at it - to play for our own joy, with no need to convey anything to anyone outside our ring of recreation, with no expectation of a future stage, of the too-immediate sop of applause. The quintet exists without us yet cannot exist without us. It sings to us, we sing into it, and somehow, through these little black and white insects clustering along five thin lines, the man who deafly transfigured what he so many years earlier had hearingly composed speaks into us across land and water and ten generations, and fills us here with sadness, here with amazed delight.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Vikram Seth" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/well-what-do-you-think-avanti-avanti-cries-everyone-and-after-a-few/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/535/vikram-seth-4208_beethoven_well-what-do-you-think-avanti-avanti-cri_449084.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/535/vikram-seth-4208_beethoven_well-what-do-you-think-avanti-avanti-cri_449084.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/535/vikram-seth-4208_beethoven_well-what-do-you-think-avanti-avanti-cri_449084.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Well, what do you think? Avanti?\" \"Avanti,\" cries everyone, and, after a few quick re-tunings of our…” — Vikram Seth", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 35, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I've always felt that the performance of a raag resembles a novel - or at least the kind of novel I'm attempting to write. You know,' he continued, extemporizing as he went along, 'first you take one note and explore it for a while, then another to discover its possibilities, then perhaps you get to the dominant, and pause for a bit, and it's only gradually that the phrases begin to form and the tabla joins in with the beat...and then the more brilliant improvisations and diversions begin, with the main theme returning from time to time, and finally it all speeds up, and the excitement increases to a climax.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Vikram Seth" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/i-ve-always-felt-that-the-performance-of-a-raag-resembles-a-novel-or/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcd/vikram-seth-4208_books_i-ve-always-felt-that-the-performance-of_2119700.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcd/vikram-seth-4208_books_i-ve-always-felt-that-the-performance-of_2119700.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcd/vikram-seth-4208_books_i-ve-always-felt-that-the-performance-of_2119700.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I've always felt that the performance of a raag resembles a novel - or at least the kind of novel I'm…” — Vikram Seth", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 36, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I walk across the park to her flat. It is over-heated and there is a great deal of pink. This used not to unnerve me. Now when I step into the bathroom I recoil. Pink bath, pink basin, pink toilet, pink bidet, pink tiles, pink wallpaper, pink rug. Brushes, soap, tooth brush, silk flowers, toilet paper: all pink. Even the little foot-operated waste-bin is pale pink. I know this little waste-bin well. Every time I sleep here I wonder what I am doing with my time and hers. She is sixteen years younger than I am. She is not the woman with whom I want to share my life. But, having begun, what we have continues. She wants it to, and I go along with it, through lust and loneliness, I suppose; and laziness, and lack of focus.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Vikram Seth" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/i-walk-across-the-park-to-her-flat-it-is-over-heated-and-there-is-a/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c94/vikram-seth-4208_loneliness_i-walk-across-the-park-to-her-flat-it-is_2995554.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c94/vikram-seth-4208_loneliness_i-walk-across-the-park-to-her-flat-it-is_2995554.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c94/vikram-seth-4208_loneliness_i-walk-across-the-park-to-her-flat-it-is_2995554.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I walk across the park to her flat. It is over-heated and there is a great deal of pink. This used not to…” — Vikram Seth", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 37, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“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.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Vikram Seth" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/she-had-dispersed-she-was-the-garden-at-prem-nivas-soon-to-be-entered/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2de/vikram-seth-4208_death_she-had-dispersed-she-was-the-garden-at_3060949.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2de/vikram-seth-4208_death_she-had-dispersed-she-was-the-garden-at_3060949.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2de/vikram-seth-4208_death_she-had-dispersed-she-was-the-garden-at_3060949.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“She had dispersed. She was the garden at Prem Nivas (soon to be entered into the annual Flower Show), she…” — Vikram Seth", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 38, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There was just enough room for the tonga to get through among the bullock-carts, rickshaws, cycles and pedestrians who thronged both the road and the pavement--which they shared with barbers plying their trade out of doors, fortune-tellers, flimsy tea-stalls, vegetable-stands, monkey-trainers, ear-cleaners, pickpockets, stray cattle, the odd sleepy policeman sauntering along in faded khaki, sweat-soaked men carrying impossible loads of copper, steel rods, glass or scrap paper on their backs as they yelled 'Look out! Look out!' in voices that somehow pierced though the din, shops of brassware and cloth (the owners attempting with shouts and gestures to entice uncertain shoppers in), the small carved stone entrance of the Tinny Tots (English Medium) School which opened out onto the courtyard of the reconverted haveli of a bankrupt aristocrat, and beggars--young and old, aggressive and meek, leprous, maimed or blinded--who would quietly invade Nabiganj as evening fell, attempting to avoid the police as they worked the queues in front of the cinema-halls. Crows cawed, small boys in rags rushed around on errands (one balancing six small dirty glasses of tea on a cheap tin tray as he weaved through the crowd) monkeys chattered in and bounded about a great shivering-leafed pipal tree and tried to raid unwary customers as they left the well-guarded fruit-stand, women shuffled along in anonymous burqas or bright saris, with or without their menfolk, a few students from the university lounging around a chaat-stand shouted at each other from a foot away either out of habit or in order to be heard, mangy dogs snapped and were kicked, skeletal cats mewed and were stoned, and flies settled everywhere: on heaps of foetid, rotting rubbish, on the uncovered sweets at the sweetseller's in whose huge curved pans of ghee sizzled delicioius jalebis, on the faces of the sari-clad but not the burqa-clad women, and on the horse's nostrils as he shook his blinkered head and tried to forge his way through Old Brahmpur in the direction of the Barsaat Mahal.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Vikram Seth" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/there-was-just-enough-room-for-the-tonga-to-get-through-among-the/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d29/vikram-seth-4208_india_there-was-just-enough-room-for-the-tonga_1575796.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d29/vikram-seth-4208_india_there-was-just-enough-room-for-the-tonga_1575796.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d29/vikram-seth-4208_india_there-was-just-enough-room-for-the-tonga_1575796.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There was just enough room for the tonga to get through among the bullock-carts, rickshaws, cycles and…” — Vikram Seth", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 39, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Romantic retrospect aside, the night spent in the truck is distinctly unpleasant. We are cramped and cold. The much-vaunted heating of the truck is ineffectual. The wind prises through the cracks in the sides of the windows, and penetrates us to the bone. My feet are moist in my shoes, yet to take my socks off is to chill my feet even further. We take every warm item of clothing out of our bags and swaddle ourselves into immobility. The sheepskin on the seat cuts out a bit of the cold rising from below. We share a blanket and Sui, before he goes off to sleep, makes sure I get a generous part of this. He then drops off to sleep, and tugs it away. He jockeys for space, and I am forced to lean forward. He begins to snore. To make it all worse, both he and Gyanseng sleeptalk. They have told me before tat I do, too, but I've never noticed it. What I do notice, however, late at night, with my two territorially acquisitive companions wedging me forwards, is that I have started talking to myself: naming the constellations I can see move across the mud-stained windscreen, interviewing myself, reciting odd snatches of poetry. I also notice that I am hungry, which is curious, because during the day I was not; and itchy, which is to be expected after so much unwashed travel; and sleepy, though I cannot sleep for cold and headache and discomfort; and alas, bored out of my mind. When things get really bad, I imagine myself in a darkened room, up to my shoulders in a tub of hot water, with a glass of Grand Marnier beside me and the second movement of Mozart's Clarinet Quintet sounding gently in my ears. This voluptuous vision, rather than making my present condition seem even more insupportable, actually enables me to escape for a while from the complaints of my suffering body.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Vikram Seth" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/romantic-retrospect-aside-the-night-spent-in-the-truck-is-distinctly/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0f/vikram-seth-4208_discomfort_romantic-retrospect-aside-the-night-spen_425207.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0f/vikram-seth-4208_discomfort_romantic-retrospect-aside-the-night-spen_425207.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0f/vikram-seth-4208_discomfort_romantic-retrospect-aside-the-night-spen_425207.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Romantic retrospect aside, the night spent in the truck is distinctly unpleasant. We are cramped and cold…” — Vikram Seth", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 40, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The Fever Bird The fever bird sand out last night. I could not sleep, try as I might. My brain was split, my spirit raw. I looked into the garden, saw The shadow of the amaltas Shake slightly on the moonlit grass Unseen, the bird cried out its grief, Its lunacy, without relief: Three notes repeated closer, higher, Soaring, then sinking down like fire Only to breathe the night and soar, As crazed, as desperate, as before. I shivered in the midnight heat And smelt the sweat that soaked my sheet. And now tonight I hear again The call that skewers though my brain, The call, the brain-sick triple note-- A cone of pain stuck inits throat. I am so tired I could weep. Mad bird, for God's sake let me sleep Why do you cry like one possessed? When will you rest? When will you rest? Why wait each night till all but I Lie sleeping in the house, then cry? Why do you scream into my ear What no one else but I can hear?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Vikram Seth" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/the-fever-bird-the-fever-bird-sand-out-last-night-i-could-not-sleep/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/620/vikram-seth-4208_last-night_the-fever-bird-the-fever-bird-sand-out-l_3065708.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/620/vikram-seth-4208_last-night_the-fever-bird-the-fever-bird-sand-out-l_3065708.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/620/vikram-seth-4208_last-night_the-fever-bird-the-fever-bird-sand-out-l_3065708.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The Fever Bird The fever bird sand out last night. I could not sleep, try as I might. My brain was split, my…” — Vikram Seth", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/#person", "name": "Vikram Seth", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/", "image": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b024/author-vikram-seth-93682.jpg", "description": "Vikram Seth is an Indian novelist and poet who has written three novels and several poetry collections." }, { "@type": "ProfilePage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/", "name": "Vikram Seth", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/#person" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/183/vikram-seth-4208_equation_and-an-equation-is-the-same-whether-it-s_673010.jpg" }, "description": "Vikram Seth quotes on realism, boredom, and taking action.", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/#breadcrumb" } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Authors", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/authors/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Vikram Seth", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```