Family Matters Quotes
"Knurled and twisted, rendered birdlike by age, they luxuriated in the sun’s comfort."
"By and by, the scrap of sunshine drifted from his feet, and he felt a vague pang of abandonment."
"‘Heaven, I’m in heaven,’" which irritated Coomy even more, and he stopped humming.
"In my youth, my parents controlled me and destroyed those years."
"The sources of pleasure are many. Ditches, potholes, traffic cannot extinguish all the joys of life."
"Hell has ways of permeating heaven’s membrane."
"It was all magical as a circus, and reassuring, like a magic show."
"The bustling life was like air for starving lungs, after the stale emptiness of the flat."
"A father’s love was sunshine and fresh water without which a daughter could not bloom."
"For learning that young or old, rich or poor, we all stank at the other end."
"Then he smiled – and Nariman felt as though they had just concluded a long and heartfelt exchange of ideas."
"Better to be on the safe side than the sorry side."
"This is a really good hospital, Professor Vakeel, a five-star hotel compared to some."
"One patient’s toes were chewed up. Then, a newborn was eaten by rats – partially, but fatally."
"Please see that my dear professor gives his ankle complete rest – not an ounce of weight for four weeks."
"Glad to be in his own bed, Nariman nodded off while the Schubert quintet played in the drawing-room."
"If I wanted to work for a coolie’s salary, I wouldn’t drive a taxi."
"Don’t worry, Pappa, we’ll manage. It’s only for four weeks."
"Our biggest error was not taking off the pajama first. For four weeks you will be a nudist, okay, Pappa?"
"I’ve been clean bowled. Or maybe it was leg before wicket."
"Who am I to reject what God sends floating to my window?"
"If you think about it, in a way we are all like Sisyphus."
"Every day I finish my lessons, and next day there is more homework. It never ends."
"A letter is like perfume. You don’t apply a whole bottle. Just one dab will fill your senses."
"Bombay endures because it gives and it receives."
"Whose hands were they, and whose hands were they grasping? Hindu, Muslim, Dalit, Parsi, Christian? No one knew and no one cared."
"This beautiful city of seven islands, this jewel by the Arabian Sea, this reclaimed land, this ocean gift transformed into ground beneath our feet, this enigma of cosmopolitanism where races and religions live side by side and cheek by jowl in peace and harmony, this diamond of diversity, this generous goddess who embraces the poor and the hungry and the huddled masses, this Urbs Prima in Indis, this dear, dear city now languishes."
"The past is more present than the here and now. And there is not much percentage in the future."
"Break, break, break, On thy cold gray stones, O Sea! And I would that my tongue could utter The thoughts that arise in me."
"We can’t really be sure what happened, The more time passes, the more I feel there is no sense blaming anyone – it was just a sad, unhappy mess. Sometimes, life is like that."
"Human beings break, and you cannot replace them either. Are dishes more important? All you can do is enjoy the memories."
"It’s like seeing the first morning of Hughes Road, And this perfect railing – it fascinated me. How I loved to touch its circles, its volutes and spheres."
"There’s only one way to defeat the sorrow and sadness of life – with laughter and rejoicing. Bring out the good dishes, put on your good clothes, no sense hoarding them."
"In the end, all our stories – your life, my life, old Husain’s life, they’re the same."
"There is only one important story: of youth, and loss, and yearning for redemption."
"All you need is the right pair of eyes to unlock the magic."
"You love this city as much as I do. If not more."
"Remember, people can take everything away from you, but they cannot rob you of your decency."
"Our mouths were watering, the chocolate all sticky."
"How will things ever get better for our country?"
"Be glad our children can learn about old age, about caring – it will prepare them for life, make them better human beings."
"If they learn kindness, happiness will follow."
"It’s a philosophical decision – we talked about it once."
"I want to embrace everything my city has to offer."
"Become one with the organic whole that is Bombay."
"Is my flesh slightly less? Still repulsed by body odour and dirty clothes and oily hair? Maybe. But I will overcome, I will take the train."
"I witnessed the miracle of a man being scooped up by passengers who were themselves hanging outside the train."
"They had gathered the runner into the safety of the compartment, making room for one more, though it was fully packed."
"All I had to do was put my trust in my fellow Bombayites, and I would be able to get aboard."
"I held out my arm. Someone gestured. Was it a greeting or dismissal, I wondered."
"They didn’t help me, Yezad. Not one man held out his hand to grasp mine."
"I tripped and fell as I neared the end of the platform. And then I took a taxi."
"Just look at me – my clothes, my shoes, my hair. Go on, tell me what you think."
"My whole appearance screams one thing: I am not one of you."
"After he hacks my hair, then we’ll see if the train passengers pluck me off the platform or not."
"Sometimes even cheap clothes look good. Make sure it’s a bad fit, before buying your new wardrobe."
"You think I haven’t figured out what is going on upstairs?"
"Speak softly, you fool! You want the neighbours to have a complete description?"
"Tonight I want it fried," he answered, and winked. "Hot and sizzling I want it tonight."
"Carrying your death with you every day would make it hard to waste time on unkindness and anger."
"In the end, all human beings became candidates for compassion, all of us, without exception."
"How nice the luxury, to argue about rights of the unborn, beginning of life, moment of death."
"Remembering your dying time, in order to keep the stupid and the ugly out of your living time."
"He couldn’t bear to watch any more, and went inside. The feeding cup with tea was still on the table."
"The parrot on the third floor across the road was hopping endlessly in its cage, shuffling from side to side."
"How did you get the exact figure? Did Zoroaster whisper it in your ear?"
"Our faith is a subject of ridicule for your son."
"He sits as though he is carrying a secret burden, whose weight is crushing him."
"Your son behaves like a jackass and you encourage him."
"Just practising, Daddy, in case I have to take the punishment someday."
"Purity and pollution is not a laughing matter."
"His Avesta recitations were like a rebuttal, a protest."
"It’s always sad when something ends. But without ending the old, you cannot begin the new."
"Rekha was sent packing. She had lasted two months."
"The replacement was a wardboy in his thirties, a gentle fellow called Mahesh."
"Grandpa didn’t make a sound despite the agony he was going through."
"I wished he would scream. To see him lie quietly was more sad."
"Months passed under Mahesh’s care. Grandpa continued to shrink."
""Please, Jehangoo, ask Daddy, I don’t know what to do.""
""Fine," he said. "You go and tell her if you want to.""
""She went out with her violin," Villie Aunty volunteered."
"But waiting till next day could mean Grandpa dying without the promise being kept."
""Jehangir? Is that you?" "Yes, Aunty," I answered softly."
""To be honest, I had completely forgotten the promise.""
"She was the most wonderful lady I’d ever met."
"Daisy Aunty played for over an hour, till Dr. Tarapore arrived."
""He was right," she said, "I was going to get my wish.""
""Think of the good memories, Jehangoo. Remember the first day when Grandpa came to us by ambulance?""
"My fingers still remember the feel of Grandpa’s jujube chin."
""Grandpa is in heaven, Jehangla," said Daddy."
""It’s difficult for you and Murad to talk calmly. He says silly things, you get angry, and it turns into a fight.""
""A child thinks playing with matches is fun. But we still have to stop it. This will go nowhere, it cannot have a happy ending.""
""The rules, the laws of our religion are absolute, this Maharashtrian cannot be your girlfriend.""
""Because we are a pure Persian race, a unique contribution to this planet, and mixed marriages will destroy that.""
""That’s pathetic," snaps Murad, and goes to his room."
""Learn from this, Jehangoo. Listen to the advice of elders.""
""All I know is, Nariman and Yasmin and Lucy followed their destinies as they were engraved on their foreheads.""
""I’m doing just the opposite, Yezad. You want to chuck him out, I am saying I’ll keep him safe for you, till you and he are ready to be friends again.""
""But I’m his mother. I carried him inside me for nine months and brought him into the world with the pain of childbirth.""
""If anything, you went to the other extreme, neglecting the rest of us because of him.""