Vikas Swarup quotes

My books are about ordinary people placed in extraordinary situations who are able to draw upon their inner reserves to challenge the status-quo in life and navigate compelling human relationships. (Vikas Swarup)
Mumbai may not be my city. But it is my kind of city. View quote
Vikas Swarup
The slums are not a place of despair. Its inhabitants are all working towards a better life. View quote
Vikas Swarup
And for the first time in my life, I saw something new reflected in the eyes that saw me. Respect. It taught me a very valuable lesson. That dreams have power only over your own mind. But with money you can have power over the minds of others. View quote
Vikas Swarup
The one conclusion I have reached is that whiskey is a great leveler. You might be a hotshot advertising executive or a lowly foundry worker, but if you cannot hold your drink, you are just a drunkard. View quote
Vikas Swarup
Unheralded we came into this world. Unheralded we will go out. But while we are in this world, we do such deeds that even if this generation does not remember, the next generation cannot forget. View quote
Vikas Swarup
I wonder what it feels like to have no desires left because you have satisfied them all, smothered them with money even before they are born. Is an existence without desire very desirable? And is the poverty of desire better than rank poverty itself? View quote
Vikas Swarup
One does not question a miracle. View quote
Vikas Swarup
God made the human body like a machine with built-in obsolescence. View quote
Vikas Swarup
Knowledge is not just the preserve of the educated elite. Just because someone has not had a formal education, that does not mean he does not have wisdom and common sense. View quote
Vikas Swarup
Confuse your trail, lose your trail. (Vikas Swarup)
Tokyo may have more money and Kyoto more culture; Nara may have more history and Kobe more style. But Osaka has the biggest heart. View quote
Vikas Swarup
My first novel was a challenge to myself. No one had an inkling that I was working on it. View quote
Vikas Swarup
I am the luckiest novelist in the world. I was a first-time novelist who wasn't awash in rejection slips, whose manuscript didn't disappear in slush piles. I have had a wonderful time. View quote
Vikas Swarup
Indian writers have appropriated English as an Indian language, and that gives a certain freshness to the way we write. View quote
Vikas Swarup
I need to meet people to be able to write. View quote
Vikas Swarup
I did not go to any creative writing workshop; I did not major in literature. If I can write, anyone can write. All it needs is imagination. View quote
Vikas Swarup
India may be the soul of world cricket, but IPL is its commercial heart. Just as 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire' changed the ground rules for quiz shows by injecting a massive dose of money into the equation, IPL has changed the dynamics of the cricket economy. View quote
Vikas Swarup
My books may highlight corruption, brutality and venality, but they also show that if these things come to light, there is rectification. The voiceless do have a voice; democratic mechanisms and accountability do exist. View quote
Vikas Swarup
For me, the day job comes first. That's why I call myself a diplomat who writes, not a writer who masquerades as a diplomat. If the day job demands it, I won't write at all. I write in what I call 'the crevices of my day job', and that comes only on weekends. View quote
Vikas Swarup
Sometimes street knowledge can be as important as book knowledge. (Vikas Swarup)
Global terror does not respect national boundaries. View quote
Vikas Swarup
I am very interested in human-interest stories emerging from modern India. I get my inspiration and daily dose by reading the 'Hindustan Times.' View quote
Vikas Swarup
I get invited to many more literary festivals than I used to because I'm associated with 'Slumdog Millionaire,' the brand. Many more doors have opened up for me as a result of the global success of the film, although I believe that I'm the same person that existed before it. View quote
Vikas Swarup
Just because someone has gone to an elite school and college does not make him smarter than the person who has grown up on street knowledge. View quote
Vikas Swarup