Vikas Swarup Quotations

The fight against international terrorism isn't just a fight against a bunch of misguided extremists; it is a fight to defend the values that we hold dear.

I am neither a Bengali nor am I from Delhi's St Stephen's. I am an Allahabad boy.

I want to show that the underdog can win. I believe we're all the same: you, a slum girl, my mother.

Tokyo may have more money and Kyoto more culture; Nara may have more history and Kobe more style. But Osaka has the biggest heart.

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.

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.

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.

The slums are not a place of despair. Its inhabitants are all working towards a better life.

Mumbai may not be my city. But it is my kind of city.

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.

It is in the genes of cities to bounce back from disasters - whether natural or man made. The denizens of suburbia have no choice but to survive and move on. But it is the manner in which different cities respond to emergencies that sets them apart.

I think mobility is very important, not only to discover opportunities elsewhere but at times, also to appreciate better what your home town has. Allahabad, for instance, has the feel of a small, tightly-knit community where everyone participates.

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.

I became completely addicted to 'Angry Birds' for a while.

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.

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.

Twenty20 is cricket on speed. In an era of hectic lifestyles and falling attention spans, it gives spectators more drama and intensity in three hours that they would get from a whole-day match. And even though it is a heady cocktail of money, entertainment and media, at its core it is cricket.

Writing is a very lonely occupation. To write you need to concentrate, to concentrate you need to lock yourself away. No distractions; you want your stream of thought uninterrupted.

I am not into the unrealistic realm of magic realism where birds talk.

I am very interested in human-interest stories emerging from modern India. I get my inspiration and daily dose by reading the Hindustan Times.

The first thing you have to understand is that I was not desperate to be a writer. I was never a closet writer filing away notes in a cupboard.

My first novel was a challenge to myself. No one had an inkling that I was working on it.

The writer's is an interior world, a world of the mind.

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.

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.

People don't just want a mindless flick with a superstar; they want to connect more deeply.

I don't look at myself as a writer; I am a storyteller.

I need to meet people to be able to write.

I'm the opposite of those writers who believe that my work is sacrosanct and cannot be touched.

Indian writers have appropriated English as an Indian language, and that gives a certain freshness to the way we write.

Sometimes street knowledge can be as important as book knowledge.

All I can say is that I am not one of those writers who want 100% of their book in the film. I recognize that film is a different medium and the filmmaker must have the right to bring some new elements to the table, provided the soul of the book is preserved.

I write fast. But it takes me a while to get going. It's very important for me to see my whole plot. I have to see the end first because I like a surprise in the end. Which is why I let characters and plot gestate in my mind.

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.

And I realized again that real life is different from reel life.

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?

I want to show that the underdog can win. I believe were all the same: you, a slum girl, my mother.

Never judge a man's actions until you know his motives

One does not question a miracle.

Global terror does not respect national boundaries.

A great artist is not one who merely fits into a genre but one who defines the genre.

The brain is not an organ we are authorized to use. We are supposed to use only our hands and legs.

You should take a good look at all sides of an issue before making a decision. Put something away in case of an emergency. New neighbors will bring good cheer. A small problem may occur at home base, but you will solve it quickly and correctly. Don't offer smart advice unless you are really asked to comment.

...a rainy day ceases to have meaning for a person who has lived in the open under a monsoon cloud most of his life.

Love doesn't happen in an instant. It creeps up on you and then it turns your life upside-down. It colours your waking moments and fills your dreams. You begin to walk on air and see life in brilliant new shades. But it also brings with it a sweet agony, a delicious torture.

God made the human body like a machine with built-in obsolescence.

That dreams have power only over your own mind. But with money you can have power over the minds of others