Simran Azeem

“What I meant was, some people stand in front of a tree and the first thing they notice is the trunk. These are the ones who prioritize order, safety, rules, continuity. Then there are those who pick out the branches before anything else. They yearn for change, a sense of freedom. And then there are those who are drawn to the roots, though concealed under the ground. They have a deep emotional attachment to their heritage, identity, traditions …”
― Elif Shafak, The Island of Missing Trees

“آگے جانے والے لوگ پیچھے رہے ہوئے لوگوں کی طرح یاد نہیں کرتے۔
گھر سے بندھی گائے اور طرح یاد کرتی ہے اور تانگے میں جُتا ہوا گھوڑا اور طرح سے یاد کرتا ہے ۔ جِس کو کچھ مل جائے، اچھا یا بُرااُس کی یادداشت کمزور ہونے لگتی ہے ، جن کو سب کچھ کھو کر اس کا ٹوٹا پھوٹا نعم البدل بھی نہ مِلے اُن کا حافظہ بہت تیز ہو جاتا ہے اور ہر یاد بھالے کی طرح دل میں اترتی ہے۔”
― Bano Qudsia, Raja Gidh / راجه گدھ

“had suffered pain beyond her imagination. Some people break up after a big fight, but there are also people who drift incrementally apart until they can’t face each other anymore. The latter stay longer in your memory.”
― Choi Eunyoung, Shoko's Smile

“There was something childlike in the way grown-ups had a need for stories. They held a naive belief that by telling an inspiring anecdote-the right fable at the right time-they could lift their children's moods, motivate them to great achievements and simply change reality. There was no point in telling them that life was more complicated than that and words less magical than they presumed.”
― Elif Shafak, The Island of Missing Trees