She Reads

“Their casual discussion of the characteristics of the man who had shown interest in their mother had seemed unreal to her.”
― Musharraf Ali Farooqi, The Story of a Widow

“In the winter of 1987 India was full of iskeems that had gone awry. Agricultural iskeems, political iskeems, economic iskeems, educational iskeems, stop black money iskeems, attract white tourists iskeems, drinkable water iskeems, animal protection iskeems, women's welfare iskeems, nurture children iskeems, don't scan female foetus iskeems, privatization iskeems, medical iskeems, entertainment iskeems, old India iskeems and new India iskeems.
We had mastered the art of nomenclature from the white man.
Grand labels could disguise unforgivable things.”
― Tarun J. Tejpal, The Alchemy of Desire

“Mona told herself that even if her recent feelings were a delusion, they were by far preferable to the thirty years of immaculate deception she had suffered in her first marriage. Yet she had to forgive Akbar Ahmad - perhaps because he was already dead.”
― Musharraf Ali Farooqi, The Story of a Widow

“As a friend often said, India is a gymkhana club, where the people have the votes, but the politicians and the bureaucrats have the membership.”
― Tarun J. Tejpal, The Alchemy of Desire