MadZiddi

“Ayub’s pro- Western outlook, moderate views, and fair complexion, which made him look more British than the British, confirmed his selection as commander- in- chief in January 1951.”
― Ayesha Jalal, The Struggle for Pakistan: A Muslim Homeland and Global Politics

“Manners are not like bonbons, Nina. You may not choose the ones that suit you best; and you certainly cannot put the half-bitten ones back in the box.”
― Amor Towles, A Gentleman in Moscow

“دل رہینِ غمِ جہاں ہے آج
ہر نَفَس تشنہء فغاں ہے آج
سخت ویراں ہے محفلِ ہستی
اے غمِ دوست! تُو کہاں ہے آج”
― Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Nuskha ha-e Wafa / نسخہ ہائے وفا

“Alexander Rostov was neither scientist nor sage; but at the age of sixty-four he was wise enough to know that life does not proceed by leaps and bounds. It unfolds. At any given moment, it is the manifestation of a thousand transitions. Our faculties wax and wane, our experiences accumulate and our opinions evolve--if not glacially, then at least gradually. Such that the events of an average day are as likely to transform who we are as a pinch of pepper is to transform a stew.”
― Amor Towles, A Gentleman in Moscow