Jake Parackal

“the “bystander effect”: the more people around to provide help, the less likely one is to receive help. Dad hypothesized that this didn’t apply to black people, a loving race whose very survival has been dependent on helping one another in times of need. So he made me stand on the busiest intersection in the neighborhood, dollar bills bursting from my pockets, the latest and shiniest electronic gadgetry jammed into my ear canals, a hip-hop heavy gold chain hanging from my neck, and, inexplicably, a set of custom-made carpeted Honda Civic floor mats draped over my forearm like a waiter’s towel, and as tears streamed from my eyes, my own father mugged me. He”
― Paul Beatty, The Sellout

“Who are the Eight Immortals?’ asked Adhyapika. ‘One of them is Ashwatthama, the son of guru Drona. He was given immortality not as a boon but as a curse for his misdeeds. Then there’s Vyasa, the sage who narrated the Mahabharata. He was born in Tretayug, lived through Dwaparyug and Kalyug. Also there is the Asura King Bali whose pious deeds on earth provided him with the boon of being able to visit his subjects once a year during Onam.’ ‘That’s only three,’ said Adhyapika. ‘Well, the fourth is Vibhishana, Ravana’s brother. He was made immortal in order to maintain morality and righteousness in Lanka. Fifth, there’s Kripa, the kulguru of the Kurus. His impartiality towards all of his students was the reason for his immortality. And sixth, Parshurama, the master of astras, shastras and celestial weapons. He is waiting for Kalki, the final avatar of Vishnu, to appear so that he may train him in warfare. Seventh is Markendeya, a devotee of Shiva who was granted immortality by him when Shiva and Yama fought each other. Finally, there’s me, the eighth.’ ‘But why were all of you in Ashoka’s”
― Ashwin Sanghi, The Sialkot Saga

“She was thinking about how her middle-school alma mater was now 75 percent Latino, when in her day it was 80 percent black. Thinking”
― Paul Beatty, The Sellout

“A Punjabi mother, her son and food form a triad as sacred as Brahma, Mahesh and Vishnu, and cannot be interfered with as I learnt in the early years of my marriage. I”
― Twinkle Khanna, Mrs Funnybones: She's just like You and a lot like Me