Siddharth Chowdhury > Quotes

“Even after taking a shower I can smell her on my fingers. It will linger throughout the day. My body is the territory she has marked as her own.”
― Siddharth Chowdhury, The Patna Manual of Style

“Published or unpublished?'
'Still a virgin, sir. Entirely unpublished.'
'Then you shouldn't call yourself a writer yet. At least two published books before you start introducing yourself as one. That's the rule.”
― Siddharth Chowdhury, The Patna Manual of Style

“One of the hardest things in this world is to reconcile with the disappointment that you sense in your parents' voices even when they are trying to be helpful. You can feel their acute suffering as they reach out to you but can't. They are all at sea. You just have to put the receiver down and close your eyes and gently rest your head against the glass pane of the telephone booth then.”
― Siddharth Chowdhury, The Patna Manual of Style

“In a flash it came to him that he didn't know the English equivalent of jootha. He ought to know it, after all he was supposed to be a writer. But he didn't. Perhaps there was no such word. Contamination didn't quite convey the same meaning. Neither did taint or spoil. Perhaps jootha was a particularly Indian concept that no other culture followed. Not even Indian, it was singularly Hindu, its policies honed razor-sharp to cut-throat perfection, drawing blood at merest glance, at any interaction between man and man. Segregation after all was the heart of the Hindu way of life. And because of that India wouldn't ever be united but on the other hand nor would it ever splinter. Caste and community would see to it that there was no consensus ever. Whether of the left-wing or the right-wing variety.”
― Siddharth Chowdhury, The Patna Manual of Style

“The role of the patriarch is very important... Even though he may be an ineffectual one, his presence alone keeps the family together.”
― Siddharth Chowdhury, The Patna Manual of Style

“When I was a child, the thing I hated most was when a grown-up would try to befriend me, thinking I was bored or was in need of company. I liked to be on my own. So I leave kids alone. They too have a right to their privacy.”
― Siddharth Chowdhury, The Patna Manual of Style