Quotes from The Great Indian Novel

Shashi Tharoor ·  423 pages

Rating: (4.7K votes)


“Great discoveries, Ganapathi, are often the result of making the wrong mistake at the right time.”
― Shashi Tharoor, quote from The Great Indian Novel


“They say every dog has its day, Ganapathi, but for this terrier twilight came before tea-time.”
― Shashi Tharoor, quote from The Great Indian Novel


“While he was alive, he was impossible to ignore; once he had gone, he was impossible to imitate.”
― Shashi Tharoor, quote from The Great Indian Novel


“...(It) is to one British colonial policy-maker or another that we owe the Boxer Rebellion, the Mau Mau insurrection, the Boer War, and the Boston Tea Party”
― Shashi Tharoor, quote from The Great Indian Novel


“All knowledge is transient, linked to the world around it and subject to change as the world changes.”
― Shashi Tharoor, quote from The Great Indian Novel



“If ever the Empire comes to ruin, Heaslop, mark my words, the British publisher will be to blame.”
― Shashi Tharoor, quote from The Great Indian Novel


“In debate he thought high and aimed low.”
― Shashi Tharoor, quote from The Great Indian Novel


“Gangaji’s truth required activism, not passivity.”
― Shashi Tharoor, quote from The Great Indian Novel


“The past is not necessarily a guide to the future, but it does partly help explain the present.”
― Shashi Tharoor, quote from The Great Indian Novel


“He leaned towards the young man, his eyes, mouth and face all round in concentration. ‘“There was a banned crow,”’ he intoned sonorously. ‘“There was a cold day.” Not bad, eh? I learned those on the boat. Sounds like perfect Urdu, I’m told.’ He paused and frowned. ‘The devil of it is remembering which one means, “close the door,” and which one will get someone to open it.”
― Shashi Tharoor, quote from The Great Indian Novel



“India is not an underdeveloped country but a highly developed one in an advanced state of decay.”
― Shashi Tharoor, quote from The Great Indian Novel


“The principles he stood for and the way in which he asserted them were always easier to admire than to follow.”
― Shashi Tharoor, quote from The Great Indian Novel


“While he was alive, he was impossible to ignore; once he had gone, he was impossible to imitate. When”
― Shashi Tharoor, quote from The Great Indian Novel


“If you believed in truth and cared enough to obtain it, Ganga affirmed, you had to be prepared actively to suffer for it. It was essential to accept punishment willingly in order to demonstrate the strength of one’s convictions. That”
― Shashi Tharoor, quote from The Great Indian Novel


“Basic truth about the colonies, Heaslop. Any time there’s trouble, you can put it down to books. Too many of the wrong ideas getting into the heads of the wrong sorts of people. If ever the Empire comes to ruin, Heaslop, mark my words, the British publisher will be to blame.”
― Shashi Tharoor, quote from The Great Indian Novel



“Bengalis say when offered cod, we still have other fish to fry.”
― Shashi Tharoor, quote from The Great Indian Novel


“there is nothing restrictive or self-limiting about the Indian identity it reasserts: it is large, eclectic and flexible, containing multitudes. I”
― Shashi Tharoor, quote from The Great Indian Novel


About the author

Shashi Tharoor
Born place: in London, The United Kingdom
Born date March 9, 1956
See more on GoodReads

Popular quotes

“الأم: - علام تعتمد عجوز مثلي في حزنها إذا انتزعتم الله منها؟ا
بول: -انك لم تفهمينا يا اماه.
ريبين: -سامحيني ايتها الأم، فلقد نسيت انك طعنت في السن لدرجة لا نستطيع معها اجتثاث ثآليلك.
بول: -لم اكن اتحدث عن الله الطيب الرحيم الذي تؤمنون به، بل عن الله الذي يهددنا به الكهنة، كما لو كانوا يهددونا بعصا؛ عن إله يراد باسمه ان يخضع العالم كله للإراده القاسية، إراده البعض
ريبين: -لقد زيفوا لنا حتى الله و سخروا ضدنا كل ما في ايديهم، أتذكرين ايتها الأم؟ لقد خلق الانسان على شاكلته، على صورته، اذا فهو يشبه الانسان اذا شابهه الانسان، و لكننا لا نشبه الله، بل نشبه الوحوش الضارية. انهم يظهرونه لنا في الكنيسة على شكل فزاعة. لذا ينبغي ان نطور الله ، ايتها الأم، ينبغي ان نطهره، فلقد البسوه ثوبا من الكذب و النميمة و شوهوا وجهه ليقتلوا روحنا”
― Maxim Gorky, quote from Mother


“All men are liars. All women are liars, too.”
― Ilona Andrews, quote from Burn for Me


“She didnt see the point of alcohol, or drugs. People had little enough control over their lives without losing more.”
― Kate Atkinson, quote from When Will There Be Good News?


“Every twenty years or so the earth renews itself in young maidens. You know what I mean? Her cheeks had the perfect form that belongs to the young; her hair was kinky gold. Her teeth were white and posted on every approach. She was all sweet corn and milk. Blessings on her hips. Blessings on her thighs. Blessings on her soft little fingers which were somewhat covered by the cuffs of her uniform. Blessings on that rough gold. A wonderful little thing; her attitude was that of a pal or playmate, as is common with Midwestern young women”
― Saul Bellow, quote from Henderson the Rain King


“It was a great love," she said. "Don't let anyone tell you differently. Take good care of yourself. You'll be happy with someone else.”
― Erick Setiawan, quote from Of Bees and Mist


Interesting books

Wayward
(37.3K)
Wayward
by Blake Crouch
The Violinist's Thumb: And Other Lost Tales of Love, War, and Genius, as Written by Our Genetic Code
(7.1K)
The Violinist's Thum...
by Sam Kean
A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes
(200.6K)
A Brief History of T...
by Stephen Hawking
Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics
(6.1K)
Mr. Lemoncello's Lib...
by Chris Grabenstein
Love's Executioner: & Other Tales of Psychotherapy
(17.7K)
Love's Executioner:...
by Irvin D. Yalom
rock
(4.3K)
rock
by Anyta Sunday

About BookQuoters

BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.