“There are different reasons why people write: for themselves, or for other writers, or to get prizes, or keeping an audience in mind. In my case, it felt really nice that a certain type of readership read the book and liked it, even though my readership is not as wide as certain popular books.” PeopleWritingMindBookDifferentReasonCertainFeltCasesAudienceNiceTypeWideReason WhyPrizeReally NiceReadershipPopular Book Author:Sarnath Banerjee
“I want to make sense of things, to understand the world, but my work is never really instructional. I have no wisdom to impart or give, so I think my dream readers would be people who just use the book as an excuse to get into their own cycle of thoughts. The book is just like a map. It's just a jotting-down of things that you can interpret in your own ways.” PeopleThinkingWorldWayWantGivingBookUseDreamWould BeReaderExcuseMake SenseCyclesMapsImpart Author:Sarnath Banerjee
“People are infinitely more interesting than characters that I come up with. Because the characters I come up with are basically combinations of people I've met. Combinations. You select certain details, that's all.” PeopleCharacterCertainInterestingMetsCome UpDetailsCombinationSelect Author:Sarnath Banerjee
“People are interested in relevant stories. In big events. But I'm not interested in big things; I'm interested in the smaller details of life.” PeopleStoriesBigsEventsDetailsRelevantNot InterestedBig ThingsBig EventsDetails Of Life Author:Sarnath Banerjee
“I think it's really good not to get published. It sounds crazy but it's true. People want to get published very soon, but the moment that happens, you lose a bit of your originality. Once you publish, you are always doing things made-to-order. You stop being a weaver and become a tailor. You are tailoring things to suit other people's fashion.” PeopleThinkingWantMadeMomentsHappensOrderBitsSoundLosesCrazyFashionSuitsOriginalityPublishTailorsWeaversTrue People Author:Sarnath Banerjee
“I feel history is more of a story than a lesson. I know this idea of presentism: this idea of constantly evoking the past to justify the present moment. A lot of people will tell you, "history is how we got here." And learning from the lessons of history. But that's imperfect. If you learn from history you can do things for all the wrong reasons.” PeopleIfsKnowsFeelsIdeasReasonMomentsStoriesPastCan DoLessonsJustifyPresent MomentImperfectWrong Reasons Author:Sarnath Banerjee
“I'm interested in history because it's a discipline that requires a lot of effort from the imagination. You need to put in a lot of imaginative effort to figure out how people lived in an era that is not yours. And in that understanding of people from a different era, I feel, is an important gateway into humanity. Because you understand human behavior. In order to understand humanity, history is important.” PeopleNeedsFeelsHumansImportantDifferentHumanityOrderUnderstandingImaginationEffortFiguresDisciplineBehaviorErasHuman BehaviorImaginativeGatewaysDifferent Eras Author:Sarnath Banerjee
“I'm not interested in, and not capable of, direct politics. What I can do - I try to figure out the underlying principles. I'm interested in the psychological forces that divide Indian people as a nation.” PeopleTryingI CanForceNationsCan DoPrinciplesFiguresCapableDirectPsychologicalIndianDividesNot Interested Author:Sarnath Banerjee
“I find it very difficult to relate to India's new middle class. This very patriotic and neoliberal group that mixes religion and economics together. I find them very irksome. Very difficult to like. They are privileged, but they don't want to talk about their privilege. It's difficult to find poetry amongst these people. Some sort of hidden spirit of beauty.” PeopleWantTogetherSpiritDifficultClassGroupsMiddleEconomicsIndiaPrivilegeRelateMiddle ClassPatrioticPrivileged Author:Sarnath Banerjee
“The most important part of a city is its people. In fact, people for me are like little cities. When you meet someone, it's like you've found a new city to explore. You take a tram, visit the museums and operas and cafes.” PeopleLittlesImportantFactsFoundCitiesLike YouMuseumsOperaCafesTrams Author:Sarnath Banerjee
