Quotes from Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

I took a little break after 'The Palace of Illusions' to clear my head.

I've been interested in dreams myself for a long time, and it's a big part of the Indian tradition, especially where I was brought up in Calcutta in my family, which is quite traditional.

The ancient world is always accessible, no matter what culture you come from. I remember when I was growing up in India and I read the 'Iliad' and the 'Odyssey.'

I write in my study, where I also have my prayer altar. I believe that keeps me focused and gives me positive energy and reminds me that I'm merely the instrument of greater creative forces.

In many immigrant families, the parents are just talking and talking about the home country until the children are like, 'Oh, don't tell us any more.'

It's very important to balance things; it's imperative to do something for the society, and women in particular, and help women who aren't in position to help themselves.

To achieve important things, we have to sacrifice what's important to us. That's an idea that's very central to Indian thinking.

I like being myself. Maybe just slimmer, with a few less wrinkles.

As a writer, I have to show complexities. Through my writings, I hope to bring out people in different situations and not just one-dimensional beings.

I write best late at night, when everyone in the house has gone to bed. There's something magical about that late night silence that appeals to me.

I interviewed a lot of people in India, and I asked my mother to send me a lot of Bengali books on the tradition of dream interpretation. It's a real way for me to remember how people think about things in my culture.

I was very fortunate that all my holidays I'd spend with my grandfather, experiencing a much more traditional way of life and listening to these wonderful stories, which I now feel are such an important part of Indian thinking.

I grew up in Kolkata in a traditional family. We had friends who lived in mansions just like the one in 'Oleander Girl.' Growing up, I was fascinated by the old house and the old Bengal lifestyle.

I had friends who died in the 9/11 tragedy; some of my friends lost family members in the aftermath of Godhra.

I came from a traditional family, and it was an exciting but challenging transition to move to America and live on my own. The world around me was suddenly so different.

Because ultimately only the witness -- and not the actors -- knows the truth (Vyasa to Draupadi)

I find that it's really important for me to imagine characters and situations. That allows me a lot of freedom.

It's different for different people, and for a woman it's important to look as good she wants to look. But you don't need to do it for someone else or to impress some male out there. You do it for your own sake. You wear what makes you feel good, you put make-up and jewellery - whatever gives you self-confidence.

I liked his voice, rich and unself-conscious even when he forgot words and hummed to fill in the gap. What I didn't understand, I imagined, and thus it became a love song.

My favorite part was when my grandfather and I would make a special trip to Firpo's Bakery for red and green Christmas cookies and fruitcake studded with the sweetest cherries I've ever tasted. Usually Firpo's was too expensive for our slim budget, but Christmas mornings they gave a discount to any children who came in.

There is no conflict in looking good. You buy things you need, and then you do something good for society.

Love comes like lightning, and disappears the same way. If you are lucky, it strikes you right. If not, you'll spend your life yearning for a man you can't have.

I am buoyant and expansive and uncontainable--but I always was so, only I never knew it!

Each day has a color, a smell.