Quotes from Rohinton Mistry

The return of solitude was not quite as Dina expected it to be. These many years I made a virtue of inescapable reality, she thought, calling it peace and quiet.

When a culture vanishes, humanity is the loser.

And the further they go, the more they'll remember, they can take it from me.

The future was becoming past, everything vanished into the void, and reaching back to grasp for something, one came out clutching - what? A bit of string, scraps of cloth, shadows of the golden time. If one could only reverse it, turn the past into future, and catch it on the wing, on its journey across the always shifting line of the present ...

You fellows are amazing,' the sweaty cook roared over the stoves. 'Everything happens to you only. Each time you come here, you have a new adventure story to entertain us

But since the world is imperfect, we must put blinders on the senses.

You know, Maneck, the human face has limited space. My mother used to say, if you fill your face with laughing, there will be no room for crying.' 'What a nice saying,' he answered

Flirting with madness is one thing. But when madness starts flirting back, its time to call the whole thing off.

the secret of survival was to balance hope and despair, to embrace change.

He placed his hand over his heart. In here, there is limitless room - happiness, kindness, sorrow, anger, friendship - everything fits in here.

I made up three lists: Candidate's Accomplishments (real and imaginary), Accusations Against Opponent (including rumours, allegations, innuendos, and lies), and Empty Promises (the more improbable, the better). Then it was merely a matter of taking various combinations of items from the three lists, throwing in some bombast, tossing in a few local references, and, there it was - a brand new speech.

Haunted by the unhappiness that appeared like an ugly creature to live in their home

She did not notice that already, in her memory, those months […] of fretting and tardiness, quarrels and crooked seams, had been transmuted into something precious, to be remembered with yearning.

Perhaps it was a knack that humans had, for cleaning up their untidy existences - a hidden survival weapon, like antibodies in the bloodstream.

Where humans were concerned, the only emotion that made sense was wonder, at their ability to endure; and sorrow, for the hopelessness of it all.

After all, our lives are but a sequence of accidents-a clanking chain of chance events. A string of choices, casual or deliberate, which add up to that one big calamity we call life.

But how firm to stand, how much to bend? Where was the line between compassion and foolishness, kindness and weakness? And that was from her position. From theirs, it might be a line between mercy and cruelty, consideration and callousness. She could draw it on this side, but they might see it on that side.

The chalks and slates fascinated them. They yearned to hold the white sticks in their hands, make little white squiggles like the other children, draw pictures of huts, cows, goats, and flowers. It was like magic, to make things appear out of nowhere.

the human face has limited space. My mother used to say, if you fill your face with laughing, there will be no room for crying.

You see, you cannot draw lines and compartments, and refuse to budge beyond them. Sometimes you have to use your failures as stepping-stones to success. You have to maintain a fine balance between hope and despair.

Right now, Dinabai's face, and Om's, and mine are all occupied. Worrying about work and money, and where to sleep tonight. But that does not mean we are not sad. It may not show on the face, but it's sitting inside here.' He placed his hand over his heart. 'In here, there is limitless room – happiness, kindness, sorrow, anger, friendship

But too long a sacrifice can make a stone of the heart, as my favourite poet has written.' 'Who's that?' 'W. B. Yeats. And I think that sometimes normal behaviour has to be suppressed, in order to carry on.' 'I'm not sure,' said Maneck. 'Wouldn't it be better to respond honestly instead of hiding it? Maybe if everyone in the country was angry or upset, it might change things, force the politicians to behave properly.

Jis met?si ? šal?, vengdamas šuns ant kelio, geltono mišr?no, nusususio ir perkarusio. Manekas dirstel?jo pro užpakalin? stikl?, ar gyvulys laimingai per?jo gatv?. J? sutraišk? už j? važiuojantis sunkvežimis.

He kept looking for new experiences, and though he was very successful at everything he attempted, it did not bring him happiness. Remember this, success alone does not bring happiness. Nor does failure have to bring unhappiness.