“Courage wasn't only fighting your circumstances; sometimes making peace with your circumstances required more courage.”
―
Sonali Dev,
A Distant Heart
“Ma’s pet peeve was how the Western world misunderstood the theory of karma. “I mean it’s the Bhagavad Gita they’re bastardizing. What is all this ‘karma’s a bitch’ nonsense!” Ma loved to say. The entire “what goes around comes around” thing was a backward view of karma. Karma was simply Sanskrit for action, and the theory was that your actions are the only thing under your control, as opposed to the fruits of your actions, which are not. And since actions always bear fruit, you were better off focusing your energy on your own actions, rather than worrying about the results you wanted them to produce.” ― Sonali Dev, Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors
“The fact that you have the things you have isn’t wrong. Not understanding what you have is.” ― Sonali Dev, Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors
“Deserve was such a strange word, throwing out both blame and accolades with equal mercilessness. Society’s skewed scale for assigning a value to human beings. How many times had he been judged and found lacking? Was there ever a way to measure what anyone deserved? Or was it just another way to pretend that the randomness of the universe made sense?” ― Sonali Dev, Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors
“It doesn't matter what my life has been like, Samir. What matters is hope. If you don't believe in a happy ending, what are you living for?” ― Sonali Dev, A Bollywood Affair
“The syntax of prejudice—threaded into conversation with the perfect pauses and facial expressions—was like ciphers and spy codes. The meaning clear to those it was meant for. To everyone else, it was harmless scribbles. Easy enough to deny.” ― Sonali Dev, Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors
“It wasn't like he wasn't capable of happiness. It was almost as if he held himself away from it just the slightest bit. He felt undeserving of it, mistrustful of it, and the unfairness of that made her want to shake some sense into his stubborn head.” ― Sonali Dev, A Bollywood Affair
“Happiness seeps into me when you're around, Rico. Without invitation, without notice, joy finds me. Being around you is being alive, it's breathing, it's home.” ― Sonali Dev, Recipe for Persuasion
“War is a violent thing but its purpose is often to protect your own, and to ultimately bring peace. Sometimes you have to go to war to move forward and past suffering, to get closer to our natural state as humans. That of equilibrium and well-being."Trisha simply nodded. The only time Esha ever lectured was when she'd seen something and she was trying to tell you what she'd seen."When it's time to fight, it's okay to fight," Esha said. "Even if sometimes your biggest enemies may be hiding inside you. Not everyone who fights you is your enemy.” ― Sonali Dev, Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors
“I want you, exactly the way you are today, the way you'll be tomorrow, and fifty years from now. And I want you to want me enough to deal with whatever happens. I can't promise you'll be okay. But without you I will never be okay. And I know that without me you will never be okay either.” ― Sonali Dev, The Bollywood Bride
“She could hardly tell him it was because the child had been born a girl, destined from birth to be bound and gagged, to never be free. And she seemed to have sensed it far sooner than most. Sadly, the poor fool seemed to believe that she could actually do something about it.” ― Sonali Dev, A Bollywood Affair
“Listen very carefully. Because I'm only going to lay this out for you once. I'm no longer the easy prey I once was and if you go up against me I will make sure you end up behind bars. You've fraudulently pocketed the money from the video. Our lawyers already have a criminal suit against you ready to go. Unless you're particularly keen on jail, you will leave my family alone, and you will withdraw the video and return all that money to the people you stole it from."Julia opened her mouth, but Trisha held up her hand and she closed it. "And if you do one thing to harm DJ"- because suddenly Trisha was sure Julia had something on DJ; her nineties-Bollywood-plot theory didn't seem so farfetched- "I will make sure that every one of the families you've preyed on to make money off their tragedies gets together and sues your ass until every penny you've ever leeched is gone. Now get out of my office. Get out of my building- which by the way is private property. Soliciting business here is illegal. So the next time you think of setting foot here, know that I will have security throw you out on your cowardly, pathetic ass.” ― Sonali Dev, Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors
“the child had been born a girl, destined from birth to be bound and gagged, to never be free. And she seemed to have sensed it far sooner than most. Sadly, the poor fool seemed to believe that she could actually do something about it.” ― Sonali Dev, A Bollywood Affair
“Dancing is the real plastic surgery," Uma loved to say. "It's what keeps you young.” ― Sonali Dev, The Bollywood Bride
“You're already breaking your promise. A promise isn't what you say. It's what you do.” ― Sonali Dev, Incense and Sensibility
“There's a difference between benevolence and stupidity and even God knows it.” ― Sonali Dev, A Bollywood Affair
“She felt a little bit worse - and a little bit better - than she had when she got here. Maybe that was the true meaning of going home.” ― Sonali Dev, Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors
“One thing he'd say about her- she blushed like no one else he'd ever met. Her gorgeous skin went from warm brown to an almost fiery pink. It didn't help that Rico knew she was blushing with her entire body right now. He had loved to chase that blush across her skin.” ― Sonali Dev, Recipe for Persuasion
“He tried to catch her eye, but all he got was the slightest nod before she looked away. He had no idea how he knew there was gratitude in that nod, but he did. The loose lock of hair that always seemed to escape the confines of her bun fell across her cheek.I want to be your hair.How many times had he said that to her? Not once had she needed to ask him what he meant. Her hair- midnight spun into strands- was always kissing her cheeks, playing with her collarbones, caressing her skin.” ― Sonali Dev, Recipe for Persuasion
“Ma’s pet peeve was how the Western world misunderstood the theory of karma. “I mean it’s the Bhagavad Gita they’re bastardizing. What is all this ‘karma’s a bitch’ nonsense!” Ma loved to say. The entire “what goes around comes around” thing was a backward view of karma. Karma was simply Sanskrit for action, and the theory was that your actions are the only thing under your control, as opposed to the fruits of your actions, which are not. And since actions always bear fruit, you were better off focusing your energy on your own actions, rather than worrying about the results you wanted them to produce.” ― Sonali Dev, Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors
“The fact that you have the things you have isn’t wrong. Not understanding what you have is.” ― Sonali Dev, Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors
“Deserve was such a strange word, throwing out both blame and accolades with equal mercilessness. Society’s skewed scale for assigning a value to human beings. How many times had he been judged and found lacking? Was there ever a way to measure what anyone deserved? Or was it just another way to pretend that the randomness of the universe made sense?” ― Sonali Dev, Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors
“It doesn't matter what my life has been like, Samir. What matters is hope. If you don't believe in a happy ending, what are you living for?” ― Sonali Dev, A Bollywood Affair
“The syntax of prejudice—threaded into conversation with the perfect pauses and facial expressions—was like ciphers and spy codes. The meaning clear to those it was meant for. To everyone else, it was harmless scribbles. Easy enough to deny.” ― Sonali Dev, Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors
“It wasn't like he wasn't capable of happiness. It was almost as if he held himself away from it just the slightest bit. He felt undeserving of it, mistrustful of it, and the unfairness of that made her want to shake some sense into his stubborn head.” ― Sonali Dev, A Bollywood Affair
“Happiness seeps into me when you're around, Rico. Without invitation, without notice, joy finds me. Being around you is being alive, it's breathing, it's home.” ― Sonali Dev, Recipe for Persuasion
“War is a violent thing but its purpose is often to protect your own, and to ultimately bring peace. Sometimes you have to go to war to move forward and past suffering, to get closer to our natural state as humans. That of equilibrium and well-being."Trisha simply nodded. The only time Esha ever lectured was when she'd seen something and she was trying to tell you what she'd seen."When it's time to fight, it's okay to fight," Esha said. "Even if sometimes your biggest enemies may be hiding inside you. Not everyone who fights you is your enemy.” ― Sonali Dev, Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors
“I want you, exactly the way you are today, the way you'll be tomorrow, and fifty years from now. And I want you to want me enough to deal with whatever happens. I can't promise you'll be okay. But without you I will never be okay. And I know that without me you will never be okay either.” ― Sonali Dev, The Bollywood Bride
“She could hardly tell him it was because the child had been born a girl, destined from birth to be bound and gagged, to never be free. And she seemed to have sensed it far sooner than most. Sadly, the poor fool seemed to believe that she could actually do something about it.” ― Sonali Dev, A Bollywood Affair
“Listen very carefully. Because I'm only going to lay this out for you once. I'm no longer the easy prey I once was and if you go up against me I will make sure you end up behind bars. You've fraudulently pocketed the money from the video. Our lawyers already have a criminal suit against you ready to go. Unless you're particularly keen on jail, you will leave my family alone, and you will withdraw the video and return all that money to the people you stole it from."Julia opened her mouth, but Trisha held up her hand and she closed it. "And if you do one thing to harm DJ"- because suddenly Trisha was sure Julia had something on DJ; her nineties-Bollywood-plot theory didn't seem so farfetched- "I will make sure that every one of the families you've preyed on to make money off their tragedies gets together and sues your ass until every penny you've ever leeched is gone. Now get out of my office. Get out of my building- which by the way is private property. Soliciting business here is illegal. So the next time you think of setting foot here, know that I will have security throw you out on your cowardly, pathetic ass.” ― Sonali Dev, Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors
“the child had been born a girl, destined from birth to be bound and gagged, to never be free. And she seemed to have sensed it far sooner than most. Sadly, the poor fool seemed to believe that she could actually do something about it.” ― Sonali Dev, A Bollywood Affair
“Dancing is the real plastic surgery," Uma loved to say. "It's what keeps you young.” ― Sonali Dev, The Bollywood Bride
“You're already breaking your promise. A promise isn't what you say. It's what you do.” ― Sonali Dev, Incense and Sensibility
“There's a difference between benevolence and stupidity and even God knows it.” ― Sonali Dev, A Bollywood Affair
“She felt a little bit worse - and a little bit better - than she had when she got here. Maybe that was the true meaning of going home.” ― Sonali Dev, Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors
“One thing he'd say about her- she blushed like no one else he'd ever met. Her gorgeous skin went from warm brown to an almost fiery pink. It didn't help that Rico knew she was blushing with her entire body right now. He had loved to chase that blush across her skin.” ― Sonali Dev, Recipe for Persuasion
“He tried to catch her eye, but all he got was the slightest nod before she looked away. He had no idea how he knew there was gratitude in that nod, but he did. The loose lock of hair that always seemed to escape the confines of her bun fell across her cheek.I want to be your hair.How many times had he said that to her? Not once had she needed to ask him what he meant. Her hair- midnight spun into strands- was always kissing her cheeks, playing with her collarbones, caressing her skin.” ― Sonali Dev, Recipe for Persuasion
