“Remember this! It is never an entire people who is cruel; it is merely individuals who exert their will on others.”
―
Sujata Massey,
The Sleeping Dictionary
“Crockery broke and fabric frayed. The delicate things I cared about perished, while the hard things like swords survived.” ― Sujata Massey, The Samurai's Daughter
“We worship differently, but we are not so far apart in our hearts,” ― Sujata Massey, The Widows of Malabar Hill
“She had been meant to die, yet she’d cut her way out of that fate and back to the world she loved.” ― Sujata Massey, The Widows of Malabar Hill
“The boundaries communities drew around themselves seemed to narrow their lives—whether it was women and men, Hindus and Muslims, or Parsis and everyone else.” ― Sujata Massey, The Widows of Malabar Hill
“She turned her attention from Maharani Putlabai to Mirabai. Why was the younger queen on a chair and not a cushion? Perhaps it was a statement of her middling position—that she was not high enough for the zenana throne, but she was respected enough not to be somewhat elevated.” ― Sujata Massey, The Satapur Moonstone
“off. Next I moved on to scrutinize the aged plaster walls near the desk. Beside a museum calendar featuring old woodblock prints was a taped-up paper that looked like a printed reproduction of an” ― Sujata Massey, The Kizuna Coast
“But before the friends settled on a wrought-iron bench with distance from others, they stopped to buy their kulfi. Alice took pistachio, and Perveen had plain cardamom. There was a brief squabble about paying the vendor, which Perveen won. The cold, sweet ice cream was a most comforting taste after all the tension of the day.” ― Sujata Massey, The Bombay Prince
“It was an odd habit, I thought, this insistence on driving a car in cities with public transportation.” ― Sujata Massey, The Pearl Diver: A Novel
“Is this idea of yours to help the Cuttingmasters, or is it really to advance your career?” With a knowing smile, she said, “Is there any reason I can’t do both? That is what you have been doing all your life. Ambition is not a dirty word for men.” ― Sujata Massey, The Bombay Prince
“No. I am retired from the post office for the last ten years. Most afternoons, it is my daily routine to arrive at three and leave at six.” “Your routine seems very pleasant.” Perveen imagined what her life might be like when she was alone and in her seventies.” ― Sujata Massey, The Bombay Prince
“The ordinary woman had perhaps been so busy that the veiled newspaper warnings of famine had not penetrated to her; but perhaps that was natural when the authorities kept repeating, “There is plenty of rice. Plenty of rice.” Perhaps there was plenty of rice, but in that case, who, women were beginning to ask, who were these people flocking into the towns and the city? Men and women and unclothed children, all with scarecrow legs and arms and ribs, and strange sunk eyes and swollen stomachs? Why did they settle in swarms on the pavements, round the rubbish bins, sleeping there through the nights, covering the streets with filth and cess? Why did no one come to move away? Why, rather did more and more come every day?” ― Sujata Massey, The Sleeping Dictionary
“She was taking her own liberties with him. Was this liberation?” ― Sujata Massey, The Widows of Malabar Hill
“She’d started out the morning hating all young men. Then she’d become so angry with her law professor that she’d quit school. Finally, she’d gone to eat rice with a man she didn’t know.” ― Sujata Massey, The Widows of Malabar Hill
“There was a rhythm to the process. First, a pot of equal parts water and milk was put on the hob. To this, Camellia added a few spoons of Assamese tea, two slices of ginger, and a fistful of fresh lemongrass leaves and mint. After arriving at a gentle boil, a tablespoon of sugar went in, and the brew cooked for five minutes.” ― Sujata Massey, The Bombay Prince
“the Indian-born Zoroastrians. Although Parsis accounted for just 6 percent of Bombay’s total inhabitants, they constituted one-third of its lawyers.” ― Sujata Massey, The Widows of Malabar Hill
“Her father had thought it too much to throw in the faces of clients who needed a gentle introduction to the prospect of female representation.” ― Sujata Massey, The Widows of Malabar Hill
“You crossed the street and sought him out! Tell me, is that a European behavior you learned at Oxford?” ― Sujata Massey, The Widows of Malabar Hill
“Isn't that the restaurant cookbook you used in Japan - the book with the infamous quinoa tambale recipe?I can't believe you remember that. Of course I do! No quinoa available in Japan so you had me smuggle a baggie of it from New Zealand.Don't talk like that [I whispered, as I saw heads turning everywhere.] Even though this is California, not everyone knows what quinoa is. Someone might think it is contraband - No, the truth is it's a biological weapon. [Hugh exploded in great honking laughter.” ― Sujata Massey, The Samurai's Daughter
“Crockery broke and fabric frayed. The delicate things I cared about perished, while the hard things like swords survived.” ― Sujata Massey, The Samurai's Daughter
“We worship differently, but we are not so far apart in our hearts,” ― Sujata Massey, The Widows of Malabar Hill
“She had been meant to die, yet she’d cut her way out of that fate and back to the world she loved.” ― Sujata Massey, The Widows of Malabar Hill
“The boundaries communities drew around themselves seemed to narrow their lives—whether it was women and men, Hindus and Muslims, or Parsis and everyone else.” ― Sujata Massey, The Widows of Malabar Hill
“She turned her attention from Maharani Putlabai to Mirabai. Why was the younger queen on a chair and not a cushion? Perhaps it was a statement of her middling position—that she was not high enough for the zenana throne, but she was respected enough not to be somewhat elevated.” ― Sujata Massey, The Satapur Moonstone
“off. Next I moved on to scrutinize the aged plaster walls near the desk. Beside a museum calendar featuring old woodblock prints was a taped-up paper that looked like a printed reproduction of an” ― Sujata Massey, The Kizuna Coast
“But before the friends settled on a wrought-iron bench with distance from others, they stopped to buy their kulfi. Alice took pistachio, and Perveen had plain cardamom. There was a brief squabble about paying the vendor, which Perveen won. The cold, sweet ice cream was a most comforting taste after all the tension of the day.” ― Sujata Massey, The Bombay Prince
“It was an odd habit, I thought, this insistence on driving a car in cities with public transportation.” ― Sujata Massey, The Pearl Diver: A Novel
“Is this idea of yours to help the Cuttingmasters, or is it really to advance your career?” With a knowing smile, she said, “Is there any reason I can’t do both? That is what you have been doing all your life. Ambition is not a dirty word for men.” ― Sujata Massey, The Bombay Prince
“No. I am retired from the post office for the last ten years. Most afternoons, it is my daily routine to arrive at three and leave at six.” “Your routine seems very pleasant.” Perveen imagined what her life might be like when she was alone and in her seventies.” ― Sujata Massey, The Bombay Prince
“The ordinary woman had perhaps been so busy that the veiled newspaper warnings of famine had not penetrated to her; but perhaps that was natural when the authorities kept repeating, “There is plenty of rice. Plenty of rice.” Perhaps there was plenty of rice, but in that case, who, women were beginning to ask, who were these people flocking into the towns and the city? Men and women and unclothed children, all with scarecrow legs and arms and ribs, and strange sunk eyes and swollen stomachs? Why did they settle in swarms on the pavements, round the rubbish bins, sleeping there through the nights, covering the streets with filth and cess? Why did no one come to move away? Why, rather did more and more come every day?” ― Sujata Massey, The Sleeping Dictionary
“She was taking her own liberties with him. Was this liberation?” ― Sujata Massey, The Widows of Malabar Hill
“She’d started out the morning hating all young men. Then she’d become so angry with her law professor that she’d quit school. Finally, she’d gone to eat rice with a man she didn’t know.” ― Sujata Massey, The Widows of Malabar Hill
“There was a rhythm to the process. First, a pot of equal parts water and milk was put on the hob. To this, Camellia added a few spoons of Assamese tea, two slices of ginger, and a fistful of fresh lemongrass leaves and mint. After arriving at a gentle boil, a tablespoon of sugar went in, and the brew cooked for five minutes.” ― Sujata Massey, The Bombay Prince
“the Indian-born Zoroastrians. Although Parsis accounted for just 6 percent of Bombay’s total inhabitants, they constituted one-third of its lawyers.” ― Sujata Massey, The Widows of Malabar Hill
“Her father had thought it too much to throw in the faces of clients who needed a gentle introduction to the prospect of female representation.” ― Sujata Massey, The Widows of Malabar Hill
“You crossed the street and sought him out! Tell me, is that a European behavior you learned at Oxford?” ― Sujata Massey, The Widows of Malabar Hill
“Isn't that the restaurant cookbook you used in Japan - the book with the infamous quinoa tambale recipe?I can't believe you remember that. Of course I do! No quinoa available in Japan so you had me smuggle a baggie of it from New Zealand.Don't talk like that [I whispered, as I saw heads turning everywhere.] Even though this is California, not everyone knows what quinoa is. Someone might think it is contraband - No, the truth is it's a biological weapon. [Hugh exploded in great honking laughter.” ― Sujata Massey, The Samurai's Daughter
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