I saw something I hadn't realized before: words wasted energy. I would use my strength instead to nurture my belief that my life would unfurl uniquely. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni More Quotes by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni More Quotes From Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni Chili, spice of red Thursday, which is the day of reckoning. Day which invites us to pick up the sack of our existence and shake it inside out. Day of suicide, day of murder. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni spices thursday suicide Your childhood hunger is the one that never leaves you. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni hunger childhood Fennel, which is the spice for Wednesdays, the day of averages, of middle-aged people. . . . Fennel . . . smelling of changes to come. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni spices average people The dream is not a drug but a way. Listen to where it can take you. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni drug dream way Everytime i have turned the page he re-enters my life as awkward as postscript Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni awkward pages Strong women, when respected, make the whole society stronger. One must be careful with such rapid changes, though, and make an effort to preserve, at the same time, the positive traditions of Indian culture. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni women time positive culture 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. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni red green christmas children I was caught on the freeway for hours when Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans. The entire city had to be evacuated. I observed lives threatened by catastrophes and a whole range of behaviour. What could people do during a crisis? Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni city new crisis people I like being myself. Maybe just slimmer, with a few less wrinkles. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni myself like being-myself wrinkles I took a little break after 'The Palace of Illusions' to clear my head. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni palace head clear break I work very hard at creating complex characters, a mix of positives and negatives. They are all flawed. I believe flaws are almost universal, and they help us understand, sympathise and, paradoxically, feel closer to such characters. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni feel understand work believe 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. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni woman good you people I feel I can express the nuances of the Bengali lifestyle and ways of thinking better than other cultures. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni feel better lifestyle thinking There is no conflict in looking good. You buy things you need, and then you do something good for society. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni looking good you society I have a variety of readers from across the diasporic community, not just from South Asia. I like to write large stories that include all of us - about common and cohesive experiences which bring together many immigrants, their culture shocks, transformations, concepts of home and self in a new land. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni community together home culture I came into Chicago in winter - I'd never been so cold in my life! I was very homesick, and a poor student at that time. America seemed so different and so filled with amazing things - and almost all of them were out of my reach. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni my-life winter time life 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. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni lifestyle friends family girl Unlike novels with a hero or two heroines, in 'One Amazing Thing,' all the characters tell stories they've never told anyone before, so all the voices become equally important. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni amazing never important hero We even had a different word for Christmas in my language, Bengali: Baradin, which literally meant 'big day.' Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni big day language christmas In Western dream interpretation, it's often connected to psychotherapy and looking at the personality and what's going on in your life. In Eastern dream telling, many times there's this idea of a special gift. And without this gift, you could study and study, but you'd never really become an effective dream teller. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni gift you personality life
