We do things when it is our time to do them. They do not occur to us until it is time; they cannot be resisted, once their time has come. It's a question of time, not motive. Bharati Mukherjee More Quotes by Bharati Mukherjee More Quotes From Bharati Mukherjee My life has gotten a little more complicated than my ability to describe it. That used to be the definition of madness, now it's just continuous overload. Bharati Mukherjee madness definitions littles But, Christ, there's a difference between exotic and foreign, isn't there? Exotic means you know how to use your foreignness, or you make yourself a little foreign in order to appear exotic. Real foreign is a little scary, believe me. Bharati Mukherjee real mean believe Growing up in an old-fashioned Bengali Hindu family and going to a convent school run by stern Irish nuns, I was brought up to revere rules. Without rules, there was only anarchy. Bharati Mukherjee growing-up running school In India, there are real consequences to inattention; drivers who jeopardize pedestrians can be lynched on the spot. Bharati Mukherjee inattention india real The picture of Mother Teresa that I remember from my childhood is of a short, sari-wearing woman scurrying down a red gravel path between manicured lawns. She would have in tow one or two slower-footed, sari-clad young Indian nuns. We thought her a freak. Probably wed picked up on unvoiced opinions of our Loreto nuns. Bharati Mukherjee childhood mother two Bengalis love to celebrate their language, their culture, their politics, their fierce attachment to a city that has been famously dying for more than a century. They resent with equal ferocity the reflex stereotyping that labels any civic dysfunction anywhere in the world 'another Calcutta.' Bharati Mukherjee dysfunction attachment cities A farmer is dependent on too many things outside his control; it makes for modesty. Bharati Mukherjee farmers farming modesty [On her writing agenda:] Make the familiar exotic; the exotic familiar. Bharati Mukherjee exotic agendas writing My first novel, 'The Tiger's Daughter,' embodies the loneliness I felt but could not acknowledge, even to myself, as I negotiated the no man's land between the country of my past and the continent of my present. Bharati Mukherjee daughter mother country Ancestral habits of mind can be constricting; they also confer one's individuality. Bharati Mukherjee individuality roots mind One of the early tip-offs to me about the enormous changes that were going on with being in a Bangalore house, home, where the young woman from a nearby village, who had been hired to baby sit newborn twins, suddenly said after two weeks of work: 'I'm sorry, this is too much work, I'm going to try applying for call center jobs. The pay is better.' Bharati Mukherjee sorry baby jobs As a bookish child in Calcutta, I used to thrill to the adventures of bad girls whose pursuit of happiness swept them outside the bounds of social decency. Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Emma Bovary and Anna Karenina lived large in my imagination. The naughty girls of Hollywood films flirted and knew how to drive. Bharati Mukherjee drive child imagination happiness The United States exists as a sovereign nation. 'America,' in contrast, exists as a myth of democracy and equal opportunity to live by, or as an ideal goal to reach. Bharati Mukherjee live nation democracy opportunity I truly appreciate the special qualities that America and American national myths offer me. Bharati Mukherjee me appreciate special america My mother's rules had to do with feminine deportment, so I never played hard enough to break a toy or muddy my dress. My father's rules had to do with never shaming the family by even a hint of scandal, and not providing business rivals with an opportunity to kidnap me or throw acid in my face. Bharati Mukherjee dress me family mother I have tried very hard as a novelist to say, 'Novels are about individuals and especially larger than life individuals.' Bharati Mukherjee tried say hard life I don't feel the depression the people who are always looking back to the '50s, to 'Father Knows Best' feel. I can see the coming of another glorious era. Bharati Mukherjee best depression father people I never have my CNN off, it's on the whole day. I don't want to be out of range of television. I'm constantly bombarded by information - Somalia one second, Haiti the next - I need that constant pounding. I couldn't write without television. I need to have the world in my room. Bharati Mukherjee never day information world I thought of America as Natalie Wood and Bob Wagner sprawled on the edge of a Hollywood swimming pool biting into the same red apple. Bharati Mukherjee thought pool swimming red
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