“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”

“Everyone underestimates their own life. Funny thing is, in the end, all our stories...they're the same. In fact, no matter where you go in the world, there is only one important story: of youth, loss and yearning for redemption. So we tell the same story, over and over. Only the details are different. ”

“Let me tell you a secret: there is no such thing as an uninteresting lifeOne day you must tell me your full and complete story, unabridged and unexpurgated.We will set aside some time for it, and meet. It's very important.Maneck smiled. 'Why is it important?'It's extremely important because it helps to remind yourself of who you are. Then you can go forward, without fear of losing yourself in this ever-changing world.”

“Oh, Anyone can make a quilt,' she said modestly. 'It's just scraps, from the clothes you've sewn.''Yes, but the talent is in joining the pieces, the way you have.''Look,' Om pointed, 'look at that - the poplin from our very first job.''You remember,' said Dina, pleased. 'And how fast you finished those first dresses. I thought I had two geniuses.''Hungry stomachs were driving our fingers,' chuckled Ishvar.'Then came that yellow calico with orange strips. And what a hard time this young fellow gave me. Fighting and arguing about everything.''Me?Argue?Never.'.........He steeped back, pleased with himself, as though he had elucidated an intricate theorem. 'So that's the rule to remember, the whole quilt is much more important than the square'.”

“Multilate. Ha Ha Ha,' said Nusswan, avuncular and willing to pretend it was a clever joke. 'Its all relative. At the best of times, democracy is a see saw between complete chaos and tolerable confusion. You see, to make a democratic omelette you have to break a few democratic eggs. To fight fascism and other evil forces threatening our country, there is nothing wrong in taking strong measures. Especially when the foreign hand is always interfering to destabilize us. Did you know the CIA is trying to sabotage the Family Planning Programme?”

“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”

“...you have to use your failures as stepping stones to success. You have to maintain a fine balance between hope and despair. In the end it’s all a question of balance.”