“Mediocrity comforts the masses. Mediocrity is a likeable attribute.”

“The trouble is Indians aren't used to being prosperous. We are more comfortable dealing with poverty- after all, poverty has been the staple here, and has been for many centuries.”

“Even as I took a long, hard look at some of the obvious downsides (Q: 'What are the three things keeping India down? A: Corruption, corruption and corruption.'), I still felt the upsides (Q: 'What is so fantastic about the India story? A: People, people and people.') tilted the scales in our favor.”

“God had the males of the world neatly divided: the can-dos and the no-can-dos. To that he'd added a third category: 'the gandus'. Very few men would make it to the can-do category.”

“Indian food is like classical music raga- it takes time to build up to a crescendo.”

“I admit that I myself am far from having a complete command of every topic I touch on, but my knowledge of my subject is always greater than the interest or the understanding of my auditors. You see, there is one very good thing about mankind; the mediocre masses make very few demands of the mediocrities of a higher order, submitting stupidly and cheerfully to their guidance”

“Mediocrity is a hand-rail.”