“Calcutta has still not recovered from history: people mourn the past, and abhor it deeply.”

“[T]here's a thin line separating the delicate from the bloodless, in art as in food.”

“This is a little parable about cities and genres; how, while some of them lose their imaginative centrality, others take their place.”

“This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man.”

“I love you like a fat kid loves cake!”

“Hard work should be rewarded by good food.”

“To walk through unknown streets in cities where you are merely learning the language is to force yourself into a new state of hypervigilance. You are a traveler, and hopefully not just a tourist, a...”

“We who are residing in a foreign country, away from the immediate scene of action, perhaps can feel more deeply than those at home the evil effects of the present distracted condition of our country.”

“Of course no one accused the old woman of being a witch. But she was foreign. Her words percolated up the tunnel of her throat , espresso-thick and strong. Bad weather had eroded her face. Some bel...”