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Think of many things. Never place your happiness in one person’s power. Be just to yourself.

Vikram Seth

Those books of mine that are remunerative – I’m not talking about poetry here – take years to write, and I am never sure they’ll be successful. So writing is a risk in more senses than one.
VIKRAM SETH

Book Oneself Poetry Risk Success Talk Writing
I spent many years of my life as an economist and demographer. I was finally distracted by writing my novels and poetry. I’m enormously happy that was the case. I feel that with writing I have found my metier.
VIKRAM SETH

Distract Economics Feeling Happiness Life Myself Novel Writing
I want my books to sell, to be read. I’m not interested in being obscure.
VIKRAM SETH

Book Interest Myself Reading
Think of many things. Never place your happiness in one person’s power. Be just to yourself.
VIKRAM SETH

Happiness Kind Person Place Power Think Yourself
I need my natural laziness to be counteracted by obsession in order to do anything.
VIKRAM SETH

Lazy Myself Natural Need Obsession Order
I tend to follow a scattershot approach to reading a lot of very diverse subjects interest me, and I’m quite happy to read stuff on any of them.
VIKRAM SETH

Happiness Interest Myself Quite Subject
God save us from people who mean well.
VIKRAM SETH

God People Protection
I simply seem to drift. But I sort of allow the drift, because it has a kind of check – it forces me to work harder at what I’m interested in.
VIKRAM SETH

Force Hard Interest Kind Myself Simplicity Work
Good books get praised, bad books get praised. Good books get ignored, bad books get ignored.
VIKRAM SETH

Book Goodness Ignorance Praise
I often feel newspapers are just filling up space. Of course, I also know people who write really long books.
VIKRAM SETH

Book Feeling Media Myself News People Space Writing
There are plenty of good Indian writers in English, and none of us feel we are carrying the burden of being a poster boy.
VIKRAM SETH

Carry Feeling Goodness Man Writing
You can talk good ideas out of existence.
VIKRAM SETH

Existence Goodness Ideas Talk Yourself
I don’t think people give Indian society enough credit. We may not like to talk much about things but we do, basically, want to live and let live.
VIKRAM SETH

Enough Live Myself People Talk Thinking
Every object strives for its proper place. A book seeks to be near its truest admirer. Just as this helpless moth seeks to be near the candle that infatuates him.
VIKRAM SETH

Book Help Himself Object Place Proper Seek True
In spite of all temptations of belonging to many nations, I’ve remained an Indian.
VIKRAM SETH

Myself Nation Temptation
You know, I can imagine not writing a novel and writing poetry only.
VIKRAM SETH

Imagination Myself Novel Poetry Writing
To not be able to love the one you love is to have your life wrenched away.
VIKRAM SETH

Hard Time Heart Broken Life Love Yourself
I don’t pick and choose subjects or settings; they pick and choose me.
VIKRAM SETH

Choice Myself
You get your inspiration – suggestions – wherever you have to, even from your mother.
VIKRAM SETH

Inspirational Mom Yourself
Poetry, I think, intensifies the reader’s experience. If it’s a humorous facet of the story, poetry makes it more exuberant. If it’s a sad facet, poetry can make it more poignant.
VIKRAM SETH

Elegant Experience Face Poetry Reading Sad Story Thinking
And the process of reading is such a private one. I once came into a room where a friend of mine was reading one of my books, and he clicked his tongue impatiently and shooed me off.
VIKRAM SETH

Friendship Myself Patience Privacy Process Reading Room
Put your backbone where your wishbone is.
VIKRAM SETH

Dreams Inspirational Success Yourself
I am certainly not allergic to causes – particularly on subjects such as religious intolerance.
VIKRAM SETH

Myself Reason Religious Subject Tolerance
The past is the past, and he can’t make amends, only hope that the gain will outlast the damage.
VIKRAM SETH

Change Damage Hope Past
Boredom provides a stronger inclination to write than anything.
VIKRAM SETH

Boredom Strong Writing
The thing about inspiration is that it takes your mind off everything else.
VIKRAM SETH

Inspirational Mindset Yourself
And an equation is the same whether it’s written in red or green ink.
VIKRAM SETH

Equation Ink Writing

Think of many things. Never place your happiness in one person’s power. Be just to yourself.

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Think of many things. Never place your happiness in one person’s power. Be just to yourself.

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