Ε·±¦ΣιΐΦ

“Though Diwali celebrated light banishing darkness, Ravana was not a flat villain. And Ram was not an infallible hero.”
― Parini Shroff, The Bandit Queens

“But, mostly, Mariam is in Laila's own heart, where she shines with the bursting radiance of a thousand suns.”
― Khaled Hosseini, A Thousand Splendid Suns

“Had I lost my culture? I felt like I was constantly reminded that I was Indianβ€”at work, at a store, when talking to white friendsβ€”some part of me was always aware that I wasn’t like the other people around me. It crept into every facet of my life, whether it was someone mispronouncing my name and me grinning and acting like it didn’t bother me, or people assuming I knew every other person with the last name Desai and not understanding it was as common as Smith and in a country far more populated than America. It followed me as I moved about my day, mentally tallying whether I was positive or negative on the karma scale, because while I wasn’t sure what the afterlife entailed, in the event reincarnation was our fate, I wanted to make sure I was on the right end of it. I still understood our native language, wore the clothes when needed, and ate the food mostly without complaint. I certainly never felt like I had β€œlostβ€� it, but I wondered what made my mother think I had.”
― Mansi Shah, The Taste of Ginger

“marveling at how every Afghan story is marked by death and loss and unimaginable grief. And yet, she sees, people find a way to survive, to go on. Laila thinks of her own life and all that has happened to her, and she is astonished that she too has survived, that she is alive and sitting in this taxi listening to this man's story.”
― Khaled Hosseini, A Thousand Splendid Suns [Paperback] [May 31, 2013] KHALED HOSSEINI