Shantaram : Revisted

Few lines from SHANTARAM ...

About Love...

"The ancient Sanskrit legends speak of destined love,a Karmik connection between souls that are fated to meet and collide and enrapture one another. The legends say that the loved one is instantly recognized because she is loved in every gesture,every expression of thought,every movement,every sound,and every mood that prays in her mind. The legends say that we know her by her wings - the wings that only we can see - and because wanting her kills every other desire of love".

"The same legends also carry warnings that such fated love may, sometimes, be the possession and the obsession of one, and the only one, of the two souls twinned by destiny. But the wisdom, in one sense is opposite of love. love survives in us precisely because it isn't wise".

About India...

"The simple and astonishing truth about India and Indian people is that when you go there, and deal with them, your heart always guide more wisely than your head. There is nowhere else in this world where that's quite so true".

About past...

The past reflects eternally between two mirrors - the bright mirror of words and deeds, and the dark one, full of things we didn't do or say".

Thoughts of author as Karla(female character) stares at him...

"I liked the way she held my eyes until the precise moment when it stopped being comfortable, and then smiled, softening the assail, but never looked away".

About his(author's situation at one time...

No-one, and nothing, could really hurt me. No-one and nothing, could really make me happy. I was tough, which is probably the saddest thing you can say about a man".

Discussion between Author and Karla

Karla: Yes (i like you), you are a good listener. That's dangerous, because it's so hard to resist. Being listened to - really listened to - is the second-best thing in the world.
Author: What's the first best thing?
Karla: Everybody knows that. The best thing in the world is power.
Author: Oh, is it? What about sex?
Karla: No.Apart from the biology,sex is all about power. That's why it is such a rush.

Author's view about best thing in the world

"I don't know. May be just the freedom to say NO. If you've got that much freedom, you really don't need any more".

Karla's view about freedom

"it's funny, but i think it's more important to have the freedom to say YES".

Karla's view about friendship

"Friendship is something that gets harder to understand, every damn year of life. Friendship is like a kind of algebra test that nobody passes. In my worst moods, I think the best you can say is that a friend is anyone you don't despise".