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Karan Mahajan Quotes

Powerful Karan Mahajan for Daily Growth

About Karan Mahajan

Karan Mahajan is an acclaimed Indian-American novelist and short story writer, known for his thought-provoking narratives that explore themes of identity, displacement, and modernity. Born in Delhi, India, in 1984, he spent his formative years in the bustling metropolis before moving to the United States at the age of seventeen to attend Bard College. Mahajan's experiences straddling two cultures have greatly influenced his work, as seen in his debut novel, "Family Planning" (2011), which delves into the complexities and contradictions of modern Indian society through the lens of a dysfunctional Delhi family. His second novel, "The Association of Small Bombs" (2016), won the National Book Award for Fiction in 2016 and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. The novel centers around a series of bomb blasts in a marketplace in India and their aftermath, showcasing Mahajan's ability to weave together multiple narratives with subtlety and empathy. Mahajan's short stories have appeared in prestigious literary journals such as The New Yorker, Granta, and A Public Space. His writing is characterized by a sharp, incisive wit and an unflinching gaze at the human condition, making him a standout voice in contemporary literature. In addition to his work as a novelist, Mahajan has taught creative writing at various institutions including Bard College and Johns Hopkins University. He currently lives in Washington D.C., where he continues to write, teach, and contribute essays and reviews to publications such as The New York Times and The Guardian.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"The world is wide and I will go anywhere, alone if need be."

This quote conveys a spirit of adventure, independence, and resilience. It suggests that the speaker is ready to explore the vastness of the world, regardless of whether they have companions or not. The statement underscores an individual's determination to experience life fully, seize opportunities, and embark on personal growth journeys, even if it means facing challenges alone. This quote serves as a powerful reminder that there is much to be gained from stepping out of one's comfort zone and embracing the unknown.

"The past is a foreign country, they do things differently there."

This quote suggests that the past is fundamentally different from our present, much like traveling to a foreign country. The customs, beliefs, and experiences in the past are distinct from our current reality. We cannot fully understand or relate to it without acknowledging these differences. It serves as a reminder that we should approach history with an open mind and perspective, recognizing that the values and norms of yesterday may not align with those of today.

"In a city of 17 million, every story becomes everyone's story."

This quote by Karan Mahajan suggests that in a densely populated city like one with 17 million inhabitants, individual stories intertwine so intricately that they transcend personal boundaries, making each narrative a shared experience among the population as a whole. It underscores the interconnectedness and communal nature of life in such an urban environment.

"Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans."

This quote by Karan Mahajan emphasizes that unexpected events, often referred to as life, can occur during our attempts to follow a predetermined or planned path. It suggests that we should be flexible and open to the unpredictable twists and turns of life, understanding that these moments may lead us to growth and experiences beyond our initial expectations. In essence, it encourages us to appreciate the spontaneous and serendipitous moments that make up our lives, even when they deviate from our planned course.

"To remember is to be trapped in time; to forget is to be free."

This quote implies that remembering events or experiences from the past, while often beneficial for learning and personal growth, can also constrain us, as it anchors us to specific moments in our history rather than allowing us to move forward freely. Forgetting, on the other hand, symbolizes letting go of the past, thus enabling a sense of liberation and freedom. However, both remembering and forgetting serve important roles in shaping our identity and guiding us through life.

American policies toward Asians reached a nadir in 1924, with the implementation of a law that sought 'to preserve the idea of American homogeneity' and denied admission to the country to most non-whites. Immigration from Asia was banned completely, with the establishment of an 'Asiatic Barred Zone.'

- Karan Mahajan

Country, Idea, Asians, Nadir

I lived in Brooklyn from 2007 to 2012 but for the last few years have resided in Austin, Texas, where my world - especially the world of downtown - is predominantly white.

- Karan Mahajan

Texas, Last, Downtown, Austin

When a certain swathe of India's population considers the country's ancient past, it doesn't see a country fragmented into kingdoms, savaged by caste divisions, and mired in poverty; rather, what's envisioned is a vast, unified Hindu empire stretching from Kashmir to the Indian tip at Kanyakumari.

- Karan Mahajan

Country, Rather, Mired, Caste

Muslims remain the most convenient target for prejudice in a city like Delhi, which is far more ghettoized than Bombay or Bangalore, for example.

- Karan Mahajan

City, Like, Which, Convenient

In the five months I wrote the final draft of 'The Association of Small Bombs,' I never fell out of the book. The world was real to me: plausible and powerful.

- Karan Mahajan

Small, Months, Wrote, Plausible

Yashpal, writing in the nineteen-fifties, sought to indict this culture of men, Hindus and Muslims alike, who value their freedom and power over the rights and lives of women.

- Karan Mahajan

Over, Lives, Sought, Hindus

I tend to see my characters from inside and outside at once; this is a technique I use to retain a slight distance. It means my characters can act in unexpected ways on two axes: physical and mental. It isn't just, 'I thought this and then I did this,' which is the technique of the modern psychological novel.

- Karan Mahajan

Distance, Use, Psychological, Axes

We discount the physical, when, in fact, much of life is physical. People's personalities are partly formed by, or in response to, how they take up space; the physical mask has some relation, howsoever obscure, to the mental work happening underneath.

- Karan Mahajan

Fact, Mental, Some, Discount

The Hindu nationalists see a religion near perfection save for the tampering of Muslims and Christians. So they fall upon these groups, rather than try to reform their own practices by drawing on India's sophisticated philosophical traditions.

- Karan Mahajan

Own, Sophisticated, Rather, Practices

There's a hustling, but also a self-centred vibe you can get from people in Delhi.

- Karan Mahajan

Vibe, Get, Hustling, Delhi

In Delhi, where I grew up, commerce is brusque. You don't ask each other how your day has been. You might not even smile. I'm not saying this is ideal - it's how it is. You're tied together by a transaction. The customer doesn't tremble before complaining about how cold his food is.

- Karan Mahajan

Other, Been, Before, Delhi

I remember returning to Bangalore after a few months of travel and seeing it as a first-world city, like New York or San Francisco. This may be obvious to some people, but I grew up in Delhi, and I had no experience of how someone from a 'Tier 2' city may view a 'Tier 1' city. You really do emigrate between worlds when you come from those towns.

- Karan Mahajan

I Remember, Some, Francisco, Delhi

When I lived in Delhi, it was burdened with so many futures - fast roads, malls, flyovers - that one felt almost obliged to be hopeful. Now that hope has diminished, you can feel the city going into a frenzy to reinvent itself. I miss living there.

- Karan Mahajan

City, Reinvent, Almost, Delhi

Apparently, the city of Delhi is a 'character' in my novels. I'd argue that it's a ... city... in my novels.

- Karan Mahajan

Character, City, Apparently, Delhi

I think that a lot of terrorists have been middle class and, more surprisingly, many of them have been people who were not directly affected by the things they're angry about.

- Karan Mahajan

Think, Been, I Think, Surprisingly

Cobain the writer is funny and self-aware and snotty with a knack for off-the-cuff profundity. Remarking to a friend that his band will be called 'Nirvana,' he scribbles next to it the words 'Oooh eerie mystical doom.'

- Karan Mahajan

Next, Profundity, Nirvana, Eerie

There is not one New York but thousands - mixed-up conurbations and microclimates with their own internal logics and charms, dreams and juxtapositions, faces and tongues.

- Karan Mahajan

New, Own, Internal, Tongues

I think there is a chance that Indian writers in America will start producing very interesting books in the years to come.

- Karan Mahajan

Think, I Think, Very, Indian

Terrorists have goals beyond their supposed pacts with God. They are authors, too.

- Karan Mahajan

Too, Terrorists, Supposed, Goals

Reading galleys on the subway is the closest the publishing industry comes to having a standardized mating call.

- Karan Mahajan

Subway, Call, Having, Closest

I travelled around small-town India a lot for a job from 2010-2012, and I was impressed by the energy I encountered in these places.

- Karan Mahajan

India, Small-Town, Impressed, Travelled

American life is based on a reassurance that we like one another but won't violate one another's privacies. This makes it a land of small talk.

- Karan Mahajan

Small, Like, Based, Reassurance

Novelists get to say plenty in their massive tomes; rock singers only get four-minute songs with two verses and a chorus' worth of lyrics, and so there's a real pleasure in accessing the intelligence behind the music, even if it doesn't qualify as 'great literature.'

- Karan Mahajan

Behind, Two, Novelists, Chorus

When you've finished reading every last thing by a famous writer, literary convention holds that you move on to his or her letters, the DVD extras peddled by publishers.

- Karan Mahajan

Famous, Move, Convention, Letters

Terrorists are people, too - they are given to error. Naipaul and then DeLillo do a good job in their novels of drawing this out: I'm thinking of DeLillo's contention in 'Mao II' that terrorists have replaced writers as the people who 'alter the inner-life of the culture.' I thought that was marvellous!

- Karan Mahajan

Thought, Terrorists, Error, Novels

After a post-Bill Berry softening with albums like 'Up' and 'Reveal,' R.E.M. seems to be toughening up again; on the strength of the first single, 'Discoverer,' the band's new record looks to continue with the same muscular rock and roll that defined its last album, 'Accelerate.'

- Karan Mahajan

Muscular, Berry, Albums, Defined

I'm good at description and imparting flow to a story, but I don't necessarily understand the value of long scenes.

- Karan Mahajan

Good, Understand, Imparting, Flow

The deadpan brilliance of John McCrea has been underrepresented in music since 2004, when Cake served up 'Pressure Chief.'

- Karan Mahajan

Pressure, Been, Chief, Brilliance

I had a thick accent, and people didn't understand me, and I was ashamed, and I fumbled. I radiated an uncertain energy; sometimes baristas sensed this and wouldn't try to talk to me, and then an insecure voice in my head would cry, 'He's racist!'

- Karan Mahajan

Voice, Sometimes, Had, Uncertain

Every time a blast happens, people ask, 'But why would someone do this?' Weirdly, it hasn't been answered well anywhere - neither in fiction nor non-fiction.

- Karan Mahajan

Been, Weirdly, Answered, Blast

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