“We all know a boy can t daddy until his daddy s dead.”
“I’m afraid of not unlearning the bad things my parents taught me.”
“As well as being highly critical of everything Nora did, and everything Nora wanted and everything Nora believed, unless it was related to swimming, Nora had also felt that simply to be in his presence was to commit some kind of invisible crime.”
“Pray for your parents.”
“He conjured a spotlight, which travelled down along the balcony, and rested on her face. ‘Your hair,’ he said. ‘All of the lights land in it.’ (All of the lights land in it: an excellent line. While I try to deny it, there were times – when I was younger – when this would have impressed me, too.) ‘Is this how you usually spend your Saturday nights?’ Mother asked. ‘No. Sometimes. I like the technology, you see. And I like to help out.’ Mother leaned against the railing alongside him. She let her hair fall against his arm. ‘I’ve never had company before,’ Father said, and smiled. ‘This makes things much more interesting.’ ‘I’m not that interesting at all,’ Mother said. ‘I mean, I’m pretty boring. Actually.’ ‘I don’t believe you. What’s the best thing that’s ever happened to you?’ ‘What?’ ‘Tell me the best thing that’s ever happened to you. Nobody’s boring when they tell you the best thing that’s ever happened. Go.’ Mother thought of her princess dress, and the faces of the villagers watching the Harvest Festival. In her mind, they multiplied, so that she led the parade through a crowd of hundreds – thousands – of well-wishers. ‘Fine,’ she said. She knew exactly how she would tell it. ‘See,’ Father said, at the end. ‘That wasn’t boring. But it wasn’t the best thing that ever happened to you, either.’ ‘It wasn’t?’ ‘Of course not,’ Father said. He concentrated on the fuse box, passing it from one great palm to the other. He was smiling, close to laughter. ‘That’s tonight.”
“हर किसी के मां बाप नहीं होते. कुछ लोगों को ज़िन्दगी सपनों के सहारे छोड़ जाती है NOT EVERYONE HAS PARENTS. LIFE LEAVES SOME PEOPLE WITH JUST DREAMS.”
“Give your parents more time, then your son and daughter will do the same to you”
“As a kid you idolize your parents. You think they’re perfect, because they’re the yardstick by which you measure the rest of the world, and yourself. Then as a teenager they just piss you off, because you realize the not only are they not perfect, but they may be even a little more screwed up than you. But there’s that moment when you realize they’re not superheroes, or villains. They’re painfully, unforgivably human. The question is, can you forgive them for being human anyway?”
“It takes time, effort and diligence to understand each other in a marriage relationship. What you have learned from your parents probably is not enough; and who knows, they might have flanked!”
“Why had I ever thought my dad would be the superhero? Mom had been standing in front of me all along, holding our world up on her shoulders.”
“The world is the best teacher, especially to those that refuse to learn from their parents. In her class you can t drop or skip a lesson.”
“Papas and mammas sometimes ask young men whether their intentions are honourable toward their daughters. I think young men might occasionally ask papas and mammas whether their intentions are honourable before they accept invitations to houses where there are still unmarried daughters.”
“I think you don t realise you re getting old unless it s your turn to take your parents to Doctors.”
“But the truth is... I mean... I haven t said this. But... I think the problem is not my father so much as my fear of being my father. Like if I run away too hard from him I will become something else that is also problematic.”
“Doctor, teacher, engineer, our Nishat could be anything she wants to be, Abbu says, clapping me on the back proudly. It s the most he s said to me in weeks, but there s a plasticity to his smile, a solemness to his voice. Nishat can be anything she wants to be, except herself.”
“For the first time in my life, I feel like I am being strong for the two of us, like I have broken free from those chains of lipstick and perfect hair and can take pride in my worn feet and the hair around my nipples. And I know that one day we will go shopping together and she will finally be proud of this body we both used to hate so much. I m sure of it, because recently I have found it in my heart to forgive her. And because all of this is so very lonely sometimes, I have started to wear some of her old clothes, her cardigans and scarves--I was always too fat for everything else--and I think that s a sign that I have started to miss her in that place where I should have loved so long ago. And I admire nothing more than people who have found a way to love their mothers; I think it s the biggest challenge in life, the one thing that would make the world a better place.”
“We d been through something our parents hadn t. The war made us older than our parents. And when you re older than your parents, what are you going to do? Who s going to show you how to live?”