Educator

My library is segregated into philosophy, history, general reading, travel, my own books... and only three cookbooks.

I like to write and that's why I write. I don't think about how much the book will sell.

All that I can say is people who represents Karnataka in the Rajya Sabha should speak our language and represent our interests. How can your neighbour safeguard your interests when he cannot even speak your language or understand your difficulties. So, it is better to have our own people.

If I give someone flowers, what will they really do with it. If I take food, the person could be diabetic... But books are a source of knowledge, I have great thirst for knowledge.

My grandfather and mother were school teachers, so there was always some discussion around books.

Every philanthropist has a soft corner for one issue. For me it is health, because my father was a doctor.

If you are determined in your life, it is only the mindset that counts which is more important than questions like if I can do or cannot do.

With one or two children at home, I feel that parents concentrate too much on them and hence children lose touch with reality. They get whatever they desire and fail to understand that in real life you may or may not get what you wish for.

Increasing the sale of liquor may benefit the government in terms of revenue. But liquor is a social evil, and its biggest victims are women and their children.

Social entrepreneurs come from different backgrounds and are by and large, starved of capital. Such socialpreneurs must have extraordinary passion to follow their dreams.

I will continue to work for people, but not from any political party. What I can do do as a Rajya Sabha member, I can do without being a member too, perhaps even more efficiently.

I don't want to be identified with any political party.

I will not buck to pressure of delivering to publishers.

My grandfather was a history teacher, one reason the subject has been an integral part of my life.

The criteria for writing mythological books are different. Because the results are known, the end is known. Somebody has created that limit and you have to play within that limit.

One needs determination to bring in changes in the lives of Devadasis. I would approach them wearing pants and t-shirt and without a bindi, they would chase me away. When I narrated the experience to my father, he told me to don traditional wear and dress like them. After bringing in changes in my dressing style, the Devadasis welcomed me.

To write, I think it is very important to read. The more you read, the more you know the techniques of writing.

During my younger days, we didn't have digital media or electronic gadgets the way we do now. So the best part of my day was the one I spent either in listening to stories from my elders or reading them.

Class does not mean huge possession of money. Mother Teresa was a classy woman. So is Manjula Bhargava, a great mathematician of Indian origin. The concept that you automatically gain class by acquiring money is an outdated thought process.

For me, the test of a good office is how clean its toilets are.