Vikram Seth
Vikram Seth
Vikram Seth CBEis an Indian novelist and poet. He has written several novels and poetry books. He has received several awards including Padma Shri, Sahitya Akademi Award, Pravasi Bharatiya Samman, WH Smith Literary Award and Crossword Book Award. Seth's collections of poetry such as Mappings and Beastly Tales are notable contributions to the Indian English language poetry canon...
NationalityIndian
ProfessionPoet
Date of Birth20 June 1952
CountryIndia
not-sure whole-life whole
I'm not sure anyone can understand a whole life, even their own.
reputation obsessed
I have a reputation for being hermitlike. I'm not. I'm just obsessed with my work.
smooth rough knows
Is it not love that knows how to make smooth things rough and rough things smooth?
imagination music-love competent
I just love music - by no stretch of the imagination am I professionally competent.
writing listening-to-music bother
I rarely listen to music while writing. If I don't like it, it bothers me, and if I like it, it absorbs me so much I can't write.
couple eye naps
My eyes close. I am here and not here. A waking nap? A flight to the end of the galaxy and perhaps a couple of billion light-years beyond?
writing imagine novel
You know, I can imagine not writing a novel and writing poetry only.
writing years cases
I spent many years of my life as an economist and demographer. I was finally distracted by writing my novels and poetry. I'm enormously happy that was the case. I feel that with writing I have found my metier.
temptation spite indian
In spite of all temptations of belonging to many nations, I've remained an Indian.
humorous thinking stories
Poetry, I think, intensifies the reader's experience. If it's a humorous facet of the story, poetry makes it more exuberant. If it's a sad facet, poetry can make it more poignant.
writing boredom stronger
Boredom provides a stronger inclination to write than anything.
asking-questions shy answering-questions
In general, questions are fine; you can always seize upon the parts of them that interest you and concentrate on answering those. And one has to remember when answering questions that asking questions isn't easy either, and for someone who's quite shy to stand up in an audience to speak takes some courage.
writing thinking trivia
It is exciting to write about the present once one gets beyond the trivia of the moment. As a time to live in, as a time to think about, the present is intriguing.
prayer moving iron
All over India, all over the world, as the sun or the shadow of darkness moves from east to west, the call to prayer moves with it, and people kneel down in a wave to pray to God. Five waves each day - one for each namaaz - ripple across the globe from longitude to longitude. The component elements change direction, like iron filings near a magnet - towards the house of God in Mecca.