Kiran Desai the daughter of Anita Desai, is an Indian author who was also listed as one of 20 most influential women by The Economic Times in 2015. Born on 3 September, 1971 in Delhi, Kiran Desai spent the early years of her life in Pune and Mumbai. She won the 2006 Man Booker Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Fiction Award for her internationally acclaimed novel – The inheritance of Loss.

Being the daughter of such a great Indian Novelist, Kiran Desai is a born storyteller. Her words and stories engage the readers in introspection and self-reflection. It urges the readers to reflect deep within their inner-self. Here are a few quotes, from the wordsmith of wonders which will make you want to unplug from your busy life and reflect upon yourself.

#1.

The present changes the past. Looking back you do not find what you left behind.

#2.

I feel as  comfortable anywhere  as I feel uncomfortable  anywhere.

#3.

In India, if you are from the elite, dogs are extremely important. The breed of the dog indicates your wealth, that you are westernized. The cook, another human being, is on a much lower level than your dog. You see this all the time.

#4.

A journey  once begun, has no end.

#5.

When you build on lies, you build strong and solid. It was the  truth that undid you.

#6.

The child shouldn't be blamed for the father's crime, she tried to reason with  herself then. But should the  child therefore also enjoy the  father's illicit gain?

#7.

Could fulfillment ever  be felt as deeply as loss?  Romantically she decided  that love must surely  reside in the gap between  desire and fulfillment, in  the lack, not the  contentment.

#8.

We think of  immigration as a  Western issue but, of course, it isn't.

#9.

How could you have any self-respect knowing that you didn't believe in anything  exactly?

#10.

The publishing  world is very timid.  Readers are much braver.

#11.

Sadness was so claustrophobic.

#12.

She'd have to propel  herself into the future by whatever means possible  or she'd be trapped  forever in a place whose times had already passed.

#13.

When you write on  your own, you can write  the extremes. No one  else is watching and you  can really go as far as you need to.

#14.

I don't think you can write according to a set of rules and laws; every writer is so different.

#15.

Writing, for me, means humility. It's a process that involves fear and doubt, especially if you're writing  honestly.