India may be the soul of world cricket, but IPL is its commercial heart. Just as 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire' changed the ground rules for quiz shows by injecting a massive dose of money into the equation, IPL has changed the dynamics of the cricket economy.

Vikas Swarup

Tokyo may have more money and Kyoto more culture; Nara may have more history and Kobe more style. But Osaka has the biggest heart.

Vikas Swarup

The slums are not a place of despair. Its inhabitants are all working towards a better life.

Vikas Swarup

I did not go to any creative writing workshop; I did not major in literature. If I can write, anyone can write. All it needs is imagination.

Vikas Swarup

Mumbai may not be my city. But it is my kind of city.

Vikas Swarup

The first thing you have to understand is that I was not desperate to be a writer. I was never a closet writer filing away notes in a cupboard.

Vikas Swarup

The writer's is an interior world, a world of the mind.

Vikas Swarup

Just because someone has gone to an elite school and college does not make him smarter than the person who has grown up on street knowledge.

Vikas Swarup

People don't just want a mindless flick with a superstar; they want to connect more deeply.

Vikas Swarup

I am very interested in human-interest stories emerging from modern India. I get my inspiration and daily dose by reading the 'Hindustan Times.'

Vikas Swarup

Twenty20 is cricket on speed. In an era of hectic lifestyles and falling attention spans, it gives spectators more drama and intensity in three hours that they would get from a whole-day match. And even though it is a heady cocktail of money, entertainment and media, at its core it is cricket.

Vikas Swarup

Knowledge is not just the preserve of the educated elite. Just because someone has not had a formal education, that does not mean he does not have wisdom and common sense.

Vikas Swarup

I write fast. But it takes me a while to get going. It's very important for me to see my whole plot. I have to see the end first because I like a surprise in the end. Which is why I let characters and plot gestate in my mind.

Vikas Swarup

For me, the day job comes first. That's why I call myself a diplomat who writes, not a writer who masquerades as a diplomat. If the day job demands it, I won't write at all. I write in what I call 'the crevices of my day job', and that comes only on weekends.

Vikas Swarup

I need to meet people to be able to write.

Vikas Swarup

Sometimes street knowledge can be as important as book knowledge.

Vikas Swarup

I think mobility is very important, not only to discover opportunities elsewhere but at times, also to appreciate better what your home town has. Allahabad, for instance, has the feel of a small, tightly-knit community where everyone participates.

Vikas Swarup

I am the luckiest novelist in the world. I was a first-time novelist who wasn't awash in rejection slips, whose manuscript didn't disappear in slush piles. I have had a wonderful time.

Vikas Swarup

India may be the soul of world cricket, but IPL is its commercial heart. Just as 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire' changed the ground rules for quiz shows by injecting a massive dose of money into the equation, IPL has changed the dynamics of the cricket economy.

Vikas Swarup

I'm the opposite of those writers who believe that my work is sacrosanct and cannot be touched.

Vikas Swarup

My books are about ordinary people placed in extraordinary situations who are able to draw upon their inner reserves to challenge the status-quo in life and navigate compelling human relationships.

Vikas Swarup