First Quote Added
April 10, 2026
Latest Quote Added
"A Royal visit is like a swan on a lake. Grace and serenity above, demented kicking below."
"Well, the day has dawned, and the weather proves conclusively that God is a monarchist."
"You can love people you disagree with."
"[about the Crawley family] They're decent, at the core.... And they're silly, too. And snobbish at times. And I wouldn't give tuppence for their politics. But I've learned to be happy with all of that. And, besides, they're my daughter's family."
"[to Lucy Smith] Go forward in health and use your luck wisely."
"Oh, this wasn't Monsieur Courbet, Your Majesty. Mrs. Patmore cooked it. In fact, it is the Downton Abbey staff who are serving you this evening."
"[to Andy] You tried to wreck the visit of the King of England. You risked being sacked, you risked ruin... just for the love of me?"
"Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit."
"I'm glad I'm a revelation and not a disappointment."
"I never argue. I explain."
"[regarding her impending death] There's nothing sad here. I have lived a privileged and an interesting life, and now it's... it's time to go. I'm leaving the family and the place that I treasure in talented hands."
"I'll be fine until I'm not. That's all there is to it."
"Elsie, a hundred years from now, Downton will still be standing. And the Crawleys will still be here. And that is a promise."
"Hugh Bonneville as Robert Crawley, 7th Earl of Grantham"
"Laura Carmichael as Edith Pelham, Marchioness of Hexham"
"Jim Carter as Charles Carson"
"Michelle Dockery as Lady Mary Talbot"
"Kevin Doyle as Joseph Molesley"
"Joanne Froggatt as Anna Bates"
"Robert James-Collier as Thomas Barrow"
"Allen Leech as Tom Branson"
"Elizabeth McGovern as Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham"
"Sophie McShera as Daisy Mason"
"Maggie Smith as Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham"
"Penelope Wilton as Isobel Grey, Lady Merton"
"Imelda Staunton as Maud, Lady Bagshaw"
"Max Brown as Richard Ellis"
"David Haig as Mr. Wilson"
"Simon Jones as King George V"
Young though he was, his radiant energy produced such an impression of absolute reliability that Hedgewar made him the first sarkaryavah, or general secretary, of the RSS.
- Gopal Mukund Huddar
Largely because of the influence of communists in London, Huddar's conversion into an enthusiastic supporter of the fight against fascism was quick and smooth. The ease with which he crossed from one worldview to another betrays the fact that he had not properly understood the world he had grown in.
Huddar would have been 101 now had he been alive. But then centenaries are not celebrated only to register how old so and so would have been and when. They are usually celebrated to explore how much poorer our lives are without them. Maharashtrian public life is poorer without him. It is poorer for not having made the effort to recall an extraordinary life.
I regret I was not there to listen to Balaji Huddar's speech [...] No matter how many times you listen to him, his speeches are so delightful that you feel like listening to them again and again.
By the time he came out of Franco's prison, Huddar had relinquished many of his old ideas. He displayed a worldview completely different from that of the RSS, even though he continued to remain deferential to Hedgewar and maintained a personal relationship with him.