People From India

"You would have to sit at the board and sweat and feel the fear of defeat or the nearness of victory to understand what goes through a player's head … If you think it's that easy, switch off the computer and try and figure out a few moves on your own."

"A [world title] match has that feeling much more strongly because it's the same guy doing it over and over and over … When you play a single person, it becomes narrower because you are so focused on each other. It is a lot more personal."

"When you lose, you really feel a sense of self … You actually feel that you are being taken apart, rather than just your pieces."

"What happens to you at the board begins to feel like it's happening to you in person."

"I started at the age of six. My elder brother and sister were dabbling a bit, and then I went to my mother and pestered her to teach me as well."

"My dream is chess played in every school in India. The Soviets would include a chessboard along with the bride’s trousseau to ensure that the children born of that marriage knew the rules of chess."

"As a young kid sprouting a wispy moustache, I was sometimes dismissed by the Russians as an upstart. I have been referred to even as a “coffeehouse player”"

"I have what I think is an extremely Indian relationship with God....In Moscow before the tie breaker of the World Championship in May 2012, I again entreated God:Just stay on my side of the board."

"I learned to play fast without agonizing about strategy or overanalyzing individual moves"

"One of the things I bring to my play is my Indian identity – my ability to shrug off a loss as destiny and hope for better tomorrow. I am often described as a “natural” or “intuitive player”."

"Since the 1990s technology has taken some of the sheen off the Russian trainers and their methods."

"...in 2000, when I defeated Alexei Shirov at the World Chess Championship in Teheran to become the first Indian ever to win the title."

"But perhaps they were thrown off by my playing style, which was intuitive-and perhaps a little influenced by Vodka. I ran away with the match early. The result was overwhelmingly in my favour: four wins, five draws and only one loss –an annihilation. The Russians were stunned . I was pretty surprised myself."

"When I first visited Moscow in the late 1980s, I was so intimidated. I thought I could be checkmated by every cabdriver."

"To become a world chess champion."

"Being the undisputed world champion is a relief. We instituted a unified chess title, I am the absolute world champion."

"Progress in every country depends mainly on the education of its people. Without education, we are a nation of children. The difference between one man and another, apart from birth and social position, consists in the extent of knowledge, general and practical, acquired by him. We may safely assume that man in all countries within certain limits start with the same degree of intelligence. A civilised nation is distinguished from an uncivilised one by the extent of its acquired intelligence and skill."

"The clever folks who claim that we don’t want your temples and that our goodness alone is sufficient, prop up a non-existent opposition to the same indivisible truth that underlies goodness and the principle upon which temples are based…Blind belief is not God. Neither is superstition. However, the social and national good that ensues from such beliefs is Godliness. Because of the capacity of these beliefs to accomplish the aforementioned good, the innate force that inspires these beliefs and traditions is called God. Be it Pandit Nehru or the common people, we learnt the mind set of condemning the superstitions of Hindus from the British. Some sections of the British condemned Sanatana Dharma in order to propagate Christianity. We convinced ourselves that they were telling the truth and began to feel ashamed of Sanatana Dharma. In the process, we overlooked an important aspect. Blind belief and superstitious rituals aren’t exclusive only to Sanatana Dharma. Such beliefs and superstitions exist among the followers of every religion including Christians, Muslims, and Buddhists."

"Some people argue that Masti is not a novelist, and that he is only a short story writer. But there is no evidence that those critics have read Masti's novels. If Masti is not a novelist, neither are Tolstoy and Dostoevsky."

"But in 1911, when Masti Venkatesh Iyengar published a few short stories, the discernible birth of Kannada short story can be said to have taken place. Page 131"

"When you read Masti you realize that his stories and characters are a part of yourself and in them you see a world you want to touch and long to hold. In these days of transient joys, that is nice feeling to have"

"One who has a gentle and profound insight into what lasts in India, and what elements inherent in human nature threaten it...the best in traditions of the East and the West have gone into the making of his liberal humanist philosophy."

"Father of Kannada"

"Ramu is our youngest child. He does not know how to write. The only thing he knows is to scribble on the slate. When the slate is covered with lines, he asks me to look at what he has written. Writing for him is nothing but scribbling. If, with some luck, one of the lines turns out to be letter, it’s not his fault. w:Brahma}Brahma’s writing is no different. Unpredictability is its characteristic. Not even one ina thousand is good. If one turns out to be good it’s not my fault. My wife was convinced that all this was Vedanta. She did not pay any attention to it."

"Sir, who would think of criticizing you for committing mistakes when you speak Kannada? The mistakes you committed whenyou spoke in English could have been made in Kannada too."

"Do you know, sir, it is God who has planted such doubts in you. That is His way of putting you to the test"

"He is an engineer of integrity, character and broad national outlook who could take an unbiased view, resist local pressures and whose views would be respected and accepted by all."

"In spite of strength of my conviction, I have certain great regard for your fine abilities and love for the country and that shall be unabated whether I have the good fortune to secure your cooperation or face your honest opposition....I see that we hold perhaps diametrically opposite views. My conviction based upon extensive experiences of village life is that in India at any rate for generations to come, we shall not be able to make much use of mechanical power for solving the problem of the ever growing poverty of the masses."

"Industrialize or Perish"

"Was one of the greatest patriots of India belonging to no party, adopting no slogans, attached to no shibboleths but dedicated to the upliftment of his countrymen. He is undoubtedly the best known engineer of India. He was an able administrator, educationist and foresighted planner. His name ranks high among those who promoted industrialisation of India. He is known for his dictum "Industrialise or perish"."

"As sound as what one might expect from the distinguished engineer who drew them up. He has shown the way to turn dire misfortune into a positive blessing. The proposals are without blemish. I strongly advocate carrying out the scheme."

"The development of this system, the [Block System] is due entirely to the genius of Mr Vishvesharaya, certainly one of the ablest officers, European or Indian, of the Public Works Department, with whom it has been my pleasure and honour to work"

"It is better to work out than rust out."

"I walked my way to good health"

"These facts and figures must serve as an eye-opener to the people of Mysore. I refer to them here not because I have any hopes of our reaching the levels of prosperity of the two Colonies, but because it will do us good to know what organization and human endeavour are capable of achieving under favourable conditions. / The nationality of our people rests on a religious and fatalistic basis, not on an economic basis, as in the West. There are still people among us who believe that the golden age was in the past, the world is on the down-grade and the old-word conditions might yet be reproduced some day. The Hindu ideal of life is that this world is a preparation for the next and not a place to stay in and make ourselves comfortable. We are devoted to past ideals, although, out of necessity or from prospect of personal gain, we have partly taken to Western methods of work and business. There is a yearning for the old ideals and a half-hearted acquiescence in the new and, on the whole, the genius of the people is for standing still. / If we are to follow in the wake of other countries in the pursuit of material prosperity, we must give up aimless activities and bring our ideals into line with the standards of the West, namely, to spread education in all grades, multiply occupations and increase production and wealth. All other activities should conform themselves to the economic idea. [148-149]"

"He wrote in his letter addressed to Jawahar Lal Nehru, then Prime Minister of India when the Bharat Ratna title was conferred on him, as quoted in"

"If you feel that by giving this title, I will praise your government, you will be disappointed. I am a fact finding man."

"In our warm climate, we have not got the same incentive to exertion and we may never be able to attain the same level of prosperity as Western people."

"Mental energy is wasted in caste disputes and village factions."

"You are for developing village industries and I favour both heavy industries and village industries. To the extent that you propose to advance village industries, I am at once with you. I can never persuade myself to take up a hostile attitude towards any constructive work, from any quarter, least of all towards work attempted by one with your brilliant historic achievements in public life....I am in favour of heavy industries because heavy industries will save the money that is going out of the country in large sums every year; heavy industries are required to provide the local manufactures of machinery and equipment required by our railways and for defence forces and heavy industries are required also for supplying machinery and tools for the village industries themselves. I recommend more extended use of mechanical power because it produces results for the country much more rapidly than human power. The object is to get food and commodities required by our people for a decent standard of living as speedily as possible."

"The Indian mind needs to be familarised with the principles of modern progress, a universal impulse for enquiry and enterprise awakened, and earnest thinking and effort promoted. A new type of Indian citizenship purposeful, progressive and self-respecting should be created, and self-reliant nationhood developed."

"Self-examination not moral or spiritual, but secular - that is, a survey and analysis of local conditions in India and a comparative study of the same with those in other parts of the globe."

"You won’t find solutions to rural India’s health issues in modern facilities that are far removed. Effective strategies will emerge only when you work with the people."

"We decided to listen to our patients."

"Perform Vishnu smaranam in Shiva temples and Shiva smaranam in Vishnu temples. Without fail, all those who have gathered here today remember these. The world is full of troubles."

"Sacred Mother has given us these four as blessing. The Universe needs Her Grace. These three energies are needed now. There could be Fear of FIRE , WATER, FEAR OF PREJUDICES AND HATRED AND OF MOTHER EARTH."

"The almighty being praised in the Holy Bible, the Holy Koran, and the Holy Bhagavata is one and the same. We are all one. Flowers are many, but Puja is one. Cows are many, but milk is one. Languages are many, but feeling is one. All great men have preached the same message. These saints, noble and enlightened persons have been guiding us. They always say, "Take any religion, the fundamental essence is the same. All religions urge us to follow Dharma, to always speak the truth and not to torment others. The Almighty has given us this wonderful human birth. To whichever religion you are born, be in that religion and strive to become a better person. Become a more religious person. If you are a Christian, become a better Christian. If you are a Muslim, become a better Muslim. If you are a Hindu, become a better Hindu."

"O Friend! Don't even speak of war. Get rid of atomic weapons. Become immortal with the help of the treasure of camaraderie. Practice control over the senses, compassion and charity in your heart and in your actions. By doing so, the humanity in you will rise even above divinity. Worship Lord Dattatreya, who is Bahudhari (one who possesses many aspects or one who is of the form of the tune 'Bahudhari'), the One who bestows auspiciousness and peace. Experience Truth, Knowledge and Bliss and become exalted."

"Oh Man, being exalted in humanity, may you be triumphant here and in heaven. Oh! Friend! May your love spread everywhere and may you develop the feeling "everyone is dear to me." May you shine with grand inner quintessence and effulgence. Develop faith in the righteous path that is gentle and devoid of contamination. As a result, may auspiciousness come to you from everywhere. Let not religion, country or caste divide you. May you develop inclination towards the Absolute Reality."

"The three wise men from the east recognised this planetary importance in the birth of Jesus Christ. Perhaps these wise men saw Dattatreya in baby Jesus. That is how the date December 25 was finalised. It is said in Datta Purana (mythology) that Dattatreya appears as child, Unmatta etc. In those days the three wise men from the east recognised the power of Jesus. This day the wise men from the west are experiencing Jesus in Datta Peetham. For the men of reality the concept of east and west are just lines in the air. Understanding the above may not be possible in just one reading. Read it several times and you will understand the underlying and profound concept. Swamiji has seen in a Church in Basel, Switzerland Jesus with three heads like Dattatreya. This potentiates the above statements. Let us understand the above and from now onwards let us correlate Datta Jayanti and Christmas in our hearts and experience the unified divine power."