Quotes
So they say
“We have permitted institutions to grow to sizes where they are now too large to be allowed to fail without systemic risk.”
Percy Mistry who runs the Oxford International group, a private investment advisory firm, The Sunday Express, September 21, 2008
“Non-performing assets (NPAs)
are at a historic low... but the ground realities are that the Indian banking system is extremely vulnerable and NPAs are going to pile up in the ensuing few years.”
S. S. Tarapore, former deputy governor, Reserve Bank, DNA, September 24, 2008
“Wealth and power aren’t
bestowed upon everyone. If you have them, use them responsibly. I’ve seen numerous cases of family infighting because of money-related issues. Also, to the leaders of tomorrow, I would advise to definitely aspire to be wealthy, but not to begin living for that alone. That would be so stupid! Wealth is only a by-product of doing well.”
Anu Aga, ex-chairperson, Thermax, Mumbai Mirror, September 19, 2008
“There is no denying that the women staff has expressed desire to fly fighter jets, but the Indian
Air Force is not ready as of
now... We are carrying out
physiological studies.”
Fali H. Major, Air Chief Marshal, Mumbai Mirror, October 6, 2008
“I’m not interested in the Bombay Parsi Punchayet election
because I’m busy with my work.
I have not even voted in the general elections to choose our Prime Minister. So then how does the BPP affect me or my life? I have not even registered myself.”
Bakhtiyar Irani, TV actor, DNA,
October 6, 2008
“No doubt, many among us are glorying in this new found activism and aggressiveness (of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet trusteeship elections) — not to mention the gratuitous publicity. What we don’t realize is that by following the common herd, we are in acute danger of being amalgamated into it, to the extent that we disappear altogether. We do not need to raise the bogey of conversion to retain our distinct identity. We are doing a fine job of losing it all on our own.”
Firoze Hirjikaka, retired civil engineer,
now freelance writer, in Freedom First,
November 2008
“My choices early in life were either to be a piano player in a whorehouse or a politician. And to tell the truth, there’s hardly any difference.”
Harry Truman (US President)
contributed by Porus Poonegar,
Freedom First, October 2008
“We can easily forgive a child
who is afraid of the dark; the
real tragedy of life is when men
are afraid of the light.”
Greek philosopher Plato, quoted in a letter by Jehangir Bisney
“Most of them think I’m 30 when they first hear my voice and I’m
left speechless. I have to tell them I’m 15 years younger than what they think... I have been performing in Mumbai since I was really young. But yes, it feels great
to be performing at an important festival like Jazz Utsav.”
Simone Jehangir, DNA, November 7, 2008
“None of the signature features
of our Irani establishment are going to go. The wooden chairs, the glass tabletops and checkered tablecloths — they’re all still a big part of Mondy’s. It’s hard to put
it in words, but we just want the institution to continue as it was
and that’s what we feel that our customers want too.”
Hoshang Yazdegardi, managing partner
of Café Mondegar, Mid-day
November 9, 2008
“The outcome (of the repositioning of the Godrej brand) could potentially brighten the lives of millions of people who today are not able to afford a refrigerator, readymade furniture or don’t have a trusted lock on their front door.
Navroze Godrej, manager, Special Projects, Godrej & Boyce Mfg Co Ltd
Change, Vol 8, No 2 & 3, Mar-June, 2008
“The restaurants were bound to close. The other option was to go upmarket in which case you lose your clientele. Anyway, Iranis have had a good run. Nowadays, restaurants that start with a big bang close down in a few years while Iranis lasted over 75 years. There are other reasons too.”
Rashid Irani, partner, Brabourne restaurant, Mumbai Mirror, November 7, 2008
“I’d love to do a film like Milk where Sean Penn plays a gay activist. You know, a homosexual film can be more than just about two guys kissing. It can be about a cause too, like Philadelphia.”
John Abraham, actor, whose mother
is a Parsi, The Indian Express,
November 15, 2008
“No, I don’t sing anymore,/
They say it’s a sin!/In my ancient beautiful homeland,/Which is older than history itself./Who decided that singing is a crime/Though Zarathushtra fertilized this
land with his songs?”
Song by Googoosh, popular Iranian singer, Mumbai Mirror, January 15, 2009
“Christianity will go. It will
vanish and shrink. We’re more popular than Jesus now — I don’t know which will go first, rock
and roll or Christianity.”
Statement made by the late Beatle John
Lennon in March 1966, Mumbai Mirror, November 23, 2008
“After so many years it sounds merely like the boasting of an English working-class lad
struggling to cope with
unexpected success.”
From an editorial posted in L’Osservatore Romano, the official newspaper of the Vatican,
dated November 22, 2008, reprinted in Mumbai Mirror, November 23, 2008
Percy Mistry who runs the Oxford International group, a private investment advisory firm, The Sunday Express, September 21, 2008
“Non-performing assets (NPAs)
are at a historic low... but the ground realities are that the Indian banking system is extremely vulnerable and NPAs are going to pile up in the ensuing few years.”
S. S. Tarapore, former deputy governor, Reserve Bank, DNA, September 24, 2008
“Wealth and power aren’t
bestowed upon everyone. If you have them, use them responsibly. I’ve seen numerous cases of family infighting because of money-related issues. Also, to the leaders of tomorrow, I would advise to definitely aspire to be wealthy, but not to begin living for that alone. That would be so stupid! Wealth is only a by-product of doing well.”
Anu Aga, ex-chairperson, Thermax, Mumbai Mirror, September 19, 2008
“There is no denying that the women staff has expressed desire to fly fighter jets, but the Indian
Air Force is not ready as of
now... We are carrying out
physiological studies.”
Fali H. Major, Air Chief Marshal, Mumbai Mirror, October 6, 2008
“I’m not interested in the Bombay Parsi Punchayet election
because I’m busy with my work.
I have not even voted in the general elections to choose our Prime Minister. So then how does the BPP affect me or my life? I have not even registered myself.”
Bakhtiyar Irani, TV actor, DNA,
October 6, 2008
“No doubt, many among us are glorying in this new found activism and aggressiveness (of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet trusteeship elections) — not to mention the gratuitous publicity. What we don’t realize is that by following the common herd, we are in acute danger of being amalgamated into it, to the extent that we disappear altogether. We do not need to raise the bogey of conversion to retain our distinct identity. We are doing a fine job of losing it all on our own.”
Firoze Hirjikaka, retired civil engineer,
now freelance writer, in Freedom First,
November 2008
“My choices early in life were either to be a piano player in a whorehouse or a politician. And to tell the truth, there’s hardly any difference.”
Harry Truman (US President)
contributed by Porus Poonegar,
Freedom First, October 2008
“We can easily forgive a child
who is afraid of the dark; the
real tragedy of life is when men
are afraid of the light.”
Greek philosopher Plato, quoted in a letter by Jehangir Bisney
“Most of them think I’m 30 when they first hear my voice and I’m
left speechless. I have to tell them I’m 15 years younger than what they think... I have been performing in Mumbai since I was really young. But yes, it feels great
to be performing at an important festival like Jazz Utsav.”
Simone Jehangir, DNA, November 7, 2008
“None of the signature features
of our Irani establishment are going to go. The wooden chairs, the glass tabletops and checkered tablecloths — they’re all still a big part of Mondy’s. It’s hard to put
it in words, but we just want the institution to continue as it was
and that’s what we feel that our customers want too.”
Hoshang Yazdegardi, managing partner
of Café Mondegar, Mid-day
November 9, 2008
“The outcome (of the repositioning of the Godrej brand) could potentially brighten the lives of millions of people who today are not able to afford a refrigerator, readymade furniture or don’t have a trusted lock on their front door.
Navroze Godrej, manager, Special Projects, Godrej & Boyce Mfg Co Ltd
Change, Vol 8, No 2 & 3, Mar-June, 2008
“The restaurants were bound to close. The other option was to go upmarket in which case you lose your clientele. Anyway, Iranis have had a good run. Nowadays, restaurants that start with a big bang close down in a few years while Iranis lasted over 75 years. There are other reasons too.”
Rashid Irani, partner, Brabourne restaurant, Mumbai Mirror, November 7, 2008
“I’d love to do a film like Milk where Sean Penn plays a gay activist. You know, a homosexual film can be more than just about two guys kissing. It can be about a cause too, like Philadelphia.”
John Abraham, actor, whose mother
is a Parsi, The Indian Express,
November 15, 2008
“No, I don’t sing anymore,/
They say it’s a sin!/In my ancient beautiful homeland,/Which is older than history itself./Who decided that singing is a crime/Though Zarathushtra fertilized this
land with his songs?”
Song by Googoosh, popular Iranian singer, Mumbai Mirror, January 15, 2009
“Christianity will go. It will
vanish and shrink. We’re more popular than Jesus now — I don’t know which will go first, rock
and roll or Christianity.”
Statement made by the late Beatle John
Lennon in March 1966, Mumbai Mirror, November 23, 2008
“After so many years it sounds merely like the boasting of an English working-class lad
struggling to cope with
unexpected success.”
From an editorial posted in L’Osservatore Romano, the official newspaper of the Vatican,
dated November 22, 2008, reprinted in Mumbai Mirror, November 23, 2008
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From the archive