Djinns & Kings Quotes

“The odour of ambergris is difficult to define. You belittle it by dismissing it so easily. It is defined as musty and reminiscent of the sea; it is sometimes called the ‘mother of all fragrances’. Ambergris is like a mother, although incredible by herself, she delights in her offspring’s qualities. As an additive, ambergris brings out the best in perfumes and makes a fragrance linger. A house without a mother is insubstantial; so it is that perfumes and certain medicines just do not hold together without ambergris.”
― Shabbeer Ahmed, Djinns & Kings: The Curse of Zoa

“The sky longed to meet the earth, and he thus extended his moist fingers towards her. And when she experienced his touch, after countless agonising days of being parched, she quivered in ecstasy, unable to stop the petrichor from finding release.
Peacocks raised their beautiful plumage to acknowledge the cosmic lovers. It rained gently but it rained for long. It was not an angry, punishing deluge, but a smooth, free-flowing release of the pent-up emotions of long-separated lovers—these emotions say, ‘Do not stop. Let it flow.”
― Shabbeer Ahmed, Djinns & Kings: The Curse of Zoa

“A guide can, at best, point out the right path. It is up to the traveller to choose and follow it.”
― Shabbeer Ahmed, Djinns & Kings: The Curse of Zoa

“Most people want something to happen all the time. That is because they are not at peace. A shepherd, on the other hand, although vigilant, must be supremely patient, and he must be at peace with himself. That is why some of the greatest teachers and prophets were shepherds. You are restless because you are not at peace with yourself. A fire is restless. It rages and spreads, burning everything in its path. Eventually, it burns out and dies down as fast as it had started. Be tranquil as a tree. When the wind blows, swing with it; when the birds sing, enjoy the song; watch the sheep eat contently at your feet.”
― Shabbeer Ahmed, Djinns & Kings: The Curse of Zoa

“A man is never wrong in three situations—saving a living being from a raging fire; salvaging a drowning body from the sea; and in the presence of his woman.”
― Shabbeer Ahmed, Djinns & Kings: The Curse of Zoa

“I was just there. I was the wave that gently lifted and danced in the sunlight. I was the sunlight that decided the colour blue was mundane and tinted the ocean with golden flecks in the morning and fiery red in the evening, as if upset at being replaced by the darkness. I was the darkness that fell like a blanket across the sea, as if the ocean and its creatures needed to be tucked in so that they could wake up and face the next day’s tribulations. I was the next day that washed away yesterday’s disappointments and brought with it infectious warmth and hope in the air.”
― Shabbeer Ahmed, Djinns & Kings: The Curse of Zoa

“Foibles are like alphabets; they collate and cascade into a prose of follies.”
― Shabbeer Ahmed, Djinns & Kings: The Curse of Zoa

“The thing about innocent people stigmatised by an unproven accusation is that they cannot afford to be either quiet or raise their voices. If they remain silent, they are pronounced guilty, for if they were not guilty, why would they stay quiet? And if they raise their voice and do small acts of kindness to quell doubts, they are presumed to be trying to cover and wash their sins.
If one is accused by people they don’t care about, the accusers become like the water of the lake, and like a proverbial duck, one can shake off the waters easily from its feathers. But when the accusers are those one cares about, they become like lamp oil, for the accusations are not shaken away so easily.”
― Shabbeer Ahmed, Djinns & Kings: The Curse of Zoa

“Carpets should not be evenly dyed,’ said Ardahast famously. ‘Carpets are like humans and their beauty lies in their imperfections.’ When a buyer asked, ‘Shouldn’t a carpet be perfect?’ He said, ‘Carpets should be beautiful; perfection is reserved for God.”
― Shabbeer Ahmed, Djinns & Kings: The Curse of Zoa

“When a person indulges in sin, thinking that he has already done it before, it is like peeling one more layer of an onion because he has already peeled a layer. With each layer that is removed, the peeling becomes increasingly nonchalant, repetitive and brazen until he is naked with no sense of worth or self-esteem. In Rhuzbeh’s case, he peeled away rapidly.”
― Shabbeer Ahmed, Djinns & Kings: The Curse of Zoa

“Did deserts miss the rain? It dawned on him that deserts did not miss the rain and that deserts did not want water. The desert valued itself and jealously guarded its identity. If it rained regularly and if there was water, it would not remain a desert.”
― Shabbeer Ahmed, Djinns & Kings: The Curse of Zoa

“A fragrance interpreted variously as the emotions of a bride behind a veil, a fragrance like the riddle of philosophers, a fragrance that permeates the halls of great kings, a fragrance that is so divine as to transcend its earthy origins and become the mortar of paradise—musk. It embodies all things that seem ordinary from the outside while being extraordinary on the inside. The element that implores you to explore further before you decide its worth. Enlightened men often talk about musk as the ultimate transmutation of imperfections to perfection, and how the symbols of transience like blood, sweat and fluids can be transformed into something as divine”
― Shabbeer Ahmed, Djinns & Kings: The Curse of Zoa

“Love is not noble. As a matter of fact, love is the most abused word that this world has ever had,’ replied Ghanazaqi. He paused for effect and continued, ‘More hatred has been spread in the name of love than any other reason or cause. Love is more dangerous than hatred because hatred, in its purest form, is simple to understand. But when someone justifies love as the reason for hatred, it becomes a complicated matter. From time immemorial, love has been the reason for humans compromising on their humanity. People profess love for their faith, with all its arcane rituals, only to hate other people’s faith, with all its own arcane rituals. They claim that their love for their land, with all its dirt, soil and water, is the reason why they hate the other’s land, which too has its own dirt, soil and water. The other’s flaws weigh far more than ours because we love our own. We use this as an excuse to kill the other and justify murder with ‘patriotism’.
‘Poets equate the word love with acceptance, peace and calm. In its ideal form, love must extend to all beings and all lands even if unrequited, but it is not so! What love does is create insecurity, jealousy or superiority. If you love something, it is worth fighting for. If anybody disagrees with our people, faith or way of life, we lash back with greater hatred and justify this with love…”
― Shabbeer Ahmed, Djinns & Kings: The Curse of Zoa