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Shamini Flint

77 quotes

“A shudder ran through the stout frame of the policeman. He tried to remember if he’d ever seen a rat in Singapore. A few scrawny squirrels that looked a lot like rats and the occasional garden shrew – that was the sum of rodent life in his recent past. Inspector Singh, who prided himself on his familiarity with the dark fringes of society, realised that he’d been fooling himself. His Singaporean version was the Disney equivalent of the seedy side of life.”
Shamini Flint (born 1969) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Self-immolation was a peculiarly anticipatory gesture for someone who would eventually be cremated and her ashes scattered in a river. Mrs. Singh wondered whether the family would take the ashes to the Punjab or whether a river closer at hand would suffice. ... She tried to imagine for a moment what [her husband] would do when she died. Probably chuck her ashes into the nearest monsoon drain and head to a coffee shop for a cold beer.”
Shamini Flint (born 1969) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If they’d been in Singapore, he’d have thrown an army of investigators at the place, established once and for all whether there was a nexus between the factory and the illness at the slum. He didn’t have that option in India.”
Shamini Flint (born 1969) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Do you think of yourself as an Indian, Inspector?” “I suppose so. In Singapore, with so many different races living cheek to cheek, it’s hard to forget your roots.” “Outsiders think that all Indians are one big happy family. But within the country we know better.”
Shamini Flint (born 1969) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The inspector was suddenly reminded of his English literature classes as a teenager. The teacher dissecting Jane Austen while the boys looked bored and the girls swooned over Darcy. Certainly, there was enough pride and prejudice within this Sikh clan to write a number of sequels. Although Jane Austen had never felt the need to sully her books with premature death, or premature pregnancies for that matter.”
Shamini Flint (born 1969) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“That was probably the most truthful thing that Tanvir had said to him yet. Wherever one was in the world, it seemed that it was difficult to bring the rich and powerful to book. It was enough to turn anyone into a communist – as long as it didn’t mean he had to share his cigarettes and beer.”
Shamini Flint (born 1969) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The fact of the matter was that he was spoilt. Singapore was such a pleasant place to hunt down murderers. It was easy to get around, hardly any traffic. The killers had nowhere to run, the island was so small. The air was clean and the trees green so his health didn’t deteriorate as he pursued his vocation. He stared sadly at a dusty spindly tree surrounded by a protective cordon of railings. Here, even the trees were in prison.”
Shamini Flint (born 1969) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“How’s the investigation going – any light at the end of the tunnel?” “Of an oncoming train.”
Shamini Flint (born 1969) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Don’t know about police methods in the United States,” remarked Singh, “but where I come from a person last seen having an argument with someone who later turns up dead goes straight to the top of the list of suspects.”
Shamini Flint (born 1969) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I’m quite persuasive,” said Singh, his face forbidding. “And,” he amended, “she was willing to be persuaded.”
Shamini Flint (born 1969) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Everyone needs a hobby,” said [Inspector] Singh. “Terrorists also.” “Oh, I see,” said [Inspector] Singh, flippancy erased from his voice. “That’s not good news.”
Shamini Flint (born 1969) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Without money, terrorists were just angry young men with an axe to grind. With money, the metaphorical axe became real and sharp and terrifying. He knew that very well – had learnt it the hard way – from his murder investigation in Bali after the bombings there.”
Shamini Flint (born 1969) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If publicity was the lifeblood of terrorists, the week-long siege of the hotel had been a massive transfusion.”
Shamini Flint (born 1969) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I thought you didn’t approve of my job.” “Different when it’s family.” “Most murder victims have families.” She nodded once. “So you better hurry up and find this killer instead of hiding here smoking cigarettes.”
Shamini Flint (born 1969) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Singh returned to his reading material, a glossy brochure that folded like a particularly annoying map, for the products of Bharat Chemicals. ... A flowchart explained that the employee structure combined the best elements of East and West’ – surly American management and cheap Indian labour, concluded Singh.”
Shamini Flint (born 1969) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Having accidentally watched ten minutes of a head-waggling, hip-shaking, breast-jiggling extravaganza on television, the inspector wasn’t surprised that thespian qualities were not at a premium. It was disheartening, however, to think that it was skin colour that was of paramount importance instead.”
Shamini Flint (born 1969) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Indian police not at all good at keeping secrets.” “The press doesn’t seem to know that it’s murder,” said Singh reassuringly.”
Shamini Flint (born 1969) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Finger prints?” “Wiped.” Singh sighed. Was there a criminal out there who didn’t know to wipe his prints?”
Shamini Flint (born 1969) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Text messaging?” “That is main way that trouble-makers are getting flash mobs together for riots,” explained Patel. Singh chewed on his bottom lip thoughtfully. Technology had a lot to answer for. ... It did beg the question though – how had the more tiresome elements of society begun riots before the era of mobile phones – carrier pigeons?”
Shamini Flint (born 1969) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Sounds like preparation for war,” remarked Singh, yet again forced to contemplate the difference between Singapore policing’s idea of a tough day at the office, an outbreak of jaywalking perhaps, and the Indian equivalent. “Sometimes it is exactly like war,” said Patel in a quiet voice and Singh had a sudden glimpse into the abyss.”
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“Singh stared down at the empty clear-plastic slots and felt a profound sense of loss. These pages would remain forever empty now. No happy family, no children. Was that a bit sexist? No Nobel Prize for Chemistry, he amended.”
Shamini Flint (born 1969) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“[Inspector] Singh closed his eyes and contemplated the gloom within. Circles within circles. Would a child of one of these dead men – killed in a holy place – grow up with revenge on his mind like Tanvir Singh had done? It didn’t bear thinking about.”
Shamini Flint (born 1969) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Why do you buy [shoddy goods] if you think the quality is so poor?”
Shamini Flint (born 1969) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Now he was in a holding pen with various members of the Kuala Lumpur criminal fraternity and they scared him [...] They ranged from a Chinese gang member, whose dragon tattoo foraged up his arm and curled around his neck, to a large, [sic] Indian man with a jet-black moustache and pocked-marked face, brooding in a corner. The majority of his cellmates appeared from their accents to be Indonesians, part of the large contingent of illegal immigrants in Malaysia. [...] At least, he thought, the government should be proud that their efforts to integrate the various races in Malaysia into a cohesive society were bearing such fruit. It was a very multi-racial group that was penned in together.”
Shamini Flint (born 1969) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Singh was distracted by a strong and unpleasant smell that suddenly pervaded the airplane. He sniffed cautiously, protruding nostril hairs quivering. It didn’t smell like burning fuel or melting plastic or any of those olfactory sensations that would have caused him to make a dash for the exits. He turned to Mrs. Singh who was reading the in-flight magazine with the disdain of one who preferred to Google her subjects rather than have them pre-selected by an editor. “What’s that stink?” he whispered. “India,” she answered succinctly and then turned her attention back to a gleaming picture of the Taj Mahal resplendent in its manicured gardens, its reflection shimmering in a lake ...”
Shamini Flint (born 1969) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Global warming was to blame according to scientists and the government had promised tough climate goals. Next to the article was another one, lauding the Tata Nano, the ‘one lakh’ car. No one seemed inclined to point out the contradiction between reducing global warming and sticking a bunch of cheap cars on the road ... There was something to be said for the ‘no news is good news’ approach of the Singapore dailies. Certainly, an ordinary day’s worth of news in the Straits Times, tucked in between the advertisements for supermarket chains, cheap holidays and miraculous slimming treatments, didn’t look quite like this.”
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“Sikhs seem to have done quite well in India,” said the inspector provocatively, looking around the gleaming office with its panoramic views of the brown smog hanging over the city. “Don’t be fooled,” said Tara. “This is just window dressing. There are Sikh figureheads everywhere including that Manmohan Singh. But if you look deeper, you will see the truth!” “And what is that?” asked the inspector. “We’re second-class citizens. They deny us our rights in Punjab. What about water rights? What about Chandigarh? What about our language? They attack our places of worship and massacre our citizens ...” Tara Singh was a man who preferred to have the last word. “You foreigners,” he said. “You don’t understand India.”
Shamini Flint (born 1969) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source