“A kshatriya woman's highest purpose in life is to support the warriors...” — Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni Quote

“A kshatriya woman's highest purpose in life is to support the warriors in her life: her father, brother, husband and sons.”

“I had friends who died in the 9/11 tragedy; some of my friends lost family members in the aftermath of Godhra.”

“I came into Chicago in winter - I'd never been so cold in my life! I was very homesick, and a poor student at that time. America seemed so different and so filled with amazing things - and almost all of them were out of my reach.”

“'The Moonstone' was all I could have hoped for. A mysterious, cursed jewel, wrested from India, only to be stolen later from a great British mansion. Enigmatic, dangerous priests who follow it across the ocean in hopes of wresting it back.”

“My favorite part was when my grandfather and I would make a special trip to Firpo's Bakery for red and green Christmas cookies and fruitcake studded with the sweetest cherries I've ever tasted. Usually Firpo's was too expensive for our slim budget, but Christmas mornings they gave a discount to any children who came in.”

“I am the middle child with an older and younger brother.”

“I grew up in Kentucky, so we do not have a pro team. My family was split between the Cubs and the Reds. I would say I go Cubs usually. That's sort of where I grew up. My older brother was a huge Reds fan.”

“I grew up in what some would call an immaculately clean home. I hated my mom a little for it. I wasn't allowed to paint my nails, since they'd chip and 'look trashy.' My brother and I didn't run around in clothes that had holes or were stained.”

“My brother and sister had a much worse childhood, I think, because they were older, and they had to deal with a lot more racism because they grew up in the '70s and I grew up more in the '80s. So they had to deal with crosses being burned on their lawn and their dogs being poisoned.”

“Aaron would be the most invested in wanting to get me better. It's not that other people can't mentor me, but to have an older brother in a spot like that, he'd always have been helpful to me.”