Quote

The pursuit of illusion is not about studying for prizes, or for study's sake. There's no right or wrong, no pass or fail.

Tahir Shah

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Tahir Shah
Age: 58
Born: 1966
Born: November 16
Author
Comedian
Explorer
Journalist
Novelist
Writer
London
England
Right
Pursuit
Fail
Pass
Illusion
Sake
Failing
Prizes
Study
Studying
Wrong
Prize

More quotes by Tahir Shah

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It is almost impossible to overemphasize the importance with which ancestry is held in the Middle East and North Africa.
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Where does one go in a tremendous city like Calcutta to find insider information? I recalled India's golden rule: do the opposite of what would be normal anywhere else.
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Stories are not like the real world they aren't held back by what we know is false or true. What's important is how a story makes you feel inside.
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These days no one challenges us,' he said. 'And because there is no challenge, there is no reason to work hard. And with no reason to work hard, we have all become lazy.
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I was becoming addicted to Bombay. There was squalor and poverty, but I had begun to realise my good fortune and would never again forget it.
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The taste for glory can make ordinary men behave in extraordinary ways.
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There is nothing quite as unpleasant as wearing a pair of briefs which have been trailed through a Calcutta courtyard. Nothing, that is, except having one's elbows and knees lacerated by unseen slivers of glass and discarded razor blades.
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My father used to say that stories are part of the most precious heritage of mankind.
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If hot food is they key to maintaining an expedition's stamina, then low grade gut-rot alcohol is the key to sustaining its sense of pleasure.
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In India an explanation is often more confusing than what prompted it.
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The very fact that a Frenchman was prepared, after two minutes of conversation, to be so friendly towards anyone, especially one who had come from England, made me restless.
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In India everything has a use and a value.
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Real travel is not about the highlights with which you dazzle your friends once you're home. It's about the loneliness, the solitude, the evenings spent by yourself, pining to be somewhere else. Those are the moments of true value. You feel half proud of them and half ashamed and you hold them to your heart.
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Buy a house in a foreign country and, it seems, that anything which can go wrong usually does.
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I believe that Marrakech ought to be earned as a destination. The journey is the preparation for the experience. Reaching it too fast derides it, makes it a little less easy to understand.
Tahir Shah
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During the days I felt myself slipping into a kind of madness. Solitary confinement has an astonishing effect on the mind. The trip was to stay calm and keep myself occupied. I spent hours working out how to break free. But trying to escape would have been instant suicide.
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Most journeys have a clear beginning, but on some the ending is less well-defined. The question is, at what point do you bite your lip and head for home?
Tahir Shah
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Contemplation is a luxury, requiring time and alternatives.
Tahir Shah
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Previous journeys in search of treasure have taught me that a zigzag strategy is the best way to get ahead.
Tahir Shah
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In moments of great uncertainty on my travels, I have always felt that something is protecting me, that i will come to no harm.
Tahir Shah