"One who has a gentle and profound insight into what lasts in India, and what elements inherent in human nature threaten it...the best in traditions of the East and the West have gone into the making of his liberal humanist philosophy."

“When you read Masti you realize that his stories and characters are a part of yourself and in them you see a world you want to touch and long to hold. In these days of transient joys, that is nice feeling to have”

“Sir, who would think of criticizing you for committing mistakes when you speak Kannada? The mistakes you committed whenyou spoke in English could have been made in Kannada too.”

“Do you know, sir, it is God who has planted such doubts in you. That is His way of putting you to the test”

“Some people argue that Masti is not a novelist, and that he is only a short story writer. But there is no evidence that those critics have read Masti's novels. If Masti is not a novelist, neither are Tolstoy and Dostoevsky.”

“But in 1911, when Masti Venkatesh Iyengar published a few short stories, the discernible birth of Kannada short story can be said to have taken place. Page 131”