American-born Gogol, the son of Indian immigrants, wants to fit in among his fellow New Yorkers, despite his family's unwillingness to let go of their traditional ways.

Man: Pack a pillow and a blanket. See the world. You will never regret it.
Ashoke Ganguli: My grandfather always says that is what books are for. To travel without moving an inch.
Ashoke Ganguli: The camera! It is in the car. All this and no picture, huh? We just have to remember it then. Huh? Will you remember this day, Gogol?
Gogol: How long do you I to remember it?
Ashoke Ganguli: [laughing] Ah, remember it always. Remember that you and I made the journey and went together to a place where there was nowhere left to go.
Ashoke Ganguli: Well all came out of Gogol's overcoat. One day you will understand.
Gogol Ganguli: So I'm two inches away from her. Her luscious lips part. Just as I'm about to kiss her, she looks at me and she says, "What's your name?"
Marc: Gogol Ganguli.
Gogol Ganguli: End of seduction 101.
[last lines]
Ashoke Ganguli: [remembering his father's words] Pack a pillow and blanket. Go, see the world. You will never regret it, Gogol.
Ashoke Ganguli: There is something I always wanted to ask you, but never had the courage. All those years ago, why did you say yes to me?
Ashima A. Ganguli: You were the best of the lot.
Ashoke Ganguli: Huh?
Ashima A. Ganguli: Better than the widower with four children or the cartoonist with one arm. I also liked your shoes.
Ashoke Ganguli: Oh. Oh, okay.
Ashima A. Ganguli: Hmm, you want me to say "I love you," like the Americans.
Gogol Ganguli: [after being told the origin of his name] Baba, is that what you think of when you think of me? Do I remind you of that night?
Ashoke Ganguli: Not at all. You remind me of everything that followed. Everyday since then has been a gift... Gogol.
Ashima A. Ganguli: For 25 years I missed my life in India. And now, I will miss my life here. And all of you, who became my family.
Ashima A. Ganguli: He wants to keep Gogol and not Nikhil as his good name. Fine. No big deal.
Ashoke Ganguli: With a president named Jimmy, there is nothing we can do. As long as our kid is happy, you know.
Moushumi Mazumdar: [wedding night] I've begun to publish under my name. No one would know me. Oh come on, Nikhil. What if somebody ask you to change your name?
Gogol Ganguli: I already have, remember?
Moushumi Mazumdar: I detest American television.
Ashoke Ganguli: For Gogol Ganguli- The man who gave you his name, from the man who gave you your name.
[first lines]
Man: Mm, what are you reading?
Ashoke Ganguli: Hm? "The Overcoat", by Gogol.
Ashima A. Ganguli: ...Besides, what kind of a girl is called Max, huh?
Lydia Ratliff: Maybe it's a boy.
Moushumi Mazumdar: Not bad, Mr. Ganguli.
Gogol Ganguli: I'd say we made a killing, Mrs. Ganguli.
Moushumi Mazumdar: Oh, hold it, hold it. Ms. Mazumdar is the name.
Ashoke Ganguli: You won't believe it. Our rickshaw drivers dress better than professors here.
Gogol Ganguli: Did you guys know all this stuff about him when you decided to name me? That he was paranoid, suicidal, friendless, depressed?
Ashoke Ganguli: You forgot to mention that he was also a genius.
Gogol Ganguli: Who's Pierre?
[silence]
Gogol Ganguli: Are you having an affair?
[more silence]
Moushumi Mazumdar: Maybe it's not enough that we are both Bengali.
Gogol Ganguli: That's not why I love you.
Ashima A. Ganguli: You know, by the time I was your age, I had already celebrated my 10th wedding anniversary.
Gogol Ganguli: This is America, Ma. People have twins when they're 60.
Ashima A. Ganguli: [riding in rickshaw] Why don't you get in my American son? Sonia can sit on my lap. Come on.
Gogol: No. Because being pulled by another human being is feudal and exploitative, and I don't want to be part of something like that.
Gogol Ganguli: There are some things you should know. Um, no kissing, no holding hands. My parents are not Lydia and Gerald. I've never seen them touch, let alone anything else.