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"...I went to the house in Chennai where Ramanujan had actually lived. It was fascinating to see that the particular world in India had not changed much. There were other things that were much more subtle. There is a reference in the novel to open doors -- to the doors in a hotel being open. We noticed when we were staying in the hotels in India people often left their doors open. It seemed very strange to us, as Americans, because we want the doors to be closed; we want privacy. But to Indians keeping the doors open was like a communal atmosphere."

- David Leavitt on his research for his Ramanujan-Hardy novel, The Indian Clerk.