One of the most unforgettable moments of the conversation was a discussion on the Indian-Pakistan Partition of 1947. Desai used Partition as an exemplar of the power of time and history in writing, saying:
"Whenever I write in the present, I find it necessary to sketch and fill in the backdrop. When writers discuss [the Partition], they tend to focus on the birth of a nation, on the beginning of a new era. But Partition was actually the most traumatic and devastating forced migration in India's history. For the people involved, it represented the end of their world. I think the sense of endings was a lot stronger than a sense of beginnings. It was as if the world was falling apart... Therefore, when I'm exploring a character who lived through Partition, I must reconcile his past experiences with the present-day character I've created."
She also reminisced on her largely negative experience as an emerging author in India, when she struggled to establish herself. She lamented that both the Indian press and Indian public initially ignored her, while her work thrived overseas.
"My first publisher was from England. It was a small company, not well known. I was just thrilled to be published. But, as the years passed and I started travelling, I found that my work was much better received in places I hadn't known about. It felt good to know I was appreciated, but it also hurt to think that my own country was not giving me the same attention."
Without directly stating it, she implied that it was this feeling which played a role in her decision to pursue a career in academia in the United States.
An audience member responded, "I believe you did have a very large, passionate Indian readership. They just didn't possess the syntax or the medium through which to express it, through which to begin a dialogue. Take me for example, my mother would buy your novels for Rs 45 when I was young, and I became a huge fan… But we had no one to discuss it with."
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