Contrasting her struggles with the opportunities available today, she urged potential authors to take up the pen.
"I must admit," said Desai, "that, sometimes, I wish I could be a young writer in India today. There is so much to write about, so much uncovered material. For instance, when I was younger, the Indian woman's experience was very different than it is today. Whatever she saw of the world, she saw it through her husband, through her father, through her son. But, today, young Indian women are grappling with the outside world. What is her reality? She works in an office. The idea fascinates me."
"Also, one can make a living as a writer today. That wasn't possible when I first started," she continued. "I urge young writers to take the risk, to explore these issues."
To bring the forum to a close, Desai chose to read a passage from 1980's Baumgartner's Bombay.
She related Baumgartner's awkward arrival in Mumbai at the Gateway of India, and how he’s duped into accepting a room in a dingy hotel named the Taj.
Dasgupta noted that this passage emphasised another of her core motifs, the ideas of foreignness and acceptance. Anita agreed, and then turned her examination inwards.
"Every time I come back to India, I must grapple with my own foreignness, understanding and perspective. It’s intimidating to try to write about India now. So much has changed, but so much has stayed the same."
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Also read: 'My mother told me never to be a writer'
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