Join us in ten minutes for this conversation between @MeghaMaj and @roannagonsalves on power, nationalism, corruption and justice #mwfdigital https://twitter.com/MelbWritersFest/status/1294420522915135488

'I was particular struck by how you render the hierarchies of class, the rise of nationalism, the convenient use of the word "sedition" to brand the innocent with impunity.' – @roannagonsalves on A Burning #mwfdigital

'I wrote this book to depict how people retain their humour and sense of self as they chase big ambitions in conditions of great oppression and discriminatory systems.' – @MeghaMaj #mwfdigital

'I wanted to show, in the case of Jivan, how someone who works very hard can be thwarted by the system.' – @MeghaMaj #mwfdigital

'Anthropology is all about going out into the world and listening to other people and being attentive to what is surprising and complex in their answers.' – @MeghaMaj on how her anthropology background informed her writing #mwfdigital

'It taught me to be attentive to nuance, to get to the truth of a person's perspective. Anthropology provides a rich toolkit for any writer.' – @MeghaMaj #mwfdigital

'English has such a complicated history in India. It was once the coloniser's language and now it's the language of the elite and aspiration.' – @MeghaMaj #mwfdigital

'Even though I wrote the book in English, my mother tongue is Bengali and I hope Bengali's capacity to render pathos and sentiment and humour is present in the book.' – @MeghaMaj #mwfdigital

'India is independent from the British, but are we truly independent in terms of an independence between classes? Power is still wielded and controlled, just by different masters.' – @roannagonsalves #mwfdigital

'So many people are hopping online in India for the first time. I wanted to show how social media allows people go around institutional gatekeepers, but that someone with real vulnerabilities brings them over into the internet and social media.' – @MeghaMaj #mwfdigital

'Social media replicates aspects of the real world. Vulnerable people are seen and scapegoated in certain ways, both in real life and online.' – @MeghaMaj #mwfdigital

'Right now, we are living in a time where media is much aligned. I think we need the free press. I didn't want to write something that would be seen as critical of the media in an unhelpful way.' – @MeghaMaj #mwfdigital

'The state pushes flat and ugly narratives on to people. That belief in the power of a story and telling your own story with power and complexity is key in making people understand who you are.' – @MeghaMaj #mwfdigital

'I'm always excited to read ethnographies. There is such great work done by sociologists and anthropologists that often doesn't make it out to curious readers and people who aren't academics.' – @MeghaMaj on researching A Burning #mwfdigital

'I grew up in Kolkata. I have such rich memories and my parents still live there. I feel very connected to the place. What was so familiar to you becomes new when you visit from a different country.' – @MeghaMaj #mwfdigital

'Literature gives us the tools to tell stories in an ethical manner even when there is a historical power imbalance.' – @roannagonsalves #mwfdigital

'I didn't think I could tell this story without attempting to write characters who face the full might of the oppressive state.' – @MeghaMaj #mwfdigital

'I never wanted to write characters who are flat or who are only their suffering. Nobody is only their suffering.' – @MeghaMaj #mwfdigital

'I didn't want my characters to be devices or plot points or ways for me to make a particular point. I gave them warmth and fullness.' – @MeghaMaj #mwfdigital

'It was important for me to show how people are constrained in the choices they can make in such a society. Hopefully you, as a reader, can understand the limits upon them.' – @MeghaMaj #mwfdigital

'Fervent nationalism and blind patriotism offer a flattened view of who other people are and what their story can be. One of the beautiful and important things that fiction can do is push back against simplistic renderings of anyone.' – @MeghaMaj #mwfdigital

'The toughest and most beautiful thing to do with an ending is to leave little openings, to provide a close that's satisfying for the reader but one that allows them to see possibilities beyond the last page.' – @MeghaMaj #mwfdigital

'I spent four years on this book. It was a lot of revision and polishing of sentences.' – @MeghaMaj #mwfdigital

'This book has been influenced by so many writers: Arundhati Roy, Jhumpa Lahiri, Daniyal Mueenuddin, Snigdha Poonam, Anuradha Roy and Radhika Govindrajan.' – @MeghaMaj #mwfdigital