I am an Indian writer -- in that I was born and largely educated in India -- yet most of my work has been about other countries and cultures. I am aware, therefore, of the potential charge of cultural appropriation that hangs over my head like the sword of Damocles every time I publish a book about Chinese cats, or Indonesian clerics, or in the latest instance, Japan.
What right do I -- an Indian woman -- have to squeeze a foreign "nation" as subtle and unique as Japan within the covers of a book? How dare I lay claim to what does not belong to me?
