Devapriya Roy has degrees in English Literature and Performance Studies from Presidency College, Calcutta, and Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, where she is currently pursuing a PhD on the Natya Shastra. Saurav Jha is trained in Economics from Presidency College, Calcutta, and Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He is a commentator on energy, security and geopolitics, contributes regularly to World Politics Review and The Diplomat, and has written for several national and international media.

At Vedica Saurav Jha and Devapriya Roy discussed their book The Heat and Dust Project, and their journey across India in order to write this book. They took the idea of backpacking from European travellers and applied it to the Indian context by traveling across the country on a shoestring budget of Rs. 500 a day, including board and lodging. They talked about how they took the path less travelled by letting go of their stable careers to embark upon an uncertain journey that has been extremely fruitful for them as individuals as well as a couple.