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| In conversation with Tanvi. |
Dogears Bookshop, Margao was the first book shop to host me and my book Jasmine City: Poems from Delhi. Hot from the press, the book needed friendly book stores to spread the buzz and offer a space for readers to pick up a copy.
'In Conversation With' is the brainchild of Leonard Fernandes, the proprietor of Dogears. An author is invited to discuss his or her book in conversation with another person.
To my good fortune, that person was litterateur Dr. Tanvi Bambolkar. The range of questions she posed gave me insights into my poetic practice. She was struck by the visual appeal of the book giving full credit to Kolkata-based artist Kallol Majumder for his evocative drawings.
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| With Tanvi & Leonard |
Commenting on the brevity of some of my poems, Tanvi singled out the cryptic '15 August' which had just three words. The key to the poem lay in the year it was written, i.e. 2004. Dhananjay, Pushkin, and Nafisa all died that year by unnatural means, viz. hanging, murder, and suicide.
Tanvi was intrigued by the reference to the word 'Goa conscriptor' in the Foreword by Delhi-based poet Amit Ranjan. I shared that it was apt for a poet from Delhi to provide relevance and context to the poems.
Some of my poems have Hindi words in Devnagari script. This is to maintain the original impulse while writing. There are some things which sound good only in the language they are dreamed in. Take for example, 'Dil doondta heh, phir wahi.' which is a coda to one of the poems.
Tanvi noted that every poem has a mention of the location it was written in, as a footnote. The poem 'Your Auburn Hair' has a different connotation when the location is revealed.
Tanvi asked if today's youth would pick up the book. I said that students were among the first buyers of my book. If they can relate to the nuances of poetry they will see meaning in it.
My poetry is shaped by the pithiness of T. S. Eliot and the idioms of Nissim Ezekiel, Eunice De Souza, Jayanta Mahapatra, and Manohar Shetty, nearer home. Arun Kolatkar has been a subtle influence.
Regarding selling poetry, Tanvi observed that books need to be bought, citing the example of her own books.
Brian asked about the fate of poetry in the time of AI. I offered that experience cannot be faked. It is out of this churning that poetry is born.
Kavita observed that my poems move from specifi(cities) to generalities, on the way unifying humanity.
As we munched on the fruit cake so graciously served by Queeny on our way out, we felt there could not have been a better way to start the season.
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Pix courtesy, Dogears bookshop, Margao, Goa on 13 Dec 2023. Updated 16/12/23.
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