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| Brian reads from A Peace of India. |
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| Diviya and Brian. |
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| Rico speaks on publishing. |
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| Arundhati anchors the show with elan. |
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| The poster for today. |
- Brian Mendonca
Literati book store, Calangute, Goa will complete 20 years of its existence next year. Started in 2005, Literati, helmed by Diviya Kapur, has not looked back since.
A commemorative event was held today on a tranquil Sunday morning. Arundhati, who anchored the afternoon, said books for Literati were sourced from Delhi, Chennai, and elsewhere. Mr. Om Arora from Variety book depot, Delhi and Mr. Khaleel from Broadway bookstore, Panjim, helped Diviya to select the books.
I was honoured to be part of the line-up who shared their work. I had taken all three poetry books of mine. I thanked Literati for standing by the poet and offering shelf space for my work. I recalled a reading of Last Bus to Vasco: Poems from Goa (2006) which I did in July the same year at Literati. Mrs. Aurora Couto and Mrs. Teresa Albuquerque were present on that rainy evening.
The session in the sylvan setting began with editor Rajyashree Dutt reading from Aurora Couto's posthumously published memoir In Between Two Worlds. Nandita Haksar spoke about how books were home to her. I had the opportunity to go up to her and tell her I enjoyed reading her book titled Across the Chicken Neck: Travels in Northeast India.
The canopy of trees afforded shade from 11.30 in the morning till 2 in the afternoon. Cocktails and bites were available at the back of the sprawling green. I chose a mean Margarita and fortified myself with an eclectic array of bites like crab meat cigar, pork quiche, and a grilled mushroom and cheese sandwich. The snacks were served with great enthusiasm by Iona Francis, partner of Bouvardia Bakery, Saligao.
Diviya did no talking but she was everywhere. She made people feel welcome, cheered for the speakers, and urged those gathered to buy the books. She even arranged to pick up copies of my book Jasmine City: Poems from Delhi (2023) a day before the event.
Children's writer, Venita Coelho, came up with a quiz for kids. Rahul Alvares spoke of his passion for snakes and the time a couple of rat snakes were found at Literati. Isabel Vas spoke about a reading of her play and how a book baked in a loaf of bread was released at Literati. Rico revealed that Literati was rated among the 10 best bookstores outside Delhi.
A man from England came up to me and said, 'I like what you are wearing.' There were many known faces there and I said hi to as many I knew - and even some I didn't. The Margarita helped.
I recited my poem 'Traveller' and '9 to 5'. I read my poem '1321' written in Tughlaqabad fort, Delhi. On request, I read a poem written in Kolkata titled 'Down by the Hooghly' from my book A Peace of India: Poems in Transit (2011).
I was touched when, in the vote of thanks, Arundhati chose to remember one who had been there for every event at Literati. This was, as it turned out to be, Frida the dog who had passed on. They even made bookmarks with her picture.
The books at the bookstore were diverse and deep. Essays by Arundhati Roy, verse by Arundhati Subramanium, graphic novels by Amruta Patil, verse by Faiz, Lorca in Spanish, Kerouac's classic Dharma Bums - they were all here.
The music made me linger longer. Spanish music, Simon & Garfunkel, Dire Straits beguiled the languid afternoon.
I came away with nifty book bags for my friends as mementos of this day. For the books I need more than an afternoon - and yes, the time to read them!
Literati
-Brian Mendonca
Amid the bower of bliss
Came we, with our lines.
Enfolded in warmth
the kind word, the smile.
Harry potters around
with nauseous things.
'The kids would ace this'
'How do you stay so sexy?'
Tattoos on the body
A woman leans forward to listen
Down by the Hooghly
takes us to the North East.
Chicken neck, crab meat sausage
pork quiche and Martinis
Words waft past
to the sound of the shaker.
Cobras in the undergrowth
'It's only a rat snake'
20 years on, Literati lives.
Book bags for the long haul
The sound of silence by S & G
'Surround me with books
I am going to die.'
Special mention of Frida
'She died in my lap'
Diviya glides
from table to table.
'Can I get you a beer?'
At home in two worlds
'We came, and came, and came.'
(Literati bookstore
Calangute, Goa
3-4 November 2024)
Glossary
-Amid the bower of bliss: Recalls the opening of my poem 'Riwaaq' (Delhi, 1999), 'From Sikri we came / Guidebooks in hand,' included in Jasmine City: Poems from Delhi by Brian Mendonca.
-How do you stay so sexy?: Question asked during the Q & A.
-Down by the Hooghly: Name of the poem I read (Kolkata, 2007) included in A Peace of India: Poems in Transit by Brian Mendonca.
-Chicken neck: From Across the Chicken Neck: Travels in Northeast India (2013) by Nandita Haksar.
-shaker: cocktail shaker
-Sound of Silence (1964): song by Simon and Garfunkel (S &G)
-At Home in Two Worlds: Essays on Goa (2024): by Maria Aurora Couto.
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Pic of me taken by Farah Vakil. Rest of the pix taken at Literati, Calangute, by Brian Mendonca on 3 November 2024. Updated 4/11/24.
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